Chief Finance & Operations Officer (CFOO)

Chief Finance & Operations Officer (CFOO)

Full Time Kirkland, WA, US

7 days ago Requisition ID: 1036

Salary Range: $275,000.00 To $325,000.00 Annually

Opportunity Statement

Chief Finance & Operations Officer

Eastside Prep’s Vision is to Inspire Students to Create a Better World.

Our Mission is to Guide Students To:

• Think Critically
• Act Responsibly

Our vision and mission guide the development of the curriculum and program as well as the evolution of the EPS culture. Founded in 2002, Eastside Prep is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS). The school has grown from 17 students in 2003–2004 to more than 530 students in grades 5–12, supported by an annual operating budget of approximately $30 million.

Finance and Operations at Eastside Prep

Over the past two decades, Eastside Prep has moved from a start-up school to a mature institution with a permanent campus, a substantial operating budget, and a complex set of operational functions. What began as a small business office supporting a young school has become an integrated finance and operations organization encompassing the Business Office, Campus Operations, Dining Services, and IT Operations — roughly 30 employees in all.

That growth has been deliberate. The school has invested in a campus within a shared business park, built financial systems and internal controls appropriate to its scale, developed an employee compensation and benefits program designed to attract and retain exceptional faculty and staff, and sustained a need-based financial aid program central to its mission. The Chief Finance & Operations Officer role reflects the next stage of that maturation: a senior officer who is both the steward of the school’s financial health and a strategic partner in shaping its future.

Moving Forward

The new CFOO will join the school at a moment of institutional maturation and shifting external conditions. This moment presents certain challenges and opportunities for an incoming officer, including but not limited to the following:

• As a tuition-driven institution, EPS must balance affordability for families against the real costs of an exceptional program — an equation that requires disciplined long-range modeling, not annual improvisation.
• The school is committed to socioeconomic diversity and recognizes the need to grow its financial aid fund, including tuition and the additional school-related expenses that shape a student’s full experience.
• Compensation and benefits represent the largest share of the operating budget. Benchmarking against independent school and regional market data, and modeling the long-term implications of staffing decisions, are central to the school’s sustainability.
• Regional demographic and economic trends on the Eastside of the Puget Sound region will influence enrollment, tuition strategy, and the labor market from which EPS hires.
• The physical campus, shared with a business park, requires ongoing stewardship, capital planning, and an active partnership with the park’s Board of Directors.
• Risk management, employment law compliance, and business continuity planning have grown more demanding for independent schools, calling for both strong internal practice and effective use of external counsel and consultants.
• Technology infrastructure and information security must be resourced to support a forward-looking academic program while protecting the community’s data.

Envisioning the Future

Over the next several years, EPS will work to strengthen the financial and operational foundation that makes its mission possible. The CFOO will lead the development of a long-range financial plan that connects the school’s strategic priorities to the resources required to achieve them, and will build the systems, partnerships, and layers of transparency through which that plan is executed. The successful candidate will see finance and operations not as a back-office function but as an expression of institutional values — how the school pays its people, how it opens its doors to families of varied means, how it cares for its campus, and how it plans responsibly for the students who have not yet arrived.

Position Summary

The Chief Finance & Operations Officer (CFOO) is a strategic partner to the Head of School and Board of Trustees, with responsibility for the financial stewardship and operational sustainability of the school. The CFOO has primary responsibility for Eastside Prep’s overall financial and campus operations, design and management of the $30 million annual operating budget and financial reporting, human resources, benefits administration, risk management, and establishing, sustaining, and evaluating relationships with vendors and professional services consultants (bank, legal, accounting/tax, insurance, investments).

Departments with a reporting relationship include the Business Office, Campus Operations, Dining Services, and IT Operations; the CFOO directly or indirectly supervises approximately 30 staff across those four departments. The position reports to the Head of School and serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). This is a full-time, year-round, on-campus, exempt position. Preferred start date is April 1, 2027. Our competitive annual salary range is $275,000 to $325,000, based on experience.

Position Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Guide the long-term financial sustainability of the school.
• Provide strategic leadership, analysis, and management of finances and operations.
• Establish financial and capital strategies consistent with the school’s strategic priorities.
• Serve on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
• Serve as the head administrative officer; partner with the Administrative Staff Council (ASC) to plan continued professional growth opportunities and community-building events for all staff.
• Serve as primary liaison to the Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee and contribute to other board committees as needed.

Budget and Financial Management

• Develop and lead short-term and long-term financial planning and forecasting.
• Oversee the annual operating and capital budget, ensuring transparency, collaboration, and fiscal discipline.
• Partner with the Controller to oversee all Business Office functions, including daily operations, external audit, employee benefits, retirement plan, and investments (for operations, reserves, and endowment).

Human Resources and Compensation

• Partner with the Head of School to establish and steward the school’s compensation philosophy for faculty and staff, including leading the annual compensation evaluation.
• Benchmark faculty and staff compensation and benefits against independent school and regional market data.
• Model the compensation and benefits implications of staffing decisions within the annual budget and long-range financial plan.
• Own employment policy and practice, including the employee handbook and periodic review of personnel policies.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment law — including classification, wage and hour, and required reporting — in consultation with external counsel.
• Oversee employee benefits and retirement plan administration, including plan design, annual renewals, and fiduciary oversight, in partnership with the Controller and HR Specialist.

Risk Management, Compliance, and Legal

• Lead risk management evaluation and practices, including business continuity planning.
• Partner with the Controller to manage the school’s property and liability insurance.
• Serve as primary liaison to external attorneys on matters related to human resources, risk/liability, real estate, immigration, and intellectual property.

Operations and Facilities Oversight

• Coordinate closely with the Director of Campus Operations on oversight of the physical plant, campus grounds, and emergency management.
• Lead major capital projects, in partnership with an owner’s representative when necessary.
• Serve as primary liaison to the business park where the school is located, including a leadership role on its Board of Directors.
• Support the Director of Dining Services in maintaining a community-focused dining program with strong fiscal management.
• Support the Director of IT Operations in providing the resources needed to support the school’s technology needs while balancing security.

Tuition and Financial Aid

• Lead the determination of tuition and other student fees, based on analysis of local economic, demographic, and independent school market trends.
• Partner with the Director of Enrollment Management to lead the school’s financial aid program, supporting equitable, mission-aligned need-based aid, including a lead role in reviewing aid applications.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Collaborative mindset with a talent for building trust across multiple constituencies — trustees, senior leaders, faculty, staff, and families.
• Demonstrated effectiveness with financial systems design and implementation, and working knowledge of GAAP and tax accounting principles.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to make financial information clear and useful to non-financial audiences.
• Skilled at negotiating contracts with external vendors and managing professional services relationships.
• Ability to manage tight time constraints and solve problems professionally and effectively.
• Ability to maintain highly confidential information.
• Flexibility, a capacity to deal with ambiguity.
• A commitment to creating a full sense of belonging for all community members through work in EICL (Equity, Inclusion and Compassionate Leadership). EICL is the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• An entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility, and a willingness to participate in the full life of the school are especially welcome.

Experience and Credentials

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive financial leadership experience, including general accounting functions related to internal controls and accounting policies and procedures.
• Experience as a manager/supervisor, ideally in a multi-functional environment.
• Experience in strategic planning and budget projections.
• Experience in human resources management, including employee benefits administration.

Preferred

• MBA or CPA.
• Experience at an independent school or other nonprofit organization.
• Experience with NetSuite, Concur, Clarity, and ADP.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship.

Search Timeline

Milestone

Date

Monday, November 2, 2026

Semi-finalist interviews (virtual)

Monday, December 7 – Friday, December 11, 2026

Hiring announcement

Friday, December 18, 2026

Semi-finalist and finalist candidates will be contacted directly with detailed schedules. Finalist visits include meetings with the Head of School, the Senior Leadership Team, the Board of Trustees’ finance committee, and members of the departments reporting to this position.

Eastside Prep offers a comprehensive benefits program, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a retirement plan with employer contribution, and paid time off.

Eastside Preparatory School prohibits discrimination on any basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law. This policy applies to all matters regarding students (admissions, educational policies, financial aid programs, school-administered programs) as well as to all personnel/employee matters.