Job Description

Aspire Public Schools NorCal — Controller

Job Description

About Aspire NorCal

Founded in 1998, Aspire Public Schools has served scholars and communities across California for nearly three decades. With Aspire Los Angeles transitioning into an independent organization, the Bay Area and Central Valley regions are coming together to form Aspire NorCal, operating 22 schools serving approximately 10,000 scholars across Northern California (Oakland, Richmond, East Palo Alto, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, and Ceres).

This evolution comes at an important moment for Aspire. Changes in California’s funding, policy, enrollment, and operating environment have created an opportunity to rethink how the organization supports its schools and scholars in its next chapter. The formation of Aspire NorCal creates an opportunity to strengthen support for schools across teams previously organized by geography, improve the consistency and effectiveness of school support, and create clear accountability systems for organizational and scholar outcomes. The new model will require the organization to balance greater coherence across Aspire NorCal with responsiveness to the different communities and contexts of its schools.

Aspire NorCal enters this transition with a long-standing mission focused on post-secondary success and a deep commitment to educational equity, along with decades of institutional knowledge across its schools and teams. Preserving those strengths while building Aspire NorCal as a unified region will be central to the work ahead.

About the role

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Controller is responsible for the management of accounting and reporting activities and is a hands-on position with daily functional accounting duties. The Controller supervises a team responsible for accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, financial reports, audit, payroll, and retirement reporting.

The Controller ensures Aspire has the systems and procedures in place to support bond covenant compliance and disclosures, real estate lease covenant compliance, grant recognition, Payroll and Retirement compliance, and tracking of specific financial terms, and partners with the CFO, the Finance team, directors of key home office functions, and school site leaders to support finance initiatives, systems, policies, and procedures.

Key Responsibilities

Accounting and payroll leadership

• Manage all accounts, ledgers, and reporting systems, ensuring accuracy and full compliance with GAAP and regulatory requirements, including cash management, bank reconciliations, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, and internal and external reporting.
• Maintain accounting policies, internal controls, and safeguards of cash, revenue, and costs; ensure proper implementation and provide training.
• Manage the monthly, quarterly, and annual close, communicating and maintaining deadlines and documenting balance sheet reconciliations.
• Put in place and manage ongoing processes to monitor bond and banking covenant compliance quarterly, real estate lease covenants, and financial obligations in grant agreements, reporting to agencies and banking partners as required.
• Support the annual insurance renewal process.
• Prepare and present quarterly internal financial statements accurately and on time; monitor and report issues and major changes in financial status.
• Serve as the Accounting Service Level Agreement (SLA) lead between Aspire NorCal and Aspire LA, participating in regular SLA review meetings and delivering SLA performance reports.
• Coordinate the annual financial audit, including work paper preparation and liaison with auditors.
• Direct and prepare tax returns and reports for government regulatory agencies, including 1099, 990, property tax exemption, and sales/use filings.
• Review and approve semi-monthly payroll runs and annual payroll processes to ensure integrity and improve controls, and partner with the payroll team on process improvements.
• Prepare and review journal entries as needed, and prepare timely Board agenda items for areas of responsibility.
• Improve and simplify Aspire's accounting approach with sustainable, scalable solutions, using technology to eliminate inefficiencies while maintaining extremely high accuracy.

Team leadership

• Leverage the strengths of accounting team members, clarify roles and responsibilities, and lead, develop, and train team members to reach individual and organizational goals.
• Provide strong internal communication and promote a positive, supportive work environment.
• Ensure the accounting team partners with and supports Finance team efforts, as well as home office, regional office, and school teams.
• Demonstrate knowledge of, and support, the Aspire Public Schools mission, vision, and values, including antiracism, and uphold confidentiality standards and the code of ethical behavior.
• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance required; CPA and/or MBA preferred.

Experience

• At least 5 years of experience coordinating audit activities and managing reports, accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, and payroll.
• At least 2 years of experience in accounting management.
• Non-profit accounting experience and an understanding of GAAP are required.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and integrated accounting systems.

Skills and competencies

• Proactive, hands-on leader with strong accounting, analytical, audit, and organizational skills.
• Team management and leadership that inspires others to achieve excellence; commitment to recruiting, mentoring, training, and retaining a diverse team.
• High attention to detail and follow-up, with demonstrated ability to handle multiple projects concurrently.
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills; good judgment and resourcefulness.
• Ability to translate accounting concepts for people at all levels of the organization.
• Positive, customer-service-oriented, with strong relationship-building skills.
• Integrity, credibility, and an unwavering commitment to Aspire's mission.

Compensation and benefits

The salary range for this role is $168,050 to $215,728 annually in accordance with our salary schedule policy, commensurate with experience. This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Eligible for Aspire health benefits
• Retirement through CalSTRS or CalPERS, depending on the role's credential requirements, with a 403(b) option
• Paid time off and additional teammate benefits to be determined in accordance with updated employee value proposition to be shared prior to offer.

Aspire NorCal is conducting a comprehensive study of our employee value proposition, which could lead to material changes in July 2027.

Location and work arrangement

• Work location and in-person expectations for this role are being finalized as part of our broader NorCal planning. We will share clarity with candidates in the coming weeks

Aspire NorCal expects to provide Finance, Accounting, Payroll, and Retirement services to Aspire LA under a multi-year service agreement, and part of this department’s budget is expected to depend on that agreement. If the agreement is not finalized, is not renewed, or ends early, Aspire NorCal may reduce the department’s size accordingly, and any position in the departments listed above may be impacted. Employment with Aspire is at-will

Application Deadline: November 20, 2026.

Equal opportunity

Aspire Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Aspire Public Schools provides reasonable accommodations during the application and interview process.

Disclaimer

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.