Finance Systems Manager
About The Position
The Finance Systems Manager is responsible for the strategy, administration, and continuous improvement of the organization's financial systems. Serving as the primary liaison between Finance and IT, this role ensures that financial applications (accounting, purchasing-to-payment, and budgeting/forecasting systems) effectively support the organization's mission and meet the needs of the Accounting, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) teams. The Finance Systems Manager is principally responsible for the financial systems on behalf of the Finance function, leading process design, functional configuration, reporting, and user training/support, while partnering closely with IT to ensure technical reliability, security, and integration across the full suite.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
- 10+ years of relevant work experience, including 5+ years of experience in financial systems administration or finance operations.
- Strong understanding of nonprofit/education finance processes (general ledger, AP, purchasing, grants, budgeting, financial reporting).
- Demonstrated ability to translate finance requirements into system solutions.
- Strong collaboration skills; able to work effectively across Finance, IT, and other teams.
- Excellent problem-solving, project management, and communication skills.
Nice To Haves
- Experience working in a K-12 education environment.
- Prior involvement in system implementation or major upgrade projects.
- Hands-on experience with any of these finance systems: Sage Intacct, Coupa, Edstruments.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary business owner for financial applications, ensuring they align with finance processes, compliance requirements, accounting standards, organizational policies, and evolving business needs.
- Maintain the chart of accounts, financial data mapping to meet different user groups' needs, and finance system structures (e.g. for user permissions, purchasing & payment approval rules, etc.).
- Lead efforts to optimize finance workflows (purchasing, expense management, AP, approvals, budgeting, reporting).
- Translate objectives and requirements from the finance teams, and create/maintain sufficient documentation, to enable IT to complete technical configuration of financial systems (e.g. the necessary workflows, scripts, user roles, and integrations).
- Lead the process to surface and prioritize system enhancements, including collecting stakeholder input across and outside of the finance function, making recommendations, and managing communications and implications after decisions are made.
- Ensure data accuracy and consistency across financial systems through rigorous, systematic data review and partnership with IT on maintenance of system integrations.
- Serve as the point of contact for finance system users in need of "Tier 2" support (functional/process issues).
- Develop and deliver user training, documentation, and SOPs, in partnership with IT.
- Build finance staff capacity to effectively use system features.
- Develop, maintain, and improve financial reports and dashboards for Finance teams.
- Partner with finance teammates to ensure supplemental / "homegrown" tools integrate seamlessly with core finance systems.
- Work with IT as appropriate on system security, user access, upgrades, and vendor escalations.
- Ensure finance function's requirements are represented in enterprise technology decisions.
- Monitor system usage and proactively identify opportunities for automation and efficiency.
- Evaluate new modules and technologies to strengthen finance's capabilities.
- Lead or support system implementations, upgrades, and special projects.
Benefits
- Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision
- Optional participation in the KIPP NJ 403b retirement plan, including matching contributions
- A school-issued laptop
- Transportation benefits for TEAMmates commuting into Newark from the New York City area
- Generous Time-Off including 3.5-4 school vacation weeks (depending on the year), allocated sick and personal days, and an extended summer break
- Up to 12 weeks 100% parental leave for primary caregivers
- Employer paid life insurance
- Extensive optional ancillary benefits including, short term and long term disability and accident and hospital indemnity
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Number of Employees
11-50 employees
