Lead Finance Operations

We are seeking a strategic, project-driven, and highly analytical Senior Specialist, Finance Operations to manage, modernize, and elevate our company's financial obligations and operational workflows. This role transitions from standard transactional processing to high-level departmental oversight, focusing on maximizing end-to-end efficiency, championing artificial intelligence and automation innovations, and optimizing the comprehensive monthly closing process.

The ideal candidate is a proactive problem-solver who pairs deep technical and accounting proficiency with a collaborative leadership mindset to guide the finance operations team toward "best-in-class" performance leveraging modern AI tools.

Process & AI Innovation: Identify, evaluate, and implement pioneering ideas and AI-driven solutions (such as Intelligent Document Processing, smart matching systems, and automated workflows) to streamline the entire invoice-to-pay lifecycle and enhance overall departmental efficiency.

High-Level Accounts Payable & Invoice Management: Oversee the review, coding, and processing of high-volume vendor invoices, ensuring total precision, utilizing automated validation tools, and securing proper internal departmental approvals.

Strategic Cash & Payment Execution: Manage and optimize weekly payment runs via ACH, wire transfers, and checks to balance cash flow priorities with strong vendor relationships.

Advanced Reconciliations: Direct monthly vendor statement reconciliations and spearhead the resolution of complex discrepancies or past-due balances across all operating accounts.

Compliance, Audit, & Data Integrity: Direct the maintenance of secure digital and physical financial records to ensure rigorous data integrity. Manage 1099 filings, ensure total accuracy in AI-driven data extraction, and lead annual audit preparations.

Stakeholder Communication & Leadership: Serve as the primary senior point of contact for complex vendor inquiries and internal departmental billing strategy, while mentoring and leading the day-to-day work of the finance team.

- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.

- 5+ years of progressive experience in Accounts Payable, operational accounting, or finance operations.

- Demonstrated success leading or contributing to finance transformation initiatives, including process redesign, system implementation, or automation efforts.

- Experience working in complex, high-volume environments where accuracy, speed, and compliance are critical.

- Advanced Excel proficiency (e.g., PivotTables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, data modeling, and reconciliation).

- Hands-on experience with enterprise financial systems such as NetSuite, SAP, Workday, Coupa, Zip, or similar ERP/procurement platforms.

- Exposure to or strong interest in modern AP automation tools, including OCR-based invoice processing, intelligent matching engines, and workflow automation solutions.

- Comfortable working with data to diagnose issues, improve processes, and support decision-making.

- Exceptional organizational skills with a proven ability to manage competing priorities in deadline-driven environments.

- Meticulous attention to detail, especially in financial reconciliation, reporting, and compliance-related work.

- Strong ownership mindset with the ability to independently drive projects from ambiguity to execution.

- Natural problem-solver who actively identifies inefficiencies and implements scalable, technology-enabled solutions.

- Clear, confident communicator who can influence and collaborate across finance, operations, HR, and school leadership teams.