Vice President of Finance & Operations

Description

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Direct reports: Director of Finance; Director of Event Operations; Director of Administration and Operations

Location: Houston, TX – hybrid

Job Status: Full time, Exempt

Organization Overview

EMERGE is building the next generation of leaders. We support high-achieving students from low-income communities to access and succeed at the nation's most selective colleges and universities, unlocking talent that will shape industries, communities, and the country for decades to come. Founded in 2010 in Houston, TX, EMERGE has grown from serving 14 students across four high schools to reaching more than 3,000 scholars across a dozen school districts and more than 100 selective colleges and universities across the country.

Under new executive leadership, EMERGE is entering a new chapter. The organization is strengthening its operational foundation, investing in senior talent, diversifying its revenue model, and positioning itself as the leading national platform for identifying and developing exceptional talent from income-constrained communities.

Requirements

Position Overview

The Vice President of Finance & Operations is a member of the executive leadership team and one of four Vice Presidents reporting to the CEO. This leader is responsible for the financial and operational foundation of EMERGE: our financial strategy and management, risk and compliance, technology and infrastructure, employment administration, and the shared services the whole organization depends on.

This is a build role at a defining moment. EMERGE is developing a three-year strategic plan, diversifying its revenue model, and investing in the senior talent and systems that will carry the organization into its next chapter. The VP of Finance & Operations owns the financial architecture behind that plan: the multi-year model, the unit economics of our delivery tiers, and the scenario planning that lets leadership and the board make confident decisions about growth. The VP also owns the infrastructure roadmap that makes a growing organization run well: technology, contracts, policies, and administrative systems that scale with us.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Strategy and Planning

• Build and own EMERGE's multi-year cash flow model and embed scenario planning as annual practice
• Establish unit economics by delivery tier (Premier, Partner, EMERGE Everywhere) and a working cost model that can answer what it would cost to serve more scholars, serve them differently, or expand to a new market
• Own the annual budget process end to end and hold the organization's financial guardrails: the program-to-overhead allocation, cash reserves, forecast accuracy, and the spend-release gates that tie expense to secured revenue
• Produce the financial model, pricing, and cost-to-serve analysis that the three-year strategic plan and the earned-revenue strategy are built on, in partnership with the CEO and the Managing Director of Data & Impact

Financial Management, Controls, and Board Finance

• Lead the Director of Finance and the outsourced accounting, audit, and tax partners to deliver a timely monthly close, a clean audit, and internal controls that are well documented and consistently followed
• Adopt and roll out spending and financial policy, including approval thresholds and delegated authority, and ensure every budget manager is trained on it
• Staff the Finance Committee and own the financial narrative to the board: reporting at the right altitude for each audience, variance explanations, and the recommendations that come with them
• Own the interfaces that make the numbers trustworthy: monthly reconciliation with Development, grant financial reporting on funders' schedules, earned-revenue billing and receivables, and district contract invoicing

Risk, Legal, and Compliance

• Serve as EMERGE's risk owner: direct the risk register, insurance program, and compliance calendar (maintained by the Director of Finance), ensure regulatory and filing obligations are met, and bring material risks to the CEO and board early
• Set the standard for a contract management system: every contract inventoried with an owner and renewal date, standard templates in use, and consistent execution across departments (maintained by the Director of Administration)
• Manage outside counsel and legal matters specific to financial, audit, and funder agreements; general vendor contracts and people-related legal matters are owned by the VP of Impact and People

Technology, Infrastructure, and Administration

• Lead an operational assessment in the first 90 days and set the infrastructure roadmap, including technology vendor strategy, document management, and standardized onboarding and offboarding
• Set the standard for the technology stack. Every core system has a named owner, a support path, and a maintenance rhythm, with day-to-day system access and maintenance owned by the Dir of Administration
• Own the IT vendor relationship and contract terms; day-to-day IT support requests are owned by the Dir of Administration
• Set policy and strategy for employment administration; execution (payroll, benefits, HRIS, filings, handbook) is owned by the Director of Administration
• Set the documented standard for onboarding and offboarding operations, in partnership with the VP of Impact and People, who owns the onboarding experience and all people strategy; execution is owned by the Director of Administration
• Own the facilities budget and key vendor relationships; day-to-day facilities operations, the building relationship, and board meeting logistics are owned by the Dir of Administration

Shared Services and Team Leadership

• Lead Event Operations as one shared service with a fixed, deliverable portfolio: hold the standards for intensity levels and lead times, and make the portfolio-level tradeoffs when a request from one department would displace another
• Be a partner program and development staff bring problems to early: someone who finds the way to yes within the rules and gives a clear no when the rules require it
• Lead and develop the finance, events, and operations team, including two directors and outsourced partners
• Set clear expectations, build a team culture of documentation and follow-through, and sequence the work so the organization knows what gets built first and what waits

Qualifications and Skills

• 8+ years of progressive experience, including some senior leadership across finance and operations
• Has owned an organizational budget or P&L and presented financials to a finance committee or board without a CFO in the room; fluent in nonprofit accounting, restricted funds, audit, and cash management
• Track record of building operational infrastructure that outlasts its builder: controls, policies, contracts, technology, and administrative systems, with sound judgment on risk, compliance, and vendor relationships
• Experience leading and developing senior staff while remaining hands-on in a small, resource-constrained team
• Skilled at translating financial and operational information for non-financial audiences, including program staff, the CEO, and the board
• A partner to peers: able to hold standards and say no while keeping program and development leaders in the relationship
• Bachelor's degree required; CPA, MBA, or equivalent finance credential strongly preferred
• Deep commitment to EMERGE's mission and to the scholars we serve

What We Offer

• Salary range: $160,000 – $175,000, commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability and life insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match
• 27 paid time off days plus 18 organizational holidays
• The opportunity to build and lead the financial and operational foundation of a nationally recognized organization during a defining chapter

If interested in the role please reach out to HR@emergescholars.org