Description

Aspire Public Schools NorCal — Senior Financial Analyst

Job Description 

About Aspire NorCal 

Founded in 1998, Aspire Public Schools has served scholars and communities across California for nearly three decades. With Aspire Los Angeles transitioning into an independent organization, the Bay Area and Central Valley regions are coming together to form Aspire NorCal, operating 22 schools serving approximately 10,000 scholars across Northern California (Oakland, Richmond, East Palo Alto, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, and Ceres). 

This evolution comes at an important moment for Aspire. Changes in California’s funding, policy, enrollment, and operating environment have created an opportunity to rethink how the organization supports its schools and scholars in its next chapter. The formation of Aspire NorCal creates an opportunity to strengthen support for schools across teams previously organized by geography, improve the consistency and effectiveness of school support, and create clear accountability systems for organizational and scholar outcomes. The new model will require the organization to balance greater coherence across Aspire NorCal with responsiveness to the different communities and contexts of its schools. 

Aspire NorCal enters this transition with a long-standing mission focused on post-secondary success and a deep commitment to educational equity, along with decades of institutional knowledge across its schools and teams. Preserving those strengths while building Aspire NorCal as a unified region will be central to the work ahead. 

About the role 

The Senior Financial Analyst provides financial analysis, tracking, and projections for assigned Aspire school sites. The role prepares and tracks multiple budgets for restricted and unrestricted funds, understands program and project spending fluctuations, guides school sites on fiscal management, and prepares financial and compliance reporting documents.

The Senior Financial Analyst also provides team leadership and oversight for the budgeting and reporting system, including administration, training, and further development.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare annual budget and forecast updates for assigned Aspire school sites, and facilitate regular school site budget and forecast update meetings.

• Facilitate regular school and regional site budget and forecast update meetings for assigned Aspire sites

• Work with School Leaders, Instructional Leaders, and Finance and Accounting team members on monthly and quarterly close, interim and year-end financial reports, and monthly forecasts (P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow) with variance analysis; make recommendations that support financial sustainability and school programming.

• Perform financial support work in an accurate and efficient manner, including attendance reporting, interim reporting, reclasses, and year-end preparation.

• Track, report, and analyze financial data related to the nutrition program and overall grant funding.

• Prepare budget projections for new sites, including scenario analysis; ensure maximization of the use of restricted funding for each school.

• Analyze spending trends across schools to identify best practices and efficiencies, and share findings with the Finance team.

• Perform ad hoc financial analyses requested by the CFO, Director of Finance, Instructional Leaders, and School Leaders.

• Prepare school sites for year-end audit and comply with local, state, and federal reporting deadlines with charter authorizers and the California Department of Education.

• Demonstrate knowledge of, and support, the Aspire Public Schools mission, vision, and values, including antiracism, and uphold confidentiality standards and the code of ethical behavior.

• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.

• Support the new Service Level Agreement (SLA) under which Aspire NorCal will provide finance, accounting, and payroll services to Aspire LA.

Qualifications 

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance.

Experience

• Minimum of 3 years of accounting and/or financial analysis experience.

• Experience in K-12 public education, non-profit, or government sector.

• Proficiency with budgeting and reporting systems; Adaptive Insights experience and/or ability to learn.

Skills and competencies

• Proven ability to provide timely, meaningful financial analysis in a dynamic, high-growth environment, and to clearly communicate complex financial concepts to non-financial leaders.

• Deep knowledge of accounting, especially K-12 and/or non-profit, and of restricted and unrestricted charter school revenue sources.

• Strong Excel skills and financial modeling; proficiency with multiple accounting software packages and flexibility to learn new ones.

• Excellent organizational, time management, and follow-up skills; ability to meet deadlines under pressure with a high degree of accuracy.

• Strong client communication and interpersonal skills; strong attention to detail.

Compensation and benefits

The salary range for this role is $84,564 to $108,556 annually in accordance with our salary schedule policy, commensurate with experience. This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Eligible for Aspire health benefits

• Retirement through CalSTRS or CalPERS, depending on the role's credential requirements, with a 403(b) option

• Paid time off and additional teammate benefits to be determined in accordance with updated employee value proposition to be shared prior to offer.  

Aspire NorCal is conducting a comprehensive study of our employee value proposition, which could lead to material changes in July 2027.

Location and work arrangement

• Work location and in-person expectations for this role are being finalized as part of our broader NorCal planning. We will share clarity with candidates in the coming weeks

Aspire NorCal expects to provide Finance, Accounting, Payroll, and Retirement services to Aspire LA under a multi-year service agreement, and part of this department’s budget is expected to depend on that agreement.  If the agreement is not finalized, is not renewed, or ends early, Aspire NorCal may reduce the department’s size accordingly, and any position in the departments listed above may be impacted.  Employment with Aspire is at-will 

Application Deadline: November 20, 2026.

Equal opportunity 

Aspire Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Aspire Public Schools provides reasonable accommodations during the application and interview process.

Disclaimer

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.