Director of Finance & Grant Reporting

Aspire Public Schools NorCal — Director of Finance & Grant Reporting

Job Description 

About Aspire NorCal 

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 NorCal, 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 NorCal 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 NorCal with responsiveness to the different communities and contexts of its schools. 

Aspire NorCal 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 NorCal as a unified region will be central to the work ahead. 

About the role 

The Director of Finance & Grant Reporting partners with the Chief Financial Officer, Senior Director of Finance, and Aspire LA’s Chief Business Officer to drive strategic financial management across Aspire LA and streamlined grant reporting across both Aspire NorCal and Aspire LA

This position is key to Aspire's growth and continued position as a leader in the charter school movement. The successful candidate has a proven track record of innovative work and has designed and implemented best-practice processes in multiple industries. A commitment to continuous improvement and the ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment are a must.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare annual budget and forecast updates for assigned Aspire school and regional sites, and facilitate regular 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 and reporting, interim and year-end financial reports, and monthly forecasts (P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow) with variance analysis; make recommendations that drive financial sustainability and support school programming.

• Manage 1-2 Grant Reporting and/or Finance-related direct reports.

• Serve as the primary interface with Aspire LA’s Chief Business Officer (or assigned delegate) on financial matters

• Collaborate with the Chief Financial Officer and Aspire LA’s Chief Business Officer to guide strategic financial management of the Aspire LA organization

• Attend all Aspire LA Board and Executive Committee meetings, and present as neede

• Collaborate with the CFO and/or Senior Director, Finance to prepare consolidated and regional financial reporting for external stakeholders.

• Serve as the Finance (SLA) lead between Aspire NorCal and Aspire LA, participating in SLA review meetings and delivering SLA performance reports

• Prepare budget projections for new sites, including scenario analysis to guide organizational decision-making.

• Ensure maximization of the use of restricted funding for each school.

• Provide guidance and oversight on the use of budgeting and forecasting systems.

• Work closely with the Accounting team to ensure integration of data from the transactional level to the consolidated level.

• Identify and implement process improvements, using technology to eliminate inefficiencies while maintaining extremely high accuracy.

• Build relationships with chartering districts, county offices of education, the California Department of Education, and other outside agencies.

• Work with charter authorizers and the California Department of Education to comply with local, state, and federal reporting deadlines.

• Prepare school sites for year-end audit, and perform ad hoc financial analyses requested by the CFO, Instructional Leaders, and School Leaders.

• 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.

Qualifications 

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance and/or MBA preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in financial analysis.

• 3+ years of experience in school finance preferred.

• Experience in not-for-profit accounting and public sector finance.

Skills and competencies

• Knowledge of the finance function within a large, geographically dispersed organization, and in-depth experience overseeing daily financial operations.

• Knowledge of federal and state accounting regulations.

• Excellent financial, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Solid communication, influencing, and negotiating skills; ability to inspire others to achieve excellence.

• Experience continuously improving controls and procedures; proven experience in process improvement and redesign.

• High degree of initiative and independent judgment.

• Fluency with accounting software packages; proficiency with MS Office and advanced Excel.

• Ability to thrive in a hands-on, fast-paced, growth-oriented, entrepreneurial environment.

Compensation and benefits

The salary range for this role is $119,773 to $153,754 annually in accordance with our salary schedule policy, commensurate with experience. This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Eligible for Aspire health benefits

• Retirement through CalSTRS or CalPERS, depending on the role's credential requirements, with a 403(b) option

• Paid time off and additional teammate benefits to be determined in accordance with updated employee value proposition to be shared prior to offer.  

Aspire NorCal is conducting a comprehensive study of our employee value proposition, which could lead to material changes in July 2027.

Location and work arrangement

• Work location and in-person expectations for this role are being finalized as part of our broader NorCal planning. We will share clarity with candidates in the coming weeks

Aspire NorCal expects to provide Finance, Accounting, Payroll, and Retirement services to Aspire LA under a multi-year service agreement, and part of this department’s budget is expected to depend on that agreement.  If the agreement is not finalized, is not renewed, or ends early, Aspire NorCal may reduce the department’s size accordingly, and any position in the departments listed above may be impacted.  Employment with Aspire is at-will

Application Deadline: November 20, 2026.

Equal opportunity 

Aspire Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Aspire Public Schools provides reasonable accommodations during the application and interview process.

Disclaimer

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.