Senior Director, Finance

Senior Director, Finance ABOUT US UpStart accelerates growth, nurtures ideas, and advances new experiences for the Jewish community by connecting impact-driven entrepreneurs to expertise, community, and capital. UpStart was founded over fifteen years ago with a sole focus: to accelerate the success of social entrepreneurs fueling a renaissance in Jewish life. Since then, we have invested in hundreds of ventures and their leaders while cultivating an ecosystem of institutional leaders and funders committed to Jewish community change. INCLUSIVE HIRING COMMITMENT UpStart is powered by Jewish wisdom, ethics, and values. We believe these elements of Judaism help shape diverse, inclusive, equitable, and vibrant communities. As such, we aspire to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem that models a future that is more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just. Statistics show that women and structurally marginalized and/or underrepresented groups of people need to see themselves in almost 100% of the requirements in a job posting to apply. We welcome you to apply even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, as no one applicant ever does. UpStart strongly encourages applications from individuals with varied identities and backgrounds, including people of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQIA people, and people who come from low-income or working-class backgrounds. As an equal opportunity employer, all individuals are encouraged to apply without regard to race, color, religion, age, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, genetic information, medical condition, veteran status, or any other class protected under federal, state, or local laws. POSITION SUMMARY UpStart seeks a Senior Director, Finance to serve as the organization's senior finance leader. They will hold full ownership and direct accountability for the accuracy, integrity, and compliance of UpStart's financial reporting, including the month-end close process, annual audit, board and Finance Committee reporting, and financial controls environment. An external accounting firm performs day-to-day transaction processing and bookkeeping, and this role is responsible for overseeing, reviewing, and holding that firm accountable. This role will report to the CEO and work closely with the Finance Committee as its primary staff resource, as well as with the Deputy CEO on organizational strategy and the Managing Director, Operations & Systems on operational execution. This role is expected to travel up to 3 times a year for staff retreats and other events as needed. RESPONSIBILITIES Financial Reporting & Close Own the monthly close process end-to-end: direct the external bookkeeping firm’s close activities, review and approve all deliverables before they reach leadership, prepare variance commentary with explanations sufficient for board-level review, and obtain CEO sign-off on the final monthly package Prepare monthly and quarterly financial reporting packages for the Finance Committee and the full board Maintain grant-level financial tracking, including award receipt, net asset classification, expense drawdown against grant budgets, and timely release from restriction in accordance with donor intent Ensure financial statements are GAAP-compliant and audit-ready at all times, not only at year-end Prepare and review the annual Form 990 in coordination with the accounting firm; reconcile 990 figures to audited financials before filing, ensure Part VII compensation disclosures, Schedule B, and functional expense allocations are reviewed and signed off by the CEO prior to submission Audit & Compliance Own the annual audit process: manage the auditor relationship, prepare all PBC schedules, resolve open items, present findings to the Finance Committee, and coordinate execution of the management representation letter with the CEO Drive resolution of all prior-year audit findings with documented remediation evidence Maintain…