Director, Finance

Job Description

Working at Teach For India: Teach For India is on a journey to reach an India free of poverty and filled with love by ending educational inequity in our country. Fifteen years into our journey we are a movement of ~5000+ Alumni working at all levels of the education system, who are reaching 1 in 10 children across the country. These Alumni have graduated from our two-year Fellowship Program where they taught in under-resourced classrooms to put ~33,500 low-income children on a different life path. Today, we have ~1000 Fellows and are the largest pipeline of driven, skilled talent into the educational ecosystem in India. Over 16,000 Teach For India students have appeared for the 10th grade board examinations till date, with an impressive 95% pass rate across cities as of November 2024. In 2022, we embarked on Phase 4 , our fourth strategic phase. We have a bold and ambitious ten-year journey ahead of us that aims to grow 50,000 leaders , who will work collectively , and with love , to transform the lives of 1 in 10 low-income children in our regions , through an education that unleashes the potential of self, others and India . In this decade, five key priorities will lead us to this vision. What Teach For India Can Offer You: The opportunity to be part of one of the most established and visionary movements in the education sector in India which is at a pivotal point in terms of expanding its scale and outreach across the nation and working with changemakers across the country. A challenging yet flexible workplace in which every individual employee’s Staff journey is tracked for excellence and leadership development. A work environment in which employees’ holistic well-being is a core priority, enabling people to be their best selves. Access to connections and resources from the global Teach For All network that includes partner organizations spanning 50+ countries across 6 continents. Remuneration that is competitive within the top quartile of the Indian NGO pay scales, and a benefits package that includes extensive medical insurance and maternity coverage for both parents. Position Summary: Reporting to : Senior Director, Impact & Operations Directly Managing: Senior Manager, Finance Role Overview: The Director, Finance will anchor the financial strategy, governance, and compliance for Teach For India, serving as a key strategic leader and thought partner to the CFO, Senior Director (Impact & Operations), and the broader Leadership Team. This role will drive financial excellence across the organization by ensuring robust systems, insightful reporting, and strong donor and regulatory compliance. Working closely with cross-functional teams, the Finance Committee, and external stakeholders, the Director will build a service-driven finance function that empowers teams, enhances transparency, and ensures our financial resources are used effectively in pursuit of our collective vision. The role will oversee core functions including accounting (NetSuite), budgeting, cash flow, financial reporting, FCRA, and systems integration, while continuously identifying opportunities for efficiency, risk mitigation, and long-term sustainability. Team Overview: The Finance team is the backbone of Teach For India’s operations, enabling all functions by driving financial efficiency, resourcefulness, and compliance. With a strong focus on continuous improvement, the team sets high standards in operational excellence while building meaningful relationships with both internal teams and external stakeholders. The Director, Finance will lead this function by directly managing a team comprising a Senior Manager and two Managers, and will report to the CFO or Senior Director (Impact & Operations). The Director will be responsible for overseeing all core Finance activities, including MIS, cash flow management, FCRA compliance, and timely financial closures. Responsibilities: As the Director, Finance; responsibilities include: Team Management: Ensuring best cohesive work atmosphere while holding the bar of high performance, good work ethics and culture to make it a good place to give every team members’ best performance. Setting up and improve processes: Ensuring for the work being done includes good maker & checker and reporting processes as needed for the organization of our size. Systems integration and Reporting : Ensuring seamless MIS reporting from NetSuite and Donor reporting with proper integration between NetSuite and Salesforce. Also to explore possible automations in coming times to enable growth and improve efficiencies in the team. Overseeing performance of the Managers and team: Timely and accurate Budgeting Monthly Forecasting & MIS through NetSuite Income Accounting and Donor Reporting (incl. FCRA) Financial and Statutory Reporting Accounting accuracy & oversight Vendor payments Payroll Donations and other inflows Optimize cash management Compliances Board and Finance Committee meetings Legal matters Planning, Prioritization and effective communication: Ensuring proper planning of work for the Finance department and proper communication to the team and across functions to garner the right support for timely completion of assignments. Ensuring prioritization of open issues for timely and effective closure of matters. Effective communication of Finance team needs and achievements across other functional leaders and Sr management to build the recognition for the function across. Training, Communications and Technical Support: Maintaining communication with internal and external customers regarding financial matters; provide information and technical support to the Senior Manager and Managers in policies and regulatory matters, best practices and procedures, provide inputs on legal / compliance matters; train staff, coordinate, and/or overview of the team. Setting Team Culture and Vision for Operational Excellence: Driving the vision for operational excellence and plan effectively to meet that vision. Setting priorities and managing, directing and leading the vision and core culture of the team. Establishing systems for effective resource management while ensure good team bonding and cohesive working among the team members at all times. As a People Manager at Teach For India: Service-Oriented Approach: Shifting from a task-based mindset to a stakeholder-first approach, ensuring responsiveness and ownership. Stronger Communication: Improving visibility into finance operations and enhance proactive engagement with the organizati on. Purpose & Ground Connect: Encouraging finance team members to engage with fieldwork to understand the impact of their work and strengthen their connection to the mission. Process-Driven Operations : Enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness in financial processes through structured systems. Strong Leadership & Culture Building: Fostering a high-performance finance culture, emphasizing team development and professional growth. Building a robust pipeline of talent to lead the organization. Managing and coaching the team to ambitious outcomes. Driving engagement, growth, and retention of team members. Engineering and overseeing a monitoring and evaluation system , coupled with strategic direction, to guide our abilities to continuously improve. As a member of the Leadership team: Providing feedback on and playing a part in organizational decision making and long-term strategy as a member of the Leadership Team. Driving internal alignment and support for Teach For India’s core Programs. Serving as an ambassador of the Teach For India brand and an advocate for our work and for educational equity in our country through both internal and external communication. Supporting with key organizational areas such as Fundraising , Movement Building , Alumni Engagement. Minimum Qualifications, Experiences and Expectations: CA/MBA Finance from a reputed institute with minimum 15 years post qualification experience. 10 years of related professional experience in areas of financial analysis, accounting, working in the Social Sector will be preferred. Prior experience of working on NetSuite would be an added advantage. Experience in leading teams, managing budgets, strong stakeholder management skills and driving automation in finance processes. Belief that every single child deserves an excellent education and that every single child has the ability to be successful academically, despite their background. Exceptional written and oral communication skills in English. Strong analytical and leadership skills. Ability to have a clear vision and drive toward that vision. Demonstrated ability to pay attention to detail at all times and think critically. Demonstrated ability to build relationships, invest and motivate others to outcomes. Demonstrated ability to set up and implement processes and strictly follow timelines. Ability to work independently and work closely with a team and across teams and cities. Strong time management skills and flexibility in order to accommodate multiple projects simultaneously, with tight deadlines. Must be reliable, highly resourceful, trustworthy, maintain confidentiality of data and abide by the organization’s policies. Note: We want to hear your unique voice and perspectives through the process, hence all applicants are expected to personally author statements of purpose/essays in the application form. Sole use of AI or Chat-GPT based tools may lead to disqualification from the process. Show more Show less