Manager, Payments & Financial Operations

Base Pay $95,000.00 - $115,000.00 / Year Job Category Division: iteach, Employee Type: Full-Time Employee Type Full-Time Exempt Required Degree 4 Year Degree Manage Others Yes Contact information Description About K12 Coalition K12 Coalition provides products and services that help K-12 schools and teachers achieve transformational learning outcomes. We tackle many of today’s toughest education obstacles, including teacher certification, test preparation, professional learning, curriculum, consulting, and strategic planning. K12 Coalition came together when educators with deep experience as teachers, school leaders, and high-level district administrators observed a genuine need for something better. Our divisions include iteach, Passage Preparation, Professional Development Institute, Teaching Channel, Lavinia Group, and Keys to Literacy. About iteach iteach is a competency-based educator preparation program helping to fill the void the nation faces with the unprecedented teacher shortage. iteach offers state-approved educator preparation programs in multiple states, enabling recent graduates, career changers, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, and others to earn their educator licensure through an affordable, flexible, and fully online pathway. Notably, iteach was the first educator preparation program outside of an institution of higher education to earn accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Employment Type: Full-Time Exempt Location: This is an in-office role located in Denton, Texas. The Opportunity The Manager, Payments & Financial Operations leads the Payments team within iteach, a division of K12 Coalition, shaping the processes, team capabilities, and operating standards that support a growing educator preparation program. You’ll strengthen how iteach manages candidate payments, measures performance, and uses financial information to make decisions. This hands-on role combines financial expertise with people leadership. You’ll develop the skills of Customer Experience Specialists, Payments, while staying directly involved in accounts receivable, reconciliation, recurring billing, and collections. You’ll establish benchmarks and improve processes that reduce declined payments and help enrolled candidates establish and maintain their payment plans. You’ll also strengthen Salesforce payment data and reporting, ensuring iteach has reliable information to manage its payments business and provide inputs for Corporate Finance’s budgeting and forecasting work. What You’ll Do Lead & Develop the Payments Team Supervise, coach, and develop team members, building their understanding of payment processes, reconciliation, and accurate account management. Set performance expectations, balance workloads and deadline coverage, and participate in hiring, onboarding, and performance management. Establish clear procedures and make day-to-day decisions within company policies and approval limits, explaining decisions and escalating exceptions when needed. Manage Payments and Candidate Accounts Oversee and directly support payment plan setup, prepayment application, recurring payment runs, and related candidate notifications. Reconcile iteach payment records with merchant settlement reports, investigate differences, and coordinate corrections to transactions or candidate accounts. Direct collections activity, review payment arrangements, and coordinate third-party referrals in accordance with applicable requirements and company procedures. Resolve escalated billing disputes and financial hardship concerns with empathy, consistent policy application, and clear explanations of available options. Improve Payment Performance Establish and monitor measures for payment success, declined-payment recovery, past-due balances, account accuracy, and candidate response times. Review declined-payment activity daily, identify recurring causes, and improve payment setup, reminders, and follow-up to help candidates stay current. Recommend tools, staffing resources, and workflow changes based on payment trends, candidate needs, and team capacity. Report Results and Partner with Corporate Finance Prepare monthly reports on past-due balances, collections, and payment trends, checking that reported totals match the underlying payment and account records. Provide Corporate Finance with payment reports, reconciliations, and explanations of unusual activity to support month-end reporting. Supply payment trends and operational assumptions for Corporate Finance’s budgeting and forecasting work, and help investigate differences between expected and actual collections. Help iteach leaders understand payment results and related financial reports, partnering with Corporate Finance to answer questions and identify follow-up actions. Provide payment and receivables data to Program Directors and other iteach leaders to inform enrollment planning and operational decisions. Improve Salesforce Data and Reporting Own the ongoing accuracy and completeness of Salesforce payment and candidate account data, resolving existing issues and establishing standards and checks that prevent future errors. Define the payment information and Salesforce fields needed to accurately report on iteach’s payments business, partnering with system owners to add or update fields and workflows. Use Google Sheets and Excel to analyze payment data, reconcile reporting differences, and build recurring reports that help the team and iteach leaders monitor performance. Use approved AI and automation tools to reduce manual data cleanup and reporting work, checking outputs for accuracy and following company data-handling requirements. Train the Payments team on updated data-entry practices and workflows, and document procedures to maintain reliable reporting. Other Duties Support the team with additional tasks and responsibilities as needed to help meet evolving organizational goals and objectives. Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience. At least five years of relevant experience, including at least three years of hands-on accounting or financial operations work involving reconciliations, accounts receivable, and financial reporting. At least one year of experience directly supervising employees performing accounting, billing, payments, or related financial operations work, including coaching, training, and managing performance. Foundational understanding of accounting concepts relevant to payments and receivables, including the distinction between cash collections and revenue. Strong proficiency in Google Sheets and Excel, including formulas, lookups, pivot tables, and analysis across multiple datasets. Experience investigating payment or account discrepancies and improving processes to reduce errors, overdue balances, or manual work. Ability to explain financial information to non-finance colleagues, teach employees with varying experience levels, and handle sensitive candidate conversations with professionalism and empathy. Demonstrated ability to make operational decisions, apply policies consistently, and recognize when additional approval or expertise is needed. Ability to manage recurring deadlines while leading a team and implementing improvements. Preferred Qualifications Experience managing accounts receivable or recurring billing operations and improving payment success or collections performance. Experience with merchant processing, payment gateways, Salesforce, or comparable billing and financial systems. Experience providing data and analysis for budgeting, forecasting, or financial reviews. Experience using AI, automation, or reporting platforms to improve financial workflows. Summary How We Work at K12 Coalition Our work is grounded in five Core Competencies that guide how we collaborate, support others, and move work forward: Accountability, Adaptability, Collaboration, Customer Service Orientation, and Initiative. Accountability: Following through on work, owning commitments, and communicating progress or challenges along the way. Adaptability: Navigating change with flexibility and focus as priorities, information, or needs shift. Collaboration: Working together across roles and perspectives to achieve shared goals. Customer Service Orientation: Meeting the needs of internal and external partners with clarity, responsiveness, and follow-through. Initiative: Taking action without waiting to be asked and looking for ways to improve systems, processes, or experiences. Compensation Philosophy As part of our commitment to maintaining fair and consistent compensation practices, new hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the band minimum and midpoint, based on their qualifications, location, internal alignment, and the budgeted amount for the role. Why Work with Us We believe in supporting the whole employee by offering a comprehensive benefits package designed to meet diverse needs. Our full-time employee benefits include flexible time off, paid parental leave, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, and a 401(k) with company matching. We are committed to fostering a work environment that promotes both personal and professional well-being. Our Typical Selection Process Our selection process typically includes an online application, a short phone interview, a hiring manager interview, a candidate exercise, and a final interview. K12 Coalition is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or accommodation during the interview process due to a disability, please email us at View email address on click.appcast.io . This information will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of determining an appropriate accommodation for the interview process. Protecting Your Job Search K12 Coalition is committed to a transparent and secure recruitment process. Please keep the following in mind as you explore opportunities with us: Official communication: All recruitment-related communication will come from an @k12coalition.com email address. We do not use messaging platforms for recruiting. Application process: We do not send unsolicited job offers. All open positions are listed on our official Careers Page, and any offer follows a formal interview process. No upfront payments: We will never ask candidates to pay fees of any kind during the hiring process, including for training materials, background checks, or equipment. #J-18808-Ljbffr Learners Edge