Afton Partners

About the role Afton Partners seeks a Director in our Early Childhood practice with a specialty in Funding Policy & Cost Analysis to lead and support consulting engagements with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as other impact-focused organizations. In this role, you will help shape how early childhood systems are funded, bring clarity to complex cost structures, advance equitable funding strategies, and enabling leaders to make informed, high-impact decisions. You’ll work at the intersection of finance, policy, and strategy—translating complex data into actionable insights, advising senior leaders, and helping design innovative, sustainable policies and approaches to funding early childhood programs. This is an opportunity to influence systems that directly impact young children, families, and the workforce that supports them. Check out our Case Studies for examples of the high-impact engagements you would support in this role, including Smart Start Workforce Grants, Early Childhood Block Grants, and Early Intervention Cost Modeling. This is a full-time, remote position within the United States, requiring up to 10% travel. Afton offers competitive pay and benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match. The salary range for the position is $130,000-$140,000 per year plus benefits. What you'll do If you enjoy and excel at these responsibilities, this position may be a great opportunity for you. Lead Cost Analysis & Funding Strategy Development You will design and lead sophisticated cost analyses and funding studies that inform high-stakes policy decisions. This includes working across public data, administrative data, client data, and survey data (both quantitative and qualitative) to build models that reflect real-world conditions. You will: - Develop and refine cost models that estimate the true cost of delivering high-quality early childhood services across settings (e.g., child care, home visiting, early intervention) - Build tools and resources that allow policymakers to explore funding scenarios, trade-offs, and real-time implications - Conduct and oversee research and analysis to identify system improvement opportunities - Engage diverse stakeholders to gather input, build alignment, and inform decision-making - Translate complex research and financial analyses into clear, actionable insights for policy and decision-making audiences - Analyze the impact of funding decisions on providers, families, and the broader early childhood system - Support the development of publicly accessible tools that inform field-wide conversations (e.g., cost estimation tools) - Ensure consistency, quality, and continuous improvement of modeling approaches across projects - Coach and develop colleagues’ cost modeling and analytical skills Bridge Policy, Data, and Strategy You will serve as a critical connector between technical analysis and policy action, helping leaders navigate complexity and make informed decisions. You will: - Advise early childhood leaders, policymakers, and advocates on funding priorities and policy decisions - Translate between technical and policy perspectives, helping stakeholders understand trade-offs and implications - Lead or support public task forces and advisory bodies focused on early childhood funding, workforce compensation, and related topics - Build trust with clients by grounding recommendations in both rigorous research & analysis and practical realities - Support the design of funding strategies that improve sustainability, workforce compensation, and equitable access - Develop implementation strategies that translate policy and analysis into real-world impact Lead and Support High-Impact Client Engagements You will manage and guide consulting engagements, ensuring high-quality delivery and strong client partnerships. You will: - Lead project planning, execution, and delivery in alignment with scope, goals, and resources - Manage and support multiple concurrent projects of varying complexity and duration - Develop client-facing deliverables, including financial analyses, tools, presentations, and strategic recommendations - Proactively communicate with clients and adjust approaches based on feedback - Support project team members through coaching, feedback, and mentorship to strengthen technical and project management skills Qualifications This position requires demonstrated proficiency in early childhood funding policy and cost analysis, a deep understanding of early childhood systems, and a strong interest in advancing innovative, system-wide improvements. Our experience suggests that the following types of professional experiences and skills have prepared candidates for this work: - Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience in early childhood cost modeling, funding policy research and analysis, financial modeling, or related work in government, consulting, or mission-driven organizations - Deep understanding of early childhood programs (e.g., child care, Head Start/Early Head Start, state pre-K, early intervention, home visiting) and their funding streams, governance structures, and policy context - Strong analytical skills (using Excel, R, etc.) and the ability to synthesize complex quantitative and qualitative data - Excellent written and verbal communication skills, particularly in virtual environments - Strong project management and peer coaching experience - Demonstrated experience identifying potential challenges and taking initiative, creating structures to address ambiguous or complex problems - Demonstrated experience coaching and developing colleagues. Preferred experiences include: - Experience working in or with state or local early childhood systems, particularly related to funding - Experience within early childhood government agencies or consulting environments - Academic study or research in early childhood policy, governance, or funding (e.g., Master’s degree or similar)

About the role This position will support Afton’s public charter school finance practice with a keen focus on financial projection modeling and fiscal data analysis. The position will engage in consulting projects with public charter schools of all sizes, with the goal of strengthening our clients’ capacity to achieve and maintain long-term financial sustainability. The pay range for this role is $90,000 - $110,000 USD per year. What you'll do - Build financial projection models for school systems, incorporating senior management’s strategic and operational plans. - Quickly sense-check through metrics and input assumptions in data analytics for reasonability and feasibility. - Provides analytics on key metrics for the forward-looking financial health of an organization. - Draft communication and recommendation materials for clients with supervisor oversight. - Communicate independently with clients for tactical project matters. Qualifications Our experience suggests that the following types of professional experiences and skills have prepared candidates for this work: - Alignment with Afton's core values. - Advanced financial acumen and financial projection modeling skills, developing projections with minimal supervision, using reasonable and well-researched assumptions. - Demonstrates intermediate project management skills, leading work streams, meeting project deadlines, highlighting issues, and driving towards solutions. - Demonstrates self-awareness. - Intermediate supervisory skills. - Strong verbal communication skills. - Perform effectively in a remote team environment. - Proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Zoom, and similar professional services software. - You take initiative, solve problems, are a reliable team player, are flexible, quick and organized, and can take ambiguous problems/requests and structure a path for addressing them. - A minimum of four years of relevant work experience.

About the role Afton Partners seeks a Senior Director to lead strategic finance initiatives with our charter school client partners around the country. As the national leader in charter school financial planning and governance, we’ve partnered with more than 80 networks serving public school students in a wide range of communities in over 30 states. Recently, a Charter School CFO reflected on our work together, saying, “This project has fundamentally changed how our organization approaches financial planning, governance, and decision-making. Working closely with [Afton team members], we replaced a more traditional, static budgeting approach with a seven-year, scenario-based financial forecast that incorporates inflationary cost assumptions and long-term sustainability metrics.” This is a full-time, remote position within the United States, requiring up to 10% travel. Afton offers competitive pay and benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match. The salary range for the position is $160,000-$180,000 per year. What you'll do If you enjoy and excel at these responsibilities, this position may be a great opportunity for you. Directly advise school leaders on critical financial decisions. - Expertly navigate difficult situations and discussions by building and leveraging trusting, collaborative, and effective relationships with school leaders, boards, and their financial partners. - Directly advise charter school boards, CEOs, CFOs, and other leaders on critical opportunities to improve their financial sustainability, governance and compliance practices, forecasting accuracy, and decisions about facilities, growth, and operational plans. Independently lead successful projects/engagements through client and team management. - Ensure assigned client partners are satisfied with Afton’s services through thoughtful project planning and staffing, proactive communication, adjusted approaches based on feedback, and adherence to the scope, goals, and allocated resources of each project. - Independently and collaboratively develop financial projections and financial analysis, prepare client-facing plans, and advise charter school leaders on important decisions. - Manage multiple concurrent projects of varying complexity and duration. Coach, mentor, and support colleagues. - Support the development of colleague’s technical, project management, and communication skills through formal coaching as a project leader and informal mentoring and information sharing. - Advance Afton and our client partners’ goals by serving as a thought partner to Afton colleagues, within and beyond the Charter Finance team. - Lead by example by soliciting feedback reflecting on growth areas, and taking action. Qualifications This position requires demonstrated proficiency in financial projection modeling, financial planning, budgeting, school debt financing processes, and communication. Successful candidates will have a keen ability to turn data into intelligence for decision making. Advanced project management, and coaching skills are critical. Our experience suggests that the following types of professional experiences and skills have prepared candidates for this work: - A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant work experience in education or non-profit finance, financial services, management consulting, or similar roles. - Strong verbal and written communication skills, particularly in virtual environments. - Demonstrated experience identifying potential challenges and taking initiative, creating structures to address ambiguous or complex problems, leading teams, and coaching and developing colleagues. - Excellent project management skills as demonstrated by project outcomes and a positive experience for clients and colleagues. - A strong interest in our client partners’ mission and communities. - Alignment with Afton’s core values. Preferred experiences include: - Prior experience as a Chief Financial Officer or Director of Finance for a charter or private school organization. - An MBA degree.

This description is a summary of our understanding of the job description. Click on 'Apply' button to find out more. Role Description Afton Partners seeks a Senior Director to lead strategic finance initiatives with our charter school client partners around the country. This is a full-time, remote position within the United States, requiring up to 10% travel. - Directly advise school leaders on critical financial decisions. - Expertly navigate difficult situations and discussions by building and leveraging trusting, collaborative, and effective relationships with school leaders, boards, and their financial partners. - Directly advise charter school boards, CEOs, CFOs, and other leaders on critical opportunities to improve their financial sustainability, governance and compliance practices, forecasting accuracy, and decisions about facilities, growth, and operational plans. - Independently lead successful projects/engagements through client and team management. - Ensure assigned client partners are satisfied with Afton’s services through thoughtful project planning and staffing, proactive communication, adjusted approaches based on feedback, and adherence to the scope, goals, and allocated resources of each project. - Independently and collaboratively develop financial projections and financial analysis, prepare client-facing plans, and advise charter school leaders on important decisions. - Manage multiple concurrent projects of varying complexity and duration. - Coach, mentor, and support colleagues. - Support the development of colleague’s technical, project management, and communication skills through formal coaching as a project leader and informal mentoring and information sharing. - Advance Afton and our client partners’ goals by serving as a thought partner to Afton colleagues, within and beyond the Charter Finance team. - Lead by example by soliciting feedback reflecting on growth areas, and taking action. Qualifications - A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant work experience in education or non-profit finance, financial services, management consulting, or similar roles. - Strong verbal and written communication skills, particularly in virtual environments. - Demonstrated experience identifying potential challenges and taking initiative, creating structures to address ambiguous or complex problems, leading teams, and coaching and developing colleagues. - Excellent project management skills as demonstrated by project outcomes and a positive experience for clients and colleagues. - A strong interest in our client partners’ mission and communities. - Alignment with Afton’s core values. Requirements - Demonstrated proficiency in financial projection modeling, financial planning, budgeting, school debt financing processes, and communication. - Advanced project management and coaching skills. Benefits - Competitive pay and benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match. - The salary range for the position is $160,000-$180,000 per year.

This description is a summary of our understanding of the job description. Click on 'Apply' button to find out more. Role Description This position will support Afton’s public charter school finance practice with a keen focus on financial projection modeling and fiscal data analysis. The position will engage in consulting projects with public charter schools of all sizes, with the goal of strengthening our clients’ capacity to achieve and maintain long-term financial sustainability. The pay range for this role is $90,000 - $110,000 USD per year. What you'll do - Build financial projection models for school systems, incorporating senior management’s strategic and operational plans. - Quickly sense-check through metrics and input assumptions in data analytics for reasonability and feasibility. - Provides analytics on key metrics for the forward-looking financial health of an organization. - Draft communication and recommendation materials for clients with supervisor oversight. - Communicate independently with clients for tactical project matters. Qualifications - Alignment with Afton's core values. - Advanced financial acumen and financial projection modeling skills, developing projections with minimal supervision, using reasonable and well-researched assumptions. - Demonstrates intermediate project management skills, leading work streams, meeting project deadlines, highlighting issues, and driving towards solutions. - Demonstrates self-awareness. - Intermediate supervisory skills. - Strong verbal communication skills. - Perform effectively in a remote team environment. - Proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Zoom, and similar professional services software. - You take initiative, solve problems, are a reliable team player, are flexible, quick and organized, and can take ambiguous problems/requests and structure a path for addressing them. - A minimum of four years of relevant work experience.