Finance Director

Responsive recruiter

The Finance Director will own financial analysis and forecasting for the portfolio, drive EBITDA growth initiatives, manage cash flow across 20+ child care entities, support acquisition decisions, and directly manage our outsourced accounting team based in India to ensure timely, accurate monthly financials.

This is a high-impact, hands-on role for a Leader who is equally comfortable building a detailed acquisition model and sitting down with a Center Director who has never read a P&L. The Finance Director will bring rigor, forecasting discipline, and drive the financial growth of our $50M+ combined Portfolio revenue.

· Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field; MBA strongly preferred

· 8+ years of progressive finance experience, including at least 3-5 years in a senior finance role (Finance Director, VP Finance, Controller, or similar)

· Proven background serving as a Finance Director, Controller, or Senior Financial Manager within a for-profit, competitive market environment.

• Experience supporting a multi-unit, multi-location business (franchise, retail, restaurant, childcare/education, or similar people-heavy service model) with $50M+ in revenue and 20+ operating locations

• Demonstrated experience managing an outsourced, offshore, or shared-services accounting function

• Hands-on experience with M&A: financial due diligence, valuation, and post-acquisition integration

• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills; experience with accounting/ERP systems (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct) and BI or dashboarding tools

• Track record of driving measurable EBITDA or margin improvement in a prior role

• Experience in franchise operations, private-equity-backed businesses, or education/childcare is a strong plus

• Financial Analysis & Reporting

o Own the monthly and quarterly financial reporting package across 20+ locations, including consolidated and location-level P&L analysis

o Identify variances, trends, and root causes; translate findings into clear recommendations for leadership

o Build and maintain KPI dashboards (revenue per center, labor %, EBITDA margin, enrollment/occupancy, tuition trends)

• EBITDA & Profitability

o Lead initiatives that grow EBITDA across the portfolio, from pricing and labor efficiency to vendor and cost management

o Partner directly with operations and center leadership on the levers that move margin

o Benchmark center performance against the rest of the portfolio and against industry standards

• Cash Flow Forecasting & Liquidity

o Own rolling cash flow forecasting across all entities, including seasonality specific to childcare enrollment cycles

o Monitor working capital, AR/AP, and debt covenant compliance

o Support banking relationships, loan draws, and lender reporting requirements

• Acquisitions & Growth

o Lead financial due diligence on new acquisition targets, including quality-of-earnings review and deal-specific risk assessment

o Build acquisition and integration models: valuation, pro forma P&L, synergy and payback analysis

o Present clear, well-supported recommendations to ownership/leadership to inform go/no-go decisions

• Outsourced Accounting Team Management (India)

o Own the working relationship with the outsourced accounting/bookkeeping team based in India

o Set and enforce a monthly close calendar and SLAs so financials are delivered accurately and on time every month

o Review outputs for accuracy and completeness; train and guide the offshore team on company-specific chart of accounts, processes, and reporting standards

o Serve as the escalation point for accounting issues and drive continuous process improvement

• Financial Education & Business Partnering

o Translate financial data into plain, actionable language for Center Directors, franchisees, and field leaders who have little to no finance background

o Build simple, recurring tools (one-pagers, dashboards, short trainings) that build financial literacy across the operating team

o Lead recurring finance review meetings, walking non-finance stakeholders through their numbers in an approachable, teaching-oriented style rather than a technical one

• Compliance, Risk Management & Internal Controls

o Guarantee absolute adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), statutory requirements, and local/corporate tax laws.

o Establish, monitor, and enforce robust internal control structures to safeguard assets and prevent corporate fraud.

o Evaluate and mitigate corporate financial risks, managing commercial insurance policies and credit lines.

The Learning Experience

At The Learning Experience, we make early education joyful, engaging and fun so children are happy to learn, play and grow.

Our curriculum focuses on the six ages and stages of early childhood development and engages children in hands-on learning activities that encourage them to explore and solve problems at their own rate of development. This forms a foundation for kids to Learn, Play and Grow under the care of our nurturing teachers and staff.

At TLE®, we’ve created a full cast of characters that become our little learners’ educators, partners and friends through their preschool education journey. Each character has a unique personality and area of interest and brings learning to life by allowing children to explore the world through fun and imagination.