Chief Financial Officer

POSITION TITLE: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts

REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

POSITION DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

The Possible Zone (TPZ) is entering a new phase of growth. With its first CEO appointed in April 2026, TPZ is accelerating its shift toward a more diversified, sustainable revenue model and is seeking a permanent Chief Financial Officer to lead its financial strategy and operations. Reporting to the CEO, serving on the Executive Leadership Team, and partnering closely with the Board of Directors, the CFO will steward TPZ's resources through a

multi-site scaling strategy and this revenue transition. 

Three priorities define this role:

First, financial modeling for scale. TPZ is expanding from Boston into multiple Massachusetts sites, with regional expansion beyond the state under consideration. The CFO will own the scenario planning, multi-site cost modeling, and unit-economics analyses, including cost per student, cost per course experience, and per-site assumptions that determine the pace and shape of that growth.

Second, revenue diversification. TPZ is intentionally reducing its reliance on founder funding by building a diversified engine across philanthropy, earned revenue, and disciplined stewardship. The CFO will give leadership real-time visibility into this shifting revenue mix and build the financial capabilities that make the transition sustainable.

Third, financial partnership with TPZ Ventures, the organization's consumer-product-and-manufacturing enterprise. Ventures is a portfolio of revenue-generating businesses projected to generate $6.6M in FY27 revenue, operating through multiple subsidiary entities with their own books, P&Ls, and tax implications. The CFO will serve as a true financial partner to Ventures leadership: not just ensuring compliance, but helping shape investment decisions, stage-gate financial discipline, and the long-term viability of earned revenue as a pillar of TPZ's sustainability strategy.

TPZ's financial infrastructure was built for a different chapter, one in which a single committed founder funded the organization's needs on a rolling basis. That model, while generative, didn't require the systems, controls, or visibility a scaling, multi-site, multi-revenue-stream organization now demands. 

As TPZ enters this next chapter, a priority for the incoming CFO will be implementing a new financial system, Sage Intacct, and assessing where existing processes, including QuickBooks configuration, need to change to support the organization's direction. Where they don't, the CFO will redesign or rebuild them. This isn't a role for someone who inherits a clean system and maintains it; it's a role for someone who evaluates what exists, builds what doesn't, and does both while keeping the organization running.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

The CFO will oversee a team of finance professionals, including a Controller, Senior Staff Accountant, and Staff Accountant, and will build out the finance function as the organization scales. TPZ also engages a third-party accounting firm on an ongoing basis, a relationship spanning more than 10 years, to fill specific needs and perform special projects. The CFO will be the primary liaison with this firm, as well as with any specialized finance support engaged for TPZ Ventures.

Specific operational and financial responsibilities include:

Leadership & Board Partnership

• Serve as a member of TPZ's leadership team, providing day-to-day strategic leadership for the organization.
• Serve as the key financial liaison for TPZ's Board of Directors. This includes communicating critical financial information, making financial and budgetary recommendations, and partnering closely with the Board's Finance, Financial Sustainability, and Ventures Committees.

 

Accounting, Controls & Compliance 

• Develop, maintain, and enforce technical accounting policies and internal controls in accordance with US GAAP.
• Manage the relationship with external auditors and oversee the annual audit process, including TPZ's transitional stub-year and subsequent full-year audit cycles.
• Oversee compliance and filings at the local, state, and federal levels, and ensure timely, accurate external financial reporting, including audited financial statements.

Team & Day-to-Day Operations

• Manage the finance team (Controller, Senior Staff Accountant, Staff Accountant, and future hires) and oversee accounts payable, fund receipts, and overall cash management.​
• Partner with the Development and Program teams on effective grant management, and identify and implement financial efficiencies as the organization scales across sites.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Planning

• Lead and refine the annual budget process in partnership with the leadership team and department leads, and assess and redesign TPZ's budgeting model and accounting system configuration to establish a standard monthly close and repeatable budget-to-actual variance reporting across all sites and entities.
• Conduct forecasting and multi-site financial modeling to support fundraising, scaling decisions, and future scenario planning.

Strategic Growth & TPZ Ventures 

• In partnership with the leadership team and Ventures leadership, help shape strategy on revenue growth and diversification, participate in product investment and stage-gate capital decisions, and track and report Ventures' contribution to TPZ's overall financial sustainability
• Oversee the financial operations of TPZ Ventures, including separate books and records for each subsidiary entity, intercompany reconciliations, consolidated financial reporting to the parent organization, and tax and compliance requirements, including UBIT implications.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING TO US:

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA in Finance or related field preferred. CPA credentials are a strong plus.
• 15 or more years of related experience, ideally with a mix of nonprofit and corporate backgrounds.
• Strong ability to connect finance and strategy, and to present financial information clearly to a variety of audiences.
• Previous nonprofit accounting and financial leadership experience, along with a thorough knowledge of GAAP, is required.
• Proven ability to conduct budgeting, forecasting, and cost analysis. Experience building multi-site or multi-entity financial models is strongly preferred
• Demonstrated experience designing, configuring, and optimizing financial systems (TPZ currently uses QuickBooks Online and is implementing Sage Intacct) to support department-level budget tracking, multi-site reporting, multi-entity consolidation, and a reliable monthly close in a complex nonprofit environment. 
• Experience with third-party software tools such as Coupa and their integration with QuickBooks or Sage Intacct.
• Experience with earned revenue models, consumer product businesses, or multi-entity subsidiaries within a nonprofit structure is a strong plus. This includes experience navigating the financial, tax, and governance complexity that comes with UBIT-generating activities.
• Experience utilizing external resources effectively, including outside accounting expertise and special projects.

Personal Qualifications

• A seasoned executive who can see the whole picture while maintaining control of the details.
• An innovative, driven, and effective builder with a can-do attitude. Someone who is energized by creating systems and processes, not just operating them.
• An energetic individual with the experience, aptitude, and personality to effectively engage financial partners and the various stakeholders who require financial information.

Role Requirements 

This is a full-time role. The CFO will be expected at TPZ's headquarters in the Jackson Square area of Jamaica Plain at least three days per week. Additionally, all staff must participate in student events, including orientation, learning presentations, graduations, and serving as an advisor. 

Compensation

The Possible Zone offers a competitive salary of $210,000–$260,000, commensurate with experience, plus a robust benefits package, including high-quality health benefits and an employer contribution to your 401(k) plan.

About TPZ

Our mission is to advance economic equity by helping young people develop the entrepreneurial mindset, skills, and networks to launch successful careers.

The Possible Zone (TPZ) is a tuition-free, experiential learning program where high school students explore emerging STEAM fields, build 21st-century skills and social-emotional competencies, and prepare for careers of the future. Hundreds of students from Boston, Lawrence, Lowell, and Brockton learn hands-on at our Innovation Center in Jamaica Plain and at partner high schools in each city.

Supported by a network of educational and industry partners and guided by college and career advisors, TPZ students graduate ready to pursue upward economic mobility through continued education or careers in fields like healthcare, the skilled trades, advanced manufacturing, and business.