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Uncommon Schools

Controller (New York City)

New York, NY

Controller
New York, New York
Application Deadline: 1/7/2018 - We will not be reviewing applications until this deadline
 
Uncommon Schools (Uncommon) is a nonprofit organization that starts and manages outstanding urban charter public schools that close the achievement gap and prepares low-income students to graduate from college. We have achieved outstanding academic results based on internal assessments, statewide exams, and graduation milestones. Our schools are among the highest-performing urban schools in their cities and states. We proudly work for the 19,000 students in our 53 schools across three states in six cities and are passionately committed to their success!
 
About the role
The Controller will lead the day-to-day accounting operations of 53 schools with an operating budget of approximately $350 million and supervise a team of 29 staff members including functional responsibility over accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, cash flow planning, grants administration and real estate compliance.

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The Controller will also be responsible for overseeing the accounting for approximately $400 million in real estate transactions that Uncommon develops, manages, and leases to its schools within its network.

Reporting to the CFO, the Controller will be responsible for the oversight of all accounting and reporting activities for both the schools and all the real estate transactions.  He/she will work closely with the entire Financial Management team and Home Office personnel and school-based teams.   The Controller will work closely with the CFO and the senior leadership team, and be involved in presentations to the board, finance, audit committee, and lenders.

Responsibilities
  • Accounting Leadership
    • Consistent with the organizational priorities, develop, analyze, and make recommendations relating to accounting and financial systems to ensure effective and efficient financial operations
    • Oversee all accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP standards and regulatory requirements
    • Oversee the accounting department to ensure proper maintenance of all accounting systems and functions to ensure fidelity of data and timely monthly and year-end reporting as the organization continues to grow
    • Participate in an organization-wide initiative to update all systems supporting all aspects of Uncommon operations
    • Analyze financial data and present financial reports in an accurate and timely manner, clearly communicate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements; monitor progress and changes and keep CFO abreast of the financial status and cash flow projections
    • Oversee all program and grants accounting; ensure that expenditures are consistently aligned with grant and program budgets throughout the grant/fund period
    • Oversee the payroll function and related systems
    • Oversee the full coordination of all the audits and the gathering of required audit information, 990 preparations and filing activity
    • Maintain continuous lines of communication and keep the CFO informed of all accounting issues.
  • Team Leadership
    • Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a large team of accounting professionals
    • Leverage strengths of the current accounting team members, help to clarify roles and responsibilities and develop and implement training programs in order to maximize and reach optimal individual and organizational goals.
    • Together with accounting team, strive to obtain clean audits for all entities for each fiscal year.

Qualifications
  • Requirements
    • BA/BS degree in Accounting.  CPA required
    • Public accounting experience required
    • Minimum of 12-15 years' experience with at least 7 years' experience in a senior management role. 
    • Proven working experience as a financial controller.
    • Non-profit sector experience preferred
    • Experience in K-12 education preferred
    • Experience in real estate financing for schools and non-profit entities preferred
    • Superior detail orientation balanced with the ability to see the "big picture".
    • Comfortable working in a collaborative team environment.
    • Proven track record of success managing and coaching others.
  • Skills and Experience
    • Solid knowledge of accounting principles and practices as demonstrated by holding active CPA license.
    • Thorough understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), as well as Governmental Accounting Standards (GAS) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) pronouncements,
    • Up-to-date on nonprofit expertise regarding audit best practices and state and federal law regarding nonprofit operations,
    • Knowledge of financial compliance and risk management including but not limited to statutory and regulatory requirements for nonprofit organizations.
    • Communication skills capable of presenting accounting and financial requirements to program colleagues.
    • Excellent organization, time management, and follow-up skills; ability to prioritize and demonstrate an appropriate sense of urgency
    • History of successfully implementing/integrating systems, policies and protocols
    • Demonstrated ability to work and lead project teams

Application Deadline: 1/7/2018 - We will not be reviewing applications until this deadline
 
Compensation
We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package. Aside from extensive professional development, all our staff members are equipped with a laptop computer, email, high-speed internet access, PDA, and all necessary supplies.
 
The foregoing information is requested for mandatory government reporting purposes only.  As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by applicable law.
 
Please note that your application will not be saved until you click "submit" at the end of the application question set. Unfortunately, you will not be able to save your resume or answers as you go along.  Please take this into consideration. You are welcome to open the application, copy and paste the questions into a Word Document, and then copy and paste your answers into our application once they are complete. Additionally, if you leave your application before beginning the question set, you will need to upload your resume again in order to move forward with the process upon returning. Thanks in advance for the time you are taking to apply to Uncommon Schools.

Job ID: uncsch-a0x0G00001PpHt0QAF
Employment Type: Other

This job is no longer available.

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