POSITION: Chief Financial Officer
REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer
POSITION TYPE: 12-month, full-time
START DATE: October 2026 (negotiable)
COMPENSATION: $275,413 - $302,955, Home Office Grade 18
At YES Prep, work for a mission that impacts the life trajectory of students and their families. YES Prep creates pathways to extraordinary opportunity through best-in-class development, competitive compensation and benefits, and recognition for your impact. Grow as an authentic leader and be part of a high-performing, team-oriented culture.
Some quick stats about us:
- 21,000 Students
- 2,600 Team Members
- 16 Secondary Campuses
- 12 Elementary Campuses
- 91% Students Who Qualify for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch
- 96% Hispanic & African-American Students
- 99% Students Who Are Accepted to a 4-Year University
- 85% First-Generation College Students
- Ranked in the Top 100 High Schools in the Nation, U.S. News & World Report
We serve the students of Houston, Texas, the 4th largest city across the United States. There are over 20 public-school districts and other great public charter school options within Houston’s city limits serving our increasing population.
THE OPPORTUNITY
YES Prep needs a dynamic Chief Financial Officer with a robust set of experiences, to make our mission a reality. As a YES Prep employee, you will achieve jaw-dropping results, create pathways to opportunity for our students, and build transformative relationships.
To put it simply, you will help lead one of the nation's premier charter school organizations through its next chapter. Financially strong and mission-driven, YES Prep is entering a period where long-term strategic choices around enrollment, capital allocation, facilities, and organizational sustainability will shape its future. The CFO will partner closely with the CEO, executive team, and Board to help navigate these decisions while ensuring the organization remains financially strong and positioned to expand opportunity for students.
Unlike many CFO roles that focus primarily on financial operations, this position combines enterprise strategy, Board partnership, organizational leadership, and financial stewardship. The CFO will play a central role in shaping the next chapter of one of the nation's leading charter management organizations. Success in this role will be measured not only by strong financial stewardship, but by the quality of strategic decisions the CFO helps the organization make and the strength of the finance organization they build.
This role is based in Houston, Texas. It is primarily an in-person, executive leadership role.
OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT YES PREP
- Approximately $345M annual operating budget
- Finance organization of 29 team members, including 4 direct reports
- Current debt portfolio of $281M
THE ROLE
The Chief Financial Officer plays a central role in shaping YES Prep's future by providing leadership across four interconnected areas. When you join the YES Prep team, some of the work and responsibilities will include:
Shaping Enterprise Strategy
- Partnering closely with the CEO, Executive Team, and Board to help direct the long-term direction of the organization;
- Partnering with the CEO and Board on capital planning, facilities strategy, and bond financing while considering the organization’s debt portfolio;
- Leading financial scenario planning, capital allocation, enterprise risk management, and portfolio decisions while helping YES Prep navigate enrollment trends, facilities strategy, and long-term financial sustainability;
- Translating complex financial issues into clear strategic options and actionable recommendations that strengthen organizational decision-making.
Leading Financial Stewardship
- Ensuring the continued strength of YES Prep's financial foundation through effective leadership of accounting, Financial Planning & Analysis, treasury, payroll, procurement, audit, compliance, financial reporting, financing, and enterprise risk management;
- Preserving the organization's reputation for disciplined financial management while maintaining strong relationships with auditors, lenders, regulators, and other external stakeholders.
Building a High-Performing Finance Organization
- Leading the evolution of YES Prep’s finance organization team by assessing its capabilities, developing talent, building a cohesive leadership team, strengthening cross-functional partnerships, clarifying decision rights, and fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, customer service, and problem solving.
Strengthening Governance and Executive Leadership
- Serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Executive Team, and Board by presenting complex financial issues with clarity, providing thoughtful recommendations, and constructively challenging assumptions when appropriate;
- Modeling the leadership behaviors expected across YES Prep—including transparency, accountability, humility, collaboration, and a solutions-oriented mindset in order to cultivate a culture of sound judgment and high-quality decision-making throughout the organization.
- Additional duties as assigned.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
- The Board, CEO, and Executive Team have confidence in a clear, long-term financial strategy.
- The finance organization operates as a cohesive, high-performing leadership team.
- Finance is viewed as a trusted, strategic partner across the organization.
- Cross-functional partnership and customer service across the finance function are efficient and productive.
- The organization makes rigorous and thoughtful strategic decisions around enrollment, facilities, and capital allocation.
- YES Prep maintains strong financial stewardship while preparing for its next chapter.
THE PERSON
We seek staff with a multitude of backgrounds, talents, interests, and ideas. Certain traits consistently shine through our most successful employees: passion for the mission, drive for results, care for students, and resilience. Other traits needed and desired for this role are:
THE MUST HAVES
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university
- 10 years of financial and accounting responsibility
- Experience managing individual contributors and teams
- Experience with GAAP reporting
- Demonstrated success leading complex organizations through strategic change
- Exceptional communication and executive presence with boards and senior leaders
- Proven ability to build, coach, and develop high-performing teams
- Ability to balance collaboration with independent judgment and constructive challenge
- Courageously challenges assumptions while maintaining trust and strong relationships across the organization
- Demonstrates exceptional financial judgment and the ability to influence organizational strategy and leadership
- Possesses the executive presence and sound judgment needed to navigate difficult conversations and build credibility quickly
- Leads confidently through ambiguity, complexity, and organizational change
- Equally effective in shaping strategy at the board level, partnering with the CEO and Executive Team, and leading a high-performing finance organization
- Simplifies complex issues and translates them into clear, actionable recommendations
- Brings humility, emotional maturity, and balanced decision-making to leadership situations
- Exercises sound judgment when navigating ambiguity, conflict, and difficult organizational decisions
THE MUST HAVE BELIEFS
- Belief in and commitment to the mission and core values of YES Prep Public Schools
- Desire to disrupt systemic status quos in education
- Willingness to go above and beyond to disrupt said status quos
- Passion to develop resiliency through a relentless pursuit of jaw-dropping results
- Conviction that high expectations + high accountability = high performance and high growth
THE NICE TO HAVES
- CPA or MBA
- Other relevant graduate degree
- Familiarity with non-profit accounting and public sector finance
- Experience as a Chief Financial Officer
THE PERKS
- Compensation – This position is an exempt, salaried position; offers commensurate with experience
- Health and Supplemental Insurance – A $0 monthly medical option or a $24 monthly option that includes $50 YES Prep Paid Health Savings Account contribution, in addition to a variety of supplemental benefits including Dental, Vision, Disability, Life, etc. Employees must work 20+ hours a week to be eligible for a full spectrum of benefits, and 10 hours a week minimum for medical benefits.
- Retirement Plans – Participation in Teacher Retirement System of Texas and an optional 457b Retirement Plan.
- Paid Time Off – Employees working 20+ hours a week receive 15 days of Paid Time Off in addition to the system closures during the Academic Calendar.
- Paid Leave Programming – In the event you need to be out due to medical needs (including maternity and paternity leave), YES Prep offers paid leave, paid out at 100%, based on eligibility and tenure.
- Professional Development - YES Prep values longevity and performance over time. We invest in developing leaders through high-quality programs, effective coaching, and ongoing professional development.
- Award Winning Culture – The strong cultures of our campuses and Home Office are just one of many reasons we were named Houston’s Best Place To Work in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2025. We won the 2012 Broad Prize for Excellence in Urban Education and were a 2016 finalist as well.
YES Prep is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood.
