Director of Finance - Third Future Schools

About Third Future Schools

Third Future Schools is a public charter school organization operating 26 schools serving more than 10,000 students across Colorado, Texas, and Louisiana, with an annual operating budget exceeding $200 million. Third Future works with communities and districts to deliver strong academic outcomes through rigorous instruction, personalized learning, and high expectations.

Founded in 2016, Third Future prepares students for the world of 2035 by developing competencies such as critical thinking, problem solving, information literacy, and communication.

Why Now?

After a period of rapid growth, Third Future is investing in the talent, systems, financial strategy, and management practices required for long-term sustainability and continued success. The Director of Finance will help school, regional and national leaders strengthen financial planning, visibility, strategy, and decision-making, working within a coordinated network-wide finance function.

Why Join This Team?

• Shape financial management and sustainability for Third Future’s schools within a $200M+ multi-state network.
• Partner closely with school and regional leaders, as well as the Vice President of Finance, on financial strategy, annual budgeting, and ongoing resource-allocation decisions.
• Build practical financial models, forecasts, and management reporting that improve decisions.
• Help create lasting financial infrastructure in service of student outcomes.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President of Finance, the Director of Finance leads financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and financial performance management for Third Future’s schools and regional operations. The Director serves as a trusted financial partner to school and regional leaders, translating complex data into clear decisions and supporting the network’s financial sustainability goals. Working closely with the Vice President of Finance and Controller, the Director helps ensure plans and management reporting are grounded in accurate accounting results and consistent network-wide practices.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting

• Lead school and regional budgeting in coordination with the Vice President of Finance; develop recurring forecasts and partner with budget owners to assess assumptions and performance.
• Build and maintain school- and region-level financial models incorporating enrollment, staffing, revenue, expenses, and cash flow; evaluate scenarios and practical responses to risks.
• Establish consistent budget-to-actual reviews, variance explanations, and action plans that support timely decisions by school and regional leaders.

Financial Health, Sustainability and Strategy

• Maintain multi-year financial outlooks for schools and the regions, identifying the drivers of financial health and supporting the network-wide sustainability strategy.
• Develop cash-flow projections and identify liquidity and timing risks, coordinating with the Vice President of Finance on network-wide treasury and cash management.
• Analyze resource allocation, staffing, program investments, and potential school transitions or expansion; present clear tradeoffs and recommendations.

Financial Reporting & Decision Support

• Provide clear, timely school- and region-level management reporting and financial insights to the Vice President of Finance and relevant operational and school leaders.
• Develop meaningful financial performance indicators and regular review routines with school and regional budget owners; highlight trends, risks, and decisions requiring action.
• Coordinate with the Controller to reconcile management analysis to accurate accounting results, and support inputs to required external reporting and covenant monitoring as requested.

Team Leadership, Systems and Partnership

• Support and supervise regional finance staff; establish clear expectations, strong service to school leaders, and accountability for financial management routines.
• Improve forecasting models, dashboards, data quality, and planning processes while aligning tools and definitions with network-wide standards.
• Build trusted partnerships with school, academic, and operations leaders, the Vice President of Finance, and central finance; communicate financial issues to non-financial audiences.

What We’re Looking For

Required Experience and Capabilities

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, business, mathematics, or related field; approximately 8+ years of relevant finance experience, including financial planning and analysis.
• Advanced Excel and financial-modeling skills, with demonstrated experience leading budgets, forecasts, scenario analysis, and management reporting.
• Strong analytical judgment, clear executive-level communication, and ability to influence and support leaders with varying degrees of financial experience.
• Experience supporting financial decisions in a complex, multi-site or multi-entity organization; ability to balance strategic analysis with hands-on execution.
• Collaborative leadership, comfort navigating change, and commitment to Third Future’s mission.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in education, charter schools, nonprofit organizations, or another distributed, service-intensive organization.
• Public education and/or charter finance, school-level unit economics, regional budgeting, liquidity forecasting, and long-term sustainability modeling.
• Experience with financial planning systems, reporting tools, Sage Intacct or comparable ERP; graduate degree in a related field.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary range: $120,000–$150,000, commensurate with experience. Third Future offers medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement benefits, paid time off, professional development support, and remote work, with a preference for candidates based near Third Future schools in the Denver metropolitan area, Baton Rouge, or Texas; Travel to schools and regions as needed. Benefit details are subject to confirmation.

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Pay: $120,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year

Benefits

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Denver, CO 80202