Chief Financial Officer

Job Description

ABOUT KHAN ACADEMY

Khan Academy is a nonprofit organization on a mission to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. We already reach millions of students every month and are growing rapidly, and right now we’re hard at work helping learners address any unfinished learning that the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused. We also know that not all communities have been impacted equally by this pandemic, which makes our work focusing on providing equitable solutions to historically under-resourced communities even more important.

WE ARE DRIVEN BY OUR COMMUNITY

Our students, teachers, and parents come from all walks of life and so do we. We are fun, diverse, quirky people that come from a variety of backgrounds. Our team includes people from academia and from high tech companies and tiny startups. We hire great people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. Valuing diversity, equity and inclusion is necessary for us to actualize our mission and truly impact the communities we serve. We believe that the best way to provide impactful education is to create a diverse team of people from different backgrounds, races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, ages, and experiences. We’re a hardworking team that’s passionate about helping learners and teachers around the globe! We strive to be world class in investing in our people and commit to developing you as a professional.

THE ROLE

Khan Academy is on a mission to change the world by offering a free world-class education to anyone, anywhere. In service to this great mission, we aspire to become a multi-generational institution that serves billions of learners across the world. It is with this aspiration that we are hiring a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) / VP of Finance as a critical thought leader to help take our organization to the next level by driving the fiscal sustainability and operational efficiency we need for our long-term success.

The CFO / VP of Finance is broadly responsible for all things related to financial stewardship and strategy at Khan Academy. You will lead a team of finance and accounting professionals, contribute at both hands-on and strategic levels, and partner with the cross-functional leadership team to promote our financial sustainability and ensure our financial model is aligned to our strategic plans. As the CFO / VP of Finance, you will provide:

Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a thought partner to the CEO, Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team on how to best use financial resources to achieve outcomes; support them in understanding how decisions impact the financial performance and sustainability of the organization.
• In alignment with the organization’s strategic plan, lead the development and oversight of a sustainable multi-year financial model that takes into account our current landscape and priorities; conduct contingency and scenario planning to inform decision-making.
• In partnership with the Chief People Officer, establish organization and compensation structures that align to Khan Academy’s talent vision and financial model while driving operational efficiencies.
• Build and maintain a strong financial foundation and lead continuous improvement across that foundation; make the finance function a strategic asset by building FP&A capability to provide leadership with insightful and actionable data to help the company achieve its goals.

Financial Management

• Champion financial excellence, establishing metrics, process, and controls for regular assessment and improvement.
• In collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, design and lead a transparent and inclusive annual budgeting and forecasting process.
• Create transparent, efficient, routine and accessible monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports for the board, CEO, and business leaders that define, track, and report progress on financial health and sustainability metrics and also allow leadership to maintain a consistent picture of financial performance.
• Coordinate with the Chief External Relations Officer on revenue projections, reporting and budgets for philanthropic donations and earned revenue.

Accounting

• Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, monthly close and other general ledger transactions and payroll and benefits administration.
• Oversee annual financial audit, ensuring strong fiscal management and financial controls throughout the year as well as efficient and effective audit preparations.
• Establish, communicate and manage strong financial controls and ensure accounting policies and procedures are well documented.
• Oversee treasury functions, including managing investments and reserves; ensure consistency and alignment with Board-approved investment policy.

Team Leadership

• Build and support a world-class finance organization; lead, develop, and retain a team of financial professionals that can achieve goals aligned with our strategic priorities.
• Coach, manage and oversee the finance team in core financial functions, including: budgeting, accounting, capital planning, business planning and reporting. Oversee monthly and quarterly reporting processes culminating in a clean annual audit.
• Incorporate an exceptional customer service orientation, mission mindset and spirit of excellence into all aspects of financial operations.

WHAT YOU BRING

• A strong connection to the mission and vision of Khan Academy, a deep connection to the product, and the tenacity to see our mission fulfilled.
• 10+ years full time experience in a financial leadership role at a fast-paced SaaS and /or B2B technology company (3+ years experience in a financial leadership role in non-profit or K-12 education is a plus).
• Proven track record of being an operationally-oriented executive with exceptional FP&A skill set and an analytical, intellectually-curious mindset.
• Strong problem-solving and creative skills with the ability to translate complex financial information into accessible and transparent reporting across the organization to drive decision-making and resource choices.
• Proven experience in creating real-time reporting, forecasting, and actionable KPIs, leveraging sophisticated financial systems and modeling.
• Strong team player with excellent customer service orientation; ability to communicate, influence and build consensus across diverse stakeholder groups with self-confidence.
• Record of results managing both the big picture and the details of financial performance.

PERKS AND BENEFITS

We may be a non-profit, but we reward our talented team extremely well!

• Competitive salaries
• Ample paid time off as needed – we are about getting things done, not face time
• Generous parental leave
• A fun, high-caliber team that trusts you and gives you the freedom to be brilliant
• The ability to put your talents towards a deeply meaningful mission and the opportunity to work on high-impact products that are already defining the future of education
• Affinity groups where Parents, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Women and Gender Minorities, and LGBTQIA+ identified folks come together
• And we offer all those other typical benefits as well: 401(k) + 4% matching & comprehensive insurance including medical, dental, vision, and life

MORE ABOUT US

• Sal’s TED talk from 2011
• Sal’s TED talk from 2015
• Our team: http://www.khanacademy.org/about/the-team

OUR COMPANY VALUES

Live & breathe learners

We deeply understand and empathize with our users. We leverage user insights, research, and experience to build content, products, services, and experiences that our users trust and love. Our success is defined by the success of our learners and educators.

Take a stand

As a company, we have conviction in our aspirational point of view of how education will evolve. The work we do is in service to moving towards that point of view. However, we also listen, learn and flex in the face of new data, and commit to evolving this point of view as the industry and our users evolve.

Embrace diverse perspectives

We are a diverse community. We seek out and embrace a diversity of voices, perspectives and life experiences leading to stronger, more inclusive teams and better outcomes. As individuals, we are committed to bringing up tough topics and leaning into different points of view with curiosity. We actively listen, learn and collaborate to gain a shared understanding. When a decision is made, we commit to moving forward as a united team.

Work responsibly and sustainably

We understand that achieving our audacious mission is a marathon, so we set realistic timelines and we focus on delivery that also links to the bigger picture. As a non-profit, we are supported by the generosity of donors as well as strategic partners, and understand our responsibility to our finite resources. We spend every dollar as though it were our own. We are responsible for the impact we have on the world and to each other. We ensure our team and company stay healthy and financially sustainable.

Bring out the joy

We are committed to making learning a joyful process. This informs what we build for our users and the culture we co-create with our teammates, partners and donors.

Cultivate learning mindset

We believe in the power of growth for learners and for ourselves. We constantly learn and teach to improve our offerings, ourselves, and our organization. We learn from our mistakes and aren’t afraid to fail. We don't let past failures or successes stop us from taking future bold action and achieving our goals.

Deliver wow

We insist on high standards and deliver delightful, effective end-to-end experiences that our users can rely on. We choose to focus on fewer things — each of which aligns to our ambitious vision — so we can deliver high-quality experiences that accelerate positive measurable learning with our strategic partners.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, or Veteran status. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we encourage candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply.