Senior Financial Analyst

First Book•Washington, DC

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

First Book is a leading nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to removing barriers to quality education for children in need. Through innovative public–private partnerships and a national network of more than 600,000 educators, program leaders, and community organizations, First Book has distributed over 250 million books and educational resources to under-resourced communities. Our work spans e-commerce (First Book Marketplace), research and insights (First Book R&I), and tailored program development (First Book Accelerator), all designed to elevate the voices and needs of educators serving children in low-income communities. The Senior Financial Analyst is a key member of the Finance team, supporting financial planning, reporting, inventory analysis, and month-end close processes within a complex nonprofit operating environment. Reporting directly to the CFO, this role plays an important part in ensuring accurate financial reporting across earned revenue, donated inventory, grants, and programmatic activity. This position partners closely with Accounting, Operations, Supply Chain, Development, and IT to provide financial insights, support inventory valuation and reconciliation processes, and strengthen reporting systems that inform strategic decision-making.

Requirements

5+ years of progressive experience in financial analysis, accounting, FP&A, or financial systems roles.
Strong working knowledge of GAAP and financial statement structure, including experience preparing journal entries and balance sheet reconciliations.
Demonstrated experience supporting month-end close, management reporting, and budgeting/forecasting processes.
Advanced Excel proficiency, including complex formulas, pivot tables, lookups, and financial modeling.
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field required.
5+ years of progressive experience in financial analysis, FP&A, or business/commercial finance, ideally including exposure to operations-heavy environments (logistics, distribution, retail, manufacturing, supply chain finance or a mission-driven organization that also runs earned-revenue or fee-for-service lines).
Demonstrated experience building activity-based costing, unit economics, or full-cost allocation models from the ground up
Proven ability to analyze large data sets, identify discrepancies, and translate data into actionable financial insights.
Advanced Excel/Google Sheets modeling skills; strong SQL or equivalent data-querying ability.
Experience supporting system implementations, upgrades, or process automation initiatives.
Strong analytical mindset with the ability to connect operational activity to financial outcomes.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain financial concepts clearly to non-finance partners.
Collaborative approach and comfort working cross-functionally with Accounting, Operations, IT, and Revenue teams.
High degree of ownership and accountability; comfortable operating with minimal oversight.

Nice To Haves

MBA, CPA, or CFA a plus but not required.
Familiarity with CRM and reporting platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Tableau, Power BI, or similar tools) preferred.

Responsibilities

Prepare and analyze monthly, quarterly, and annual internal financial reports across revenue, inventory, and program operations.
Support management reporting related to Marketplace activity, donated inventory, grants, and operating performance.
Provide recurring and ad-hoc departmental reporting support for Operations, Supply Chain, Development, and Program teams.
Analyze trends, variances, and key financial drivers and communicate findings clearly to leadership.
Build recurring and ad hoc reporting that gives the CFO and executive team a real-time-enough view of cost-to-serve and margin/subsidy by program.
Support the annual operating budget and rolling forecast processes, including preparation of financial models and supporting schedules.
Calculate and maintain true unit costs across product lines and distribution channels.
Develop and maintain an overhead/indirect cost allocation methodology that fairly assigns shared costs across programs and channels.
Assist in tracking performance relative to plan across revenue streams, inventory margins, and operating expenses.
Support new program and partnership evaluation with cost/benefit and breakeven analysis before commitments are made.
Support scenario modeling related to pricing, margin analysis, and program investments.
Collaborate with department leaders to provide financial insights that improve budget adherence and operational efficiency.
Serve as a Finance resource for financial and operational systems, including ERP/accounting platforms and inventory systems.
Support system enhancements, integrations, and reporting automation initiatives.
Assist in testing system updates and validating data integrity between financial and operational systems.
Maintain documentation of reporting processes and system controls.
Identify gaps in current systems (ERP, inventory/warehouse systems, CRM, program tracking tools) that prevent full-cost visibility, and work with Finance and IT to close them.