Senior Financial Analyst

Home Office + Regional Support Oakland,California

Aspire Public Schools Nor Cal — Senior Financial Analyst

Job Description

About Aspire Nor Cal

Founded in 1998, Aspire Public Schools has served scholars and communities across California for nearly three decades. With Aspire Los Angeles transitioning into an independent organization, the Bay Area and Central Valley regions are coming together to form Aspire Nor Cal, operating 22 schools serving approximately 10,000 scholars across Northern California (Oakland, Richmond, East Palo Alto, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, and Ceres).

This evolution comes at an important moment for Aspire. Changes in California’s funding, policy, enrollment, and operating environment have created an opportunity to rethink how the organization supports its schools and scholars in its next chapter. The formation of Aspire Nor Cal creates an opportunity to strengthen support for schools across teams previously organized by geography, improve the consistency and effectiveness of school support, and create clear accountability systems for organizational and scholar outcomes.

The new model will require the organization to balance greater coherence across Aspire Nor Cal with responsiveness to the different communities and contexts of its schools.

Aspire Nor Cal enters this transition with a long-standing mission focused on post-secondary success and a deep commitment to educational equity, along with decades of institutional knowledge across its schools and teams. Preserving those strengths while building Aspire Nor Cal as a unified region will be central to the work ahead.

The Senior Financial Analyst provides financial analysis, tracking, and projections for assigned Aspire school sites. The role prepares and tracks multiple budgets for restricted and unrestricted funds, understands program and project spending fluctuations, guides school sites on fiscal management, and prepares financial and compliance reporting documents.

The Senior Financial Analyst also provides team leadership and oversight for the budgeting and reporting system, including administration, training, and further development.

• Prepare annual budget and forecast updates for assigned Aspire school sites, and facilitate regular school site budget and forecast update meetings.
• Facilitate regular school and regional site budget and forecast update meetings for assigned Aspire sites
• Work with School Leaders, Instructional Leaders, and Finance and Accounting team members on monthly and quarterly close, interim and year-end financial reports, and monthly forecasts (P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow) with variance analysis; make recommendations that support financial sustainability and school programming.
• Perform financial support work in an accurate and efficient manner, including attendance reporting, interim reporting, reclasses, and year-end preparation.
• Track, report, and analyze financial data related to the nutrition program and overall grant funding.
• Prepare budget projections for new sites, including scenario analysis; ensure maximization of the use of restricted funding for each school.
• Analyze spending trends across schools to identify best practices and efficiencies, and share findings with the Finance team.
• Perform ad hoc financial analyses requested by the CFO, Director of Finance, Instructional Leaders, and School Leaders.
• Prepare school sites for year-end audit and comply with local, state, and federal reporting deadlines with charter authorize rs and the California Department of Education.
• Demonstrate knowledge of, and support, the Aspire Public Schools mission, vision, and values, including antiracism, and uphold confidentiality standards and the code of ethical behavior.
• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.
• Support the new Service Level Agreement (SLA) under which Aspire Nor Cal will provide finance, accounting, and payroll services to Aspire LA.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance.

• Minimum of 3 years of accounting and/or financial analysis experience.
• Experience in K-12 public education, non-profit, or government sector.
• Proficiency with budgeting and reporting systems;
  Adaptive Insights experience and/or ability to learn.

• Proven ability to provide timely, meaningful financial analysis in a dynamic, high-growth environment, and to clearly communicate complex financial concepts to non-financial leaders.
• Deep knowledge of…