Managing Director, Budgeting

About Achievement First 

Achievement First (AF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supporting 39 public charter schools across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. For more than 25 years, AF has been recognized as one of the top tuition-free public charter school networks in the country. We are committed to creating schools of academic excellence within nurturing environments — schools that prepare students to be college-ready and to pursue and succeed in whatever paths they choose in life. 

The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families, many of whom will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Across our network, we employ more than 2,200 staff members — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence and Cranston, RI. Our annual budget across all of our charters is approximately $350 million. 

Our mission is to prepare every student to excel in college, career, and life; deepen their understanding of self and community; and lead lives of purpose. We believe in the limitless potential within our students and their power to shape a more just society. That belief drives our deep commitment to student achievement: we aim to set a high bar for learning and create warm, demanding classrooms where rigorous instruction is paired with the care, encouragement, and consistency every student deserves. 

Your Impact 

The Managing Director of Budgeting is responsible for creating, balancing, and maintaining all school budgets and forecasts, as well as supporting the creation and maintenance of Network Support team budgets, overseeing a total budget of approximately $350 million. This includes working directly with schools and regional staff to address budget challenges, identifying and escalating issues to senior leadership, preparing Board reports, and completing all required monthly forecasting tasks.

In addition, this role owns the maintenance and operations of the budgeting and forecasting platform, Workday Adaptive Planning, and provides training and support to budget owners on both budgeting processes and technical system use.

Reporting directly to the Associate Chief of Financial Planning & Analysis, you will be responsible for:

Develop and Lead the School Budget Process

• Integrate information from team leads across Network Support, including Executive Team members and Regional Executive Directors, to determine expense budget targets
• Incorporate grant funding and other diverse and restricted revenue sources into final budgets
• Facilitate budget trade-off discussions for decision making by Regional Executive Directors and the Executive Team, as needed to achieve budget balance
• Hold budget meetings with budget owners to review process, answer questions, and ensure team is on track to balance budget for Board approvals
• Oversee annual Adaptive Planning (ERP system) budget data loading process
• Maintain system functionality, reports, and integration with other systems (e.g. Intacct) and data integrity; amend structure of system as required

Design and Manage School Budget Forecasting

• Develop and manage forecasting processes for schools; lead change management on these processes
• Communicate directly with schools and engage on process
• Lead budget/forecast analysis for each school/team for items trending off from budget and communicate with owners on a monthly basis, at minimum
• Plan and manage grant revenues and expenditures with school leaders and grants team
• Lead detailed, trend- and actuals-based analysis of school-based forecasts and apply centralized adjustments to improve accuracy for end-of-year results
• Manage regional budgets by charter and adjust modified budgets as resources are approved for deployment by Regional Executive Directors
• Prepare quarterly Board reports analyzing data as needed
• Prepare reporting and communication on budget vs. forecast variance for outside teams (KPI, CEO) and internal (CFO, Associate Chief)

Lead Training of Budget Owners

• Design and lead training for budget owners to learn about the process and how to use Adaptive Planning; hold recurring office hours during monthly forecasting and annual budgeting processes
• Create and maintain budgeting and forecasting training tools and materials, updating on an annual basis or more frequently as required
• Develop, implement, and lead recurring high-level budget training for school leaders and budget owners

Lead and Develop the Team

• Manage two Senior Associate level direct reports who support budgeting and forecasting work at the organization level
• Mentor staff in conducting 1:1 budget meetings and trainings with budget owners
• Provide in-person and hands-on support to senior executives on budget
• Facilitate upskilling of school-based leaders on budget and forecasting

Skills You’ll Have

All candidates for this position will demonstrate strong financial acumen, systems proficiency, and the ability to lead complex cross-functional processes in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

All candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.); a Finance or Accounting degree is strongly preferred.

An ideal candidate will demonstrate competency in the following areas:

• Budgeting, forecasting, and standard accounting practices
• Full-cycle budget preparation and management at organizational scale
• Workday Adaptive Planning or comparable ERP/budgeting systems
• Advanced Excel skills and strong analytical capabilities
• KPIs, financial metrics, and variance analysis
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication
• Training design and facilitation for diverse audiences
• Team leadership and staff development

In addition, the following characteristics are required to be successful on this team:

• Strong ethics and ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Confidence in interacting with and influencing individuals at all levels of the organization
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment; flexible, able to work autonomously as well as take direction as needed
• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a proactive communication style
• Belief in the Achievement First mission and educational model

Travel Expectations 

This is a hybrid role. The expectation is that the person in the role would live in one of our 3 regions and be able to come into the Network Support office (NYC, CT, or RI) at least 3 days a week. There may be additional travel to regions outside of your own on a monthly basis. 

Compensation
Achievement First sets salaries are set through a lens of equity, and based on the requisite skills, education, and experience relevant to the role.  The salary for this position is 150,331. In order to uphold our commitment to equity, Achievement First does not negotiate pay.  Additionally, Achievement First offers to all regular, full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement benefit package with match, and paid Family Leave.

Achievement First is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. People from all diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish language proficiency is a plus. You can learn more about diversity at Achievement First here: http://achievementfirst.org/about-us/diversity/