Financial Planning & Analysis Director

The Organization:  Merit America

The American economy is broken. Today, 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp programs don’t offer enough flexibility, and online courses don’t have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs, driving an average wage gain of $24k three months or more after completing the program. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners. 

Role Overview 

The primary mission of the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Director is to translate Merit America’s mission and goals into a sustainable financial reality. In particular, this role will: lead the budget and forecast processes, champion data-driven decision-making across the organization; serve as a trusted strategic partner to leadership, Board, and external stakeholders; and develop team capabilities by fostering financial excellence organization-wide.

The FP&A Director  is an exempt role and will report directly to Edgar Ho and works primarily with functional leaders across Merit America.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the FP&A Director will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Annual Budgeting & Long-Range Planning: 
• Lead the creation of the annual operating budget and develop multi-year financial plans. This involves working with department leaders to align their resource needs with the organization's strategic goals and available funding.
• Establish budget approval processes and performance measures across departments
• Drive strategic resource allocation decisions that align with organizational priorities
• Create scalable processes that enable department-wide planning excellence
• Forecasting & Financial Modeling: 
• Develop and maintain financial models to forecast revenue, expenses, and cash flow throughout the year. 
• Build scalable forecasting methodologies that can be leveraged organization-wide
• Create predictive analytics capabilities and establish modeling standards
• Enhance decision-making accuracy across all functions through advanced forecasting
• Strategic Decision Support: 
• Act as a financial partner to the leadership team by analyzing the cost-effectiveness of programs and the financial viability of new initiatives. This provides the data needed to make informed decisions about resource allocation.
• Lead financial due diligence for major initiatives and investments
• Develop ROI frameworks and program effectiveness metrics that drive organizational performance
• Drive key decisions that impact financial and strategic direction
• Financial Systems & Process Improvement: 
• Lead optimization of financial planning platforms and develop comprehensive reporting frameworks
• Establish data integrity standards and quality assurance processes
• Ensure accurate, efficient, and reliable financial analysis through system excellence

Skills and Competencies

We recognize that individuals from marginalized backgrounds, including women, people of color, and those with disabilities, are often less likely to apply when they don’t meet 100% of the job qualifications. Don’t let that be the reason you miss out on this opportunity! We want to emphasize that your unique skills, experiences, and perspectives are valuable, and we encourage you to apply if you can demonstrate many of the skills and competencies. Below are the skills that are relevant for thriving in this role:

Must Haves: 

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Significant professional experience with increasing responsibility in financial planning, analysis, budgeting, and forecasting
• Demonstrated ability to build complex financial models in Excel for scenario planning and long-range forecasting

Systems & Process Excellence

• Experience in a high-growth/startup environment where systems and processes require hands-on building and fixing
• Track record of evaluating and implementing AI practices in financial analysis and forecasting

Stakeholder Management

• Strategic communication skills to translate financial data into clear, actionable insights and present them confidently and concisely to non-financial stakeholders, including executive leadership and the Board
• Proven experience leading cross-functional teams through complex financial processes like the annual budget cycle

Mission & Values Alignment

• Committed to Merit America's mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in understanding and addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity

Nice to Have: 

• Experience in a non-profit organization, particularly direct service organizations with complex operations at scale
• Hands-on experience with NetSuite
• Proficiency with data analysis/visualization tools like Tableau or Power BI to create financial dashboards

Other Logistics 

• This position is full-time: 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Location: Remote
• Salary:  $175,900

We take care of our employees by providing the following perks and benefits: 

• 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage)
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit
• Education & personal development reimbursement
• Catalog of courses for professional learning and development
• Short and long-term disability
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period)
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment)
• 11 federally recognized holidays
• 1 week office closure in July (week of July 4th)
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources
• Discount perks at work program
• Phone/technology stipend
• Home office setup stipend
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups

*Eligibility for some benefits may vary based on employment status, full-time or part-time. Eligibility will be outlined during the hiring process.

Remote Work & Sponsorship

Candidates must reside within the 50 states or District of Columbia and have full authorization to work in the 50 U.S. states & the District of Columbia (international work abroad, including the U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other islands are excluded). In addition, Merit America doesn't offer employment visa sponsorship.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

We actively strive and evolve to develop and maintain workspaces that are fully inclusive. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.

Still excited about our work?  You can learn more about our work in this video we made with our founding partner, Google.

Fair Chance Ordinance

Applicants who have arrest or conviction records and are in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County will be considered in accordance with the state’s fair chance ordinance law. Employment under the ordinance includes part-time work, seasonal work, contract work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or employment agency.

E-Verify Statement

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 Form.