Operations & Finance Lead

About Stray Emergence Fund

Stray Emergence Fund is an investment organization dedicated to advancing regenerative economic models and building narrative infrastructure to facilitate systems change. The fund operates as part of a larger ecosystem committed to transforming the global economy from extraction to regeneration while fostering harmony between humans and nature. Through strategic capital deployment and ecosystem engagement, Stray supports organizations working at the intersection of economic regeneration and systemic transformation. The organization is structured as a relatively lean team operating at the frontier of regenerative finance, with a focus on operational excellence and strategic decision-making. Stray's investment philosophy integrates financial returns with measurable impact outcomes, requiring sophisticated portfolio monitoring and reporting infrastructure. The fund works closely with limited partners to translate complex regenerative finance concepts into clear communication while maintaining the integrity of the underlying work. Stray is committed to values of Wonder, Synergy, Evolvability, Integrity, Emergence, and Play, which inform both its investment decisions and internal culture. The organization emphasizes collaborative ecosystem engagement and views operational excellence as a form of systems stewardship aligned with its broader mission of economic transformation.

About this Role

Stray Emergence Fund is seeking an Operations & Finance Lead to build and maintain the operational and financial infrastructure that enables the fund to operate at the frontier of regenerative finance with excellence and peace of mind. This is an autonomous, high-ownership, hands-on role that requires strong judgment to distinguish between matters requiring leadership escalation and those that can be managed independently. You will report directly to the Partner and serve as a team-of-one position, taking ownership of fund and portfolio operations, LP reporting, financial modeling, and team operational systems. The ideal candidate has previously operated at this level within a small fund, family office, or similar organizational context and is motivated by two key factors: first, the desire to apply operational skills in service of purpose greater than institutional efficiency, and second, the appeal of being deeply involved in many diverse projects simultaneously. This role requires someone who can architect operational systems in ambiguous conditions while drawing on prior experience without being constrained by conventional approaches. Your work will directly impact how Stray communicates its unusual approach to regenerative finance to limited partners, how the team coordinates across complex initiatives, and how the fund maintains financial rigor while pursuing transformative impact goals. You will be the primary interface between Stray's leadership and vision on one hand and the operational and administrative systems that make that vision sustainable on the other.

Responsibilities

• Own LP reporting by independently producing narratives, financial schedules, and portfolio summaries within required timelines in coordination with fund administration
• Collaborate with the Senior Manager of Ecosystem & Impact to translate Stray’s work to various LP audiences, deepen their understanding of their role in the fund, and demonstrate portfolio impact on systems change
• Serve as Stray’s primary interface with accounting, tax, and fund administration service providers, managing relationships and arranging capital calls and payments
• Coordinate tax preparation and elevate strategic decisions to leadership as needed
• Lead the annual audit process end-to-end, including coordinating financial report preparation and responding to auditor requests
• Design and own Stray’s operational infrastructure including team workflows, meeting cadences, decision-making frameworks, and cross-functional coordination systems
• Collaborate with team members on external communications and ecosystem engagement including LP update emails, investment committee engagement infrastructure, portfolio support, and event logistics
• Project manage Stray’s experiments and partnerships, assessing which efforts should be undertaken internally versus encouraged to partners or networks
• Track Stray-owned projects and maintain oversight of collaborators and next steps without prescribing outcomes
• Own HR workflows including onboarding, hiring, and benefits administration
• Maintain and develop Stray’s Notion workspace with external consultants as needed to serve as the team’s operational backbone
• Architect and maintain the fund model including portfolio NAV tracking, financial projections, and scenario analyses optimized for portfolio-wide anti-fragility and resilience
• Co-develop portfolio monitoring infrastructure with the Senior Manager of Ecosystem & Impact to coordinate portfolio reporting and track financial and impact performance
• Synthesize portfolio data for LP reporting and investment committee review
• Support the investment team with ad hoc financial modeling including returns analyses for deals in diligence with non-traditional capital structures
• Design and maintain investment operations and closing processes that scale with fund growth

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in investment/portfolio operations, family office or fund back-office finance, or fund administration with meaningful responsibility for LP reporting
• Demonstrated track record of developing internal systems that facilitate multi-stakeholder collaboration and complex decision-making
• Strong working knowledge of fund accounting, waterfall structures, capital account mechanics, and audit processes
• Proficiency with financial modeling including portfolio-wide and deal-level analyses
• Experience managing service provider relationships as a primary point of contact
• Tech fluency with Notion, Google Workspace, MS Office, and Miro with comfort evaluating when new tech systems may be necessary
• Ability to execute with independence and transparency by identifying what needs to be done, making recommendations, executing independently when appropriate, and knowing when to seek help or collaboration
• Clear, confident communication skills with LP-facing writing quality able to produce polished reports and external correspondence without heavy editing
• Comfort architecting systems in ambiguous conditions and drawing on prior experience without being constrained by it
• Understanding of and commitment to Stray’s mission, viewing operational excellence as a form of systems stewardship
• Responsible, safe, and ethical use of AI as a tool to support language, clarity, flow, or data aggregation rather than as a replacement for human ingenuity
• Alignment with Stray’s values of Wonder, Synergy, Evolvability, Integrity, Emergence, and Play

Benefits

• Base salary of $130,000-$180,000 commensurate with experience, open to both manager- and director-level candidates
• Annual discretionary impact-linked performance bonus of up to 10% of base salary tied to individual and firm-wide impact goals
• Impact-linked general partner carry tied to portfolio-wide impact achievement, accruing from Day 1 with a one-year vesting cliff
• Comprehensive benefits package including employer-covered medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Commuter benefits
• 401(k) with 4% employer match
• Annual professional development budget of $7,500 for conferences or other development opportunities
• Hybrid work environment with flexible in-person schedule, NYC preferred