Director of Financial Planning and Budget Operations (Immediate Opening)

Director of Financial Planning and Budget Operations 

Role Mission:  

The Finance Team strives to support leadership at IDEA as we work together to meet and exceed our ambitious financial and student achievement goals. As the Director of Financial Planning & Budget Operations, you will serve as a key financial partner, providing actionable insights, financial discipline, and performance visibility to help leaders effectively manage resources and achieve strategic priorities supporting long-term sustainability.  

Supervisory Responsibilities:  

• Lead and develop a team focused on financial analysis, forecasting, and performance management, establishing clear priorities, workflows, and quality standards for all FP&A deliverables  
• This role is focused on analysis and performance management, working closely with the Financial Planning team to ensure strong coordination and alignment across budgets, forecasts, and actual results  
• Support budget development and ongoing financial management by providing analysis, validation, and quality control on key assumptions and outputs  
• Lead forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reviews, ensuring clear visibility into performance, drivers, and required actions  
• Apply strong technical skills to analyze financial data, evaluate assumptions, and build targeted models/analyses as needed to support decision-making  
• Partner with Accounting to maintain alignment between reported financials and budget structures, ensuring accurate and transparent reporting  
• Establish and uphold standards for financial discipline, reporting quality, and performance management across the organization  
• Monitor key drivers including staffing, compensation, and spending trends, and provide actionable insights  
• Train and support stakeholders in understanding financial performance and effectively managing their budgets  
• Establish and reinforce standard approaches for financial analysis, forecasting assumptions, and decision support to ensure consistency and quality across the organization  

Location:  

This is a full-time remote position based in Texas, with preference given to candidates who live in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa), Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Tarrant County (Fort Worth), or who are willing to relocate. 

Travel Expectations:       

Up to 20% of the time during the busiest parts of the year.    

What You’ll Do – Accountabilities  

Essential Duties:  

• Lead monthly and annual forecasting processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and clear communication of changes  

• Perform and deliver variance analysis tools with actionable insights and support  

• Support and facilitate financial performance updates to supervisor, highlighting risks, opportunities, and recommended actions  

• Partner with the Financial Planning team during the annual budgeting process, providing analytical support, assumptions validation, and quality control  

• Monitor financial performance across departments, including spending trends, cost drivers, and staffing impacts  

• Provide visibility into financial risks and opportunities, recommending proactive adjustments  

• Recommend and support financial decisions and tradeoffs, ensuring alignment with budget constraints, organizational priorities, and long-term sustainability  

• Evaluate existing forecasting and planning methodologies and recommend enhancements to improve accuracy, efficiency, and decision support  

• Ensure consistent and accurate linkage between budgets, forecasts, and actual financial results  

• Translate financial data into clear, actionable insights for non-financial leaders  

• Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders, helping them understand performance and manage tradeoffs  

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:  

• Develop and maintain standard reporting packages, dashboards, and KPIs to track financial performance  

• Improve variance analysis and forecasting methodologies to increase reliability and usability  

• Identify and implement process improvements across FP&A workflows to enhance consistency, efficiency, and quality of financial planning and analysis outputs  

• Strengthen organizational capability in financial literacy and performance management  

• Support cross-functional initiatives requiring financial analysis and evaluation  

• Ensure consistency and quality across financial reporting outputs  

• Additional Duties as assigned.  

Knowledge and Skills – Competencies  

• Make Strategic Decisions: This team member uses data and trends to drive decisions that impact multiple teams, while anticipating risks and planning contingencies for key initiatives. They apply strategic frameworks to clarify challenges and guide coherent action, and they actively support others in strengthening their strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities. 

• Manage Work and Teams: This team member builds and maintains systems to track progress toward team goals, ensuring clarity through defined roles and responsibilities. They implement structured processes that support smooth team operations and strategically allocate time and resources to drive goal achievement. 

• Grow Self and Others: This team member identifies development needs across multiple groups and integrates them into broader strategic plans. They create structures that support ongoing growth, engage in succession planning, and continuously refine development strategies based on outcomes and data. Through this work, they foster a culture where continuous learning is a core part of daily work and leadership. 

• Build a Culture of Trust: This team member builds trust and drives positive engagement across multiple groups, as reflected in strong feedback and survey results. They proactively address concerns, model transparency and authenticity, and foster collaboration through open, honest communication and shared ownership. 

• Communicate Deliberately: This team member communicates a clear and compelling vision that aligns team efforts with organizational goals. They proactively identify and address communication gaps across workstreams, implementing solutions to enhance coordination, while anticipating and resolving stakeholder concerns before they surface. 

Additional Skills:  

• Advanced financial modeling and forecasting skills.  

• Strong proficiency in Excel, financial planning tools, and data analysis platforms.  

• Experience developing driver-based forecasting models, scenario analyses, and multi-year financial projections.  

• Ability to synthesize complex financial data into actionable recommendations for executive and operational leaders.  

• Strong understanding of budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, financial reporting, and performance management practices.  

• Experience working with large datasets and translating financial results into meaningful business insights.  

Required Education and Experience:  

• Bachelor’s Degree in business administration, public/non-profit administration, accounting, finance, economics or related field     

Preferred Education and Experience:   

• Master’s degree or higher in business administration, public/non-profit administration, accounting, finance, economics or related field preferred   

Physical Requirements:  

• This is a sedentary position.  

• The ability to move safely over uneven terrain or in confined spaces  

• The ability to see and respond to dangerous situations  

What We Offer: 
Compensation & Benefits: 

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $108,100 and $128,600, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity. This role is also eligible for performance pay based on organizational performance and goal attainment. 

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, and vision plans, disability, life insurance, parenting benefits, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, referral bonuses, professional development, and a 403(b) plan. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/. 

* IDEA may offer a relocation stipend to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable. 

Application process:  

Submit your application online through Jobvite. Please note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible. 

Learn more about IDEA  

At IDEA the Staff Experience Team uses our Core Values to promote human connection and a culture of integrity, respect, and belonging for all Team and Family members.  Learn more about our Commitment to Core Values here: https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/#core-values