Director of Finance & Controller

Rippleworks Foundation believes all people should have equitable access to the resources and opportunities to live life to the fullest. Our mission is to relentlessly focus on the needs of social ventures by providing practical support for impactful entrepreneurs and their teams so Ventures can improve more lives. Rippleworks’ programs has directly supported 250 ventures by running 275 projects in 60 countries, held workshops for over 1,000 leaders and has deployed $150 million in unrestricted funding to our Ventures.

We are a nearly 50 person team on a mission to help impactful ventures thrive. We strive to  create the best possible workplace for purpose-driven professionals to make an outsized difference in the world: learning, growing and having fun together along the way. Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our work. It’s a key part of our strategy and shows up every day in the way our team partners and collaborates. We seek individuals to join our team who are equally as committed. 

Rippleworks has been named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies (by Fast Company) and one of the world’s Best Workplaces for Innovators (by Fast Company and Accenture)

We support our portfolio of Ventures 3 ways:

Rippleworks Projects: Rippleworks leads short-term, high-impact projects where social ventures address key operational challenges through customized engagement that pair ventures with industry-leading executives who bring deeply relevant entrepreneurial experience. 

Rippleworks Leaders Studio: Rippleworks designs and delivers practical, interactive, expert-led learning sessions designed specifically for social venture leaders who are seeking to learn and grow. Rippleworks partners with leading industry executives to run interactive, results-driven learning programs where social venture leaders gain the critical skills they need to deliver impact at scale. 

Rippleworks Capital: Rippleworks provides hard-to-find capital required for scale (grants and investments in the $1M-$3M range) to 50+ ventures working in 80+ countries.

Our Commitment to Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging: We know inequities exist across the globe and are perpetuated by practices such as systemic racism and colonialism. 

Rippleworks is taking an active role in disrupting these inequities that disadvantage historically excluded people. As such, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) is integral to realizing this vision. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion at Rippleworks. Candidates from racially underrepresented and marginalized groups  (Black, Latinx, Native American or individuals with national origins from developing countries that reflect the communities we serve) are strongly encouraged to apply. Rippleworks also complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please email christina@rippleworks.org.

Hiring Key Dates: 

- Applications Open: November 19, 2024

- Applications Closed: December 6, 2024

- Interviews occurring: December 9 -20, 2024

The Director of Finance & Controller oversees the Finance function, reporting to the CEO,  to ensure that the company is in the best possible position to maintain its sustainability, ensures its investments are in line with Rippleworks’ mission and remains compliant with foundation regulations. This role is US Based-Remote.

Responsibilities

Accounting

• Manage monthly/quarterly financial close and reporting
• Manage the annual audit & tax processes
• Manage the XRP cryptocurrency token custody & sales processes to generate income for the foundation.
• Oversee the outsourced domestic and international employee payroll platforms (Trinet and Deel) focusing on accuracy, compliance, and employee experience across domestic and international teams
• Works closely with/overseeing finance operations tasks including expense reports and accounts payable with the EA/Bookkeeper.
• Partner with the Capital Team to monitor PRI loans and related interest

Financial Planning

• Design and lead Rippleworks’ annual budgeting process, using a low-lift, customer service-oriented methodology
• Serve as the core finance partner to the Rippleworks CEO and the executive leadership team
• Collaborate with the CEO and Chief People Officer to align budgets with strategic priorities and workforce planning.
• Lead the foundation’s annual required charitable distribution calculation as well as periodic review and updates

Strategy

• Iterate on the foundation’s financial processes, including expense/travel policies, to ensure operational excellence
• Lead Rippleworks’ quarterly Board meeting preparation 
• Work with the outsourced Chief Investment Officer to manage the company’s investments
• Partner with the Chief People Officer to conduct an annual compensation market analysis and execute two compensation cycles annually
• Oversee the company’s overall risk management, including data security structure and process
• Develop and maintain Finance OKRs & KPIs 
• Manage the company’s Community Grant Program, an employee-driven program that gives $750,000 annually to nonprofits in the communities they live or are connected to.

   Qualifications                                                                                  

• Prior nonprofit finance/private foundation experience, including 8+ years of demonstrated experience in accounting and finance, knowledge sharing, and/or thought leadership
• Prior experience in running a lean annual budgeting process along with monthly/quarterly variance analysis to identify insights
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with direct experience communicating at the executive level 
• Technology savvy with the ability to manage data for financial reporting quickly and effectively
• Personal qualities of integrity and credibility, and a commitment to the mission of Rippleworks

About You

• Decision Quality: You are a strong critical thinker and make good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward. You are able to walk someone else through your thought process in a clear and concise way.
• Instill Trust: You gain the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity, and you follow through on commitments. In both internal and external interactions, you are direct and truthful. 
• Communication: You articulate your thoughts in a concise and engaging manner; you can distill complex thoughts and analysis into simple and concise written materials; you actively listen to gain full understanding of complex situations. 
• Finance Expertise: Demonstrates in-depth knowledge of financial principles, regulations, and practices. Applies this expertise to make informed, strategic decisions that enhance the organization’s financial health and operational efficiency.
  

Core competencies for all Rippleworks employees

• Customer Focus:  You have a customer-first mentality (both internal and external customers) and seek out opportunities to stay close to our customers to understand and meet their evolving needs.
• Agile Learning: You continuously and actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as growth opportunities. 
• Interpersonal Skills: You relate openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people. You use deep empathy to build relationships and work collaboratively in a team environment and are particularly attuned to different and at times competing stakeholder needs and requirements. You treat everyone fairly and equitably.
• Managing Ambiguity: You’re able to navigate dynamic, changing situations and make decisions or create a path forward with imperfect or incomplete information. You Remain calm when things are up in the air; and comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Driving for Meaningful Results: You consistently and effectively deliver, and mobilize others to deliver, results as well as identify ways to improve that make a positive impact.   

• Don't take a pay cut to do good in the world! We offer a competitive salary  of $189,000, with competitive benefits: Medical, dental, vision, life, and short term + long term disability insurance, 401K + employer match, company holidays, flexible Paid Time Off, wellness and remote-work stipends, and more.
• Engage with our global community: Everyone at Rippleworks will have the opportunity to embark on work travel – whether that is to meet others in the social impact ecosystem or see and experience our impact in the field directly with our ventures. We offer the chance to expand that learning via our Study Abroad Program which covers the cost for you to extend a work trip by a few days to further explore the region. 
• ​​Boost your lifelong journey of giving back: Through our Community Grants program, employees have the opportunity to give a $50K grant to a local community nonprofit doing meaningful work in an area that the employee is passionate about. We also provide a $2,500 charitable donation match for financial and volunteer hour contributions.
• A culture that values professional & personal growth: We provide an external professional coach for every team member who wants one and a generous individual learning budget to put towards professional development as well as regular team learning events. 
• A diverse and inclusive workplace that actively seeks and attracts people across the world from different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives.
• A flexible, remote-first work environment in which team members have flexible work hours, while working across timezones daily during defined core collaboration hours.  We provide the tools and support needed for team members to work 100% remotely as well as a remote-first monthly stipend. 
• We value connection and gather in person as departments and as a whole company 2 - 3 times per year for Core Collaboration Weeks. These weeks focus on fun and connection with the team as well as opportunities to meet and be inspired by the ventures we support and the social-impact ecosystem, and they give us a chance to collaborate on the work we are doing across Rippleworks face-to-face. In our remote-first workplace, we create meaningful opportunities for virtual team-building and connection. 
• We offer a Sabbatical to Rippleworkers after five years of tenure with us to take four weeks off. Some of us may see magic in travel or other learning opportunities and others may see magic in taking time off to unplug and do something completely unrelated to our work. Whether to refresh, or be reinspired, the time is up to you and your particular needs.