Back to jobs
New

Senior Specialist, Finance Operations

New York

Thanks for your interest in Success Academy! Running a large, fast-growing, and high-performing network of public charter schools takes a village - families, children, teachers, staff and faculty, advocates, and supporters alike. We are growing fast in New York and expanding to Florida, and we would love to welcome you to our community! We work tirelessly every day to ensure children have access to a fun, rigorous, whole-child education regardless of zip code or economic status. When you join SA, you play a part in giving every student who walks through our doors a fair shot at reaching his or her potential.

We are seeking a strategic, project-driven, and highly analytical Senior Specialist, Finance Operations to manage, modernize, and elevate our company’s financial obligations and operational workflows. This role transitions from standard transactional processing to high-level departmental oversight, focusing on maximizing end-to-end efficiency, championing artificial intelligence and automation innovations, and optimizing the comprehensive monthly closing process. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem-solver who pairs deep technical and accounting proficiency with a collaborative leadership mindset to guide the finance operations team toward "best-in-class" performance leveraging modern AI tools.

Key Responsibilities

  • Process & AI Innovation: Identify, evaluate, and implement pioneering ideas and AI-driven solutions (such as Intelligent Document Processing, smart matching systems, and automated workflows) to streamline the entire invoice-to-pay lifecycle and enhance overall departmental efficiency.

  • High-Level Accounts Payable & Invoice Management: Oversee the review, coding, and processing of high-volume vendor invoices, ensuring total precision, utilizing automated validation tools, and securing proper internal departmental approvals.

  • Strategic Cash & Payment Execution: Manage and optimize weekly payment runs via ACH, wire transfers, and checks to balance cash flow priorities with strong vendor relationships.

  • Advanced Reconciliations: Direct monthly vendor statement reconciliations and spearhead the resolution of complex discrepancies or past-due balances across all operating accounts.

  • Compliance, Audit, & Data Integrity: Direct the maintenance of secure digital and physical financial records to ensure rigorous data integrity. Manage 1099 filings, ensure total accuracy in AI-driven data extraction, and lead annual audit preparations.

  • Stakeholder Communication & Leadership: Serve as the primary senior point of contact for complex vendor inquiries and internal departmental billing strategy, while mentoring and leading the day-to-day work of the finance team.

What You Bring

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.

Experience

  • 5+ years of progressive experience in Accounts Payable, operational accounting, or finance operations.
  • Demonstrated success leading or contributing to finance transformation initiatives, including process redesign, system implementation, or automation efforts.
  • Experience working in complex, high-volume environments where accuracy, speed, and compliance are critical.

Technical Expertise

  • Advanced Excel proficiency (e.g., PivotTables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, data modeling, and reconciliation).
  • Hands-on experience with enterprise financial systems such as NetSuite, SAP, Workday, Coupa, Zip, or similar ERP/procurement platforms.
  • Exposure to or strong interest in modern AP automation tools, including OCR-based invoice processing, intelligent matching engines, and workflow automation solutions.
  • Comfortable working with data to diagnose issues, improve processes, and support decision-making.

Core Strengths

  • Exceptional organizational skills with a proven ability to manage competing priorities in deadline-driven environments.
  • Meticulous attention to detail, especially in financial reconciliation, reporting, and compliance-related work.
  • Strong ownership mindset with the ability to independently drive projects from ambiguity to execution.
  • Natural problem-solver who actively identifies inefficiencies and implements scalable, technology-enabled solutions.
  • Clear, confident communicator who can influence and collaborate across finance, operations, HR, and school leadership teams.

Exact compensation may vary based on skills and experience. This position is not bonus eligible.

Compensation Range

$115,000 - $130,000 USD

Success Academy Charter Schools is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.

Privacy Policy:

By providing your phone number, you consent to receive text message updates from Success Academy regarding your application.  Reply STOP to unsubscribe. View our Privacy Policy.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We actively seek applications from people of all backgrounds to strengthen our community and the perspectives needed to flourish in a multicultural world. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.

Success Academy Charter Schools does not offer employment-based immigration sponsorship.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Success Academy Charter Schools? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Message & data rates may apply and message frequency may vary. If you select no, we will only communicate with you via email and/or phone calls. If you select yes and change your mind, you can always reply STOP to opt out.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Success Academy Charter Schools’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.