Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer 

Location:  Flexible within the United States

ABOUT ANET

Achievement Network (ANet) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping all students achieve strong educational outcomes. We partner with school and system leaders to strengthen teaching and learning through the strategic use of assessments, coaching, and tools that drive meaningful results. Individuals who join ANet become part of a dynamic, mission-driven, and collaborative organization focused on making a lasting impact in schools. We are committed to supporting one another and growing together as a team. 

OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial (CFO) will be a key strategic leader at ANet, responsible for enabling a healthy, inclusive, and high-performing organization. This executive will lead ANet’s People & Operations team—including Finance & Accounting, Legal, Talent, and TechX (Technology Experience)—to ensure the systems, people, and infrastructure are in place to accelerate our multi-year strategy.

The CFO will be counted on to drive cross-functional coherence, steward financial sustainability, and lead the modernization of ANet’s operational and talent systems. This is a high-leverage role that sits at the nexus of organizational strategy, enterprise risk management, and culture-building.

TRAVEL

Up to 4-5 times a year

RESPONSIBILITIES

Organizational Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and develop the People & Operations team, fostering strong leadership, team cohesion, and high performance across all departments
• Serve as primary staff liaison to the Board’s Finance & Audit Committees, shaping agendas, presenting enterprise health metrics, and engaging the Finance committee as thought partners in strategic decisions
• Serve as a peer thought partner across the senior leadership team, ensuring cross-functional coherence and aligned execution of the strategy, including coaching senior leaders on tradeoffs and resource stewardship
• Set enterprise-level priorities in partnership with the CEO, Senior Team, and Board, anchored in scenario planning for sustainability and impact
• Represent ANet externally as a senior leader with funders, strategic partners, and peer organizations on topics related to finance, operations, and organizational strategy
• Model and champion ANet’s values, building a strong culture of trust, accountability, and shared ownership

Talent & People Operations

• Set the strategic vision for ANet’s people strategy and talent systems, ensuring leaders across the org have the capabilities, structures, and resources to deliver on ANet’s goals
• Guide equitable, sustainable compensation, benefits, and people policies that reflect ANet’s core values and organizational health
• Lead efforts to define how AI and other tools can empower our people and increase workforce productivity while managing costs
• Partner with senior leaders to build a culture of performance, feedback, and learning  across the organization
• Set the strategic direction for ANet’s people policies and organizational practices to ensure they advance our mission, reflect our values, and meet all legal and regulatory standards. 
• Hold senior talent leaders accountable for delivering a consistently high-quality, equitable employee experience across the organization.

Operational Systems & Compliance

• Define the operational infrastructure needed for scale, and oversee its modernization and integration across departments
• Lead enterprise-wide efforts to streamline and standardize processes that promote efficiency, transparency, and impact
• Oversee legal risk management, compliance, and processes, ensuring that internal policies align with current regulations
• Strengthen internal data systems to improve cross-team workflows, knowledge management, and digital infrastructure
• Proactively identify and mitigate systemic organizational risks through robust internal controls and cross-functional planning

Strategic Finance & Risk Management

• Set the long-term financial strategy for ANet, ensuring multi-year planning aligns resources with organizational priorities and sustainability goals
• Oversee and coach the VP, Finance & Operations, in executing detailed financial modeling and scenario planning
• Maintain the enterprise-wide budgeting, forecasting, and risk management framework in partnership with the People and Operations team leadership 
• Annually audit internal systems and processes to ensure they produce timely, strategic insights for decision-making across the organization
• Direct the creation of multi-year financial models that balance investment, resilience, and risk, reviewing and refining outputs to facilitate alignment with ANet’s strategic direction
• Serve as the CEO’s lead strategic partner on resource allocation, providing data-driven insights and framing high-stakes tradeoffs for the senior leadership team and Board
• Define the key financial metrics and enterprise health indicators that drive strategic decisions

WHAT YOU BRING

Required Skills & Experience:

• 15+ years of experience, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role, or equivalent combination of education, training, and demonstrated success in managing large teams
• Executive leadership experience with progressive responsibility in both finance and people operations
• Ability to lead across finance, talent, and legal/compliance teams at an organizational level
• Experience with enterprise-wide operational planning, budgeting, and strategic execution
• Deep understanding of nonprofit or mission-driven business models, including funder and earned revenue dynamics

Preferred Qualifications:

• CPA or MBA (strongly preferred but not required)
• Prior CFO, COO, or similar executive experience at an organization of comparable scale and complexity
• Experience applying AI or emerging technologies in operational or workforce strategies
• Familiarity with the K–12 education sector, public sector environments, or nonprofit compliance structures

COMPETENCIES

In order to be successful in this role, candidates must demonstrate the following:

• Expertise in Area of Focus: Ability to align financial sustainability with impact, leading cross-org resource tradeoff decisions, and building systems that strengthen financial stewardship
• Critical Thinking & Data Orientation: Ability to use data to surface trends, guide strategic decisions, challenge assumptions, and lead others in applying insights to improve outcomes
• Communication: Ability to influence diverse audiences through clear, tailored communication; modeling active listening and building alignment across teams and stakeholders
• Planning and Prioritizing: Ability to make timely, strategic decisions with long-term vision; building systems for insight-driven decision-making and shared accountability
• Management: Ability to lead and develop a high-performing team, providing coaching, guidance, and resources to ensure alignment with organizational goals and the successful execution of key functions

Senior Leadership is expected to demonstrate continued growth in ANet’s leadership competencies:

• Change Management: Ability to design and execute complex change efforts with clarity and adaptability; inspiring buy-in and leading others through uncertainty
• Leads with Vision: Ability to define and communicate a compelling direction aligned with ANet’s multi-year strategy, ensuring coherence across teams and external partners
• Strategic Resource Management: Ability to make strategic decisions that improve the financials and impact of the organization overall

BENEFITS & COMPENSATION

We offer comprehensive benefits to best support our people. Benefits include: medical, dental and vision insurance where ANet pays a portion of the cost of these benefits for employees and their families/domestic partner; generous paid time-off including 10 paid holidays and paid days off between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays; paid parental leave; educational expenses reimbursements;  flexible spending accounts; professional development; a 401(k) plan with a 4% match; short and long-term disability coverage; and basic life and personal accident insurance. 

The salary range for this position is between $183,600 - $306,000. New hires will start between the range minimum and midpoint ($183,600 - $244,800) based on qualifications assessed during the hiring process, past experience, and internal equity. In order to uphold our commitment to transparent, equitable, competitive, and sustainable compensation, ANet does not negotiate pay.

APPLY

We are now accepting applications for this position through 5 pm ET on September 26, 2025. Please submit your application online. Learn more about the application process here.  

Internal Candidates:  If interested, please notify your manager of your interest and submit your application on ANet’s Career page. 

ANet is committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds and gender identities to apply to our positions.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.