Senior Manager, Finance and Systems

Senior Manager, Finance and Systems

R Street Institute V7.23

Washington, D.C.

The R Street Institute—a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with regional offices across the country—seeks a collaborative Senior Manager of Finance and Systems. If you are the right fit, you will report to the Senior Director of Finance and Systems. If you want to join a mission-driven organization and work toward pragmatic policy solutions, this may be the opportunity for you!

Your typical day at R Street may include forecasting, creating budgets, or preparing monthly financial reports for internal stakeholders while also acting as a systems integrator, workflow optimizer, and data analyst.

This role is essential to our organization’s financial and regulatory oversight. You will support our business strategy through detailed financial analysis. Candidates should have a strong desire to learn and readiness to handle significant responsibilities. In addition to financial compilation and analysis, a qualified candidate should effectively apply financial tools, techniques, and concepts to inform business decisions and drive results for the organization.

Other Aspects of Your Role

• Prepare monthly financial reports for internal stakeholders, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow projections
• Compile monthly reporting data and conduct margin and cost-sensitivity analyses
• Support the development of annual and multi-year budgets
• Create grant-spending reports and collaborate with programs on restricted/unrestricted fund tracking
• Identify and streamline manual or duplicative processes across teams
• Overhaul spreadsheet-based processes to build dynamic, collaborative models for scenario planning and grant forecasting
• Train colleagues in budgeting and forecasting best practices, including new tools
• Build dashboards and financial visualizations using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or business intelligence (BI) tools
• Deliver insights into organizational health, cost drivers, and financial risks
• Contribute to long-term planning efforts and business strategy through detailed financial modeling
• Assist with quarterly/annual tax preparations and audits
• Remain vigilant against ninja infiltrations

Skills and Qualifications

• No particular educational background required—a proven record of achieving results is far more meaningful than credentials
• 6+ years of experience in accounting, financial planning and analysis, financial systems, or nonprofit finance
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets and at least one BI tool
• Familiarity with nonprofit finance concepts (e.g., restricted funds, indirect cost allocation, grants)
• Experience with cloud-based accounting platforms like Sage Intacct (knowledge of Bill.com a plus)
• Comfort with application programming interfaces, data connectors, and low-code automation tools
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• CPA certification preferred, but not required
• Support for R Street’s passion for free markets and limited, effective government
• Sense of humor and desire to grow with a multifaceted organization

The R Street Institute consistently offers pragmatic, real solutions that foster American innovation, bolster competition, and safeguard individual liberty–all with the understanding that life in a democratic society sometimes requires compromises that don’t necessarily represent first, best solutions. We focus on deep scholarship and pragmatic policy solutions that many groups tend to neglect. Our goal is to publish timely, relevant research and analysis that advances a market-oriented society and limited, effective government. To that end, our motto is “Free Markets. Real Solutions.” Read more about our mission and impact. 

Workplace

We offer a flexible working arrangement. This is a full-time position that can either work the majority of the week in our D.C. office or be fully remote. 

Occasional travel will be required for events and conferences.

Compensation, Benefits, and Perks

R Street strives to provide a compensation package superior to those at other think tanks and nonprofits. The salary range for this position is $95,000-$110,000 commensurate with experience. In addition to this competitive salary, we provide the following:

• Unlimited paid time off policy including all federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, and two weeks holiday closure in December
• Alternating Fridays off
• Health insurance option entirely paid by employer (even for families)
• Dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) contributions with up to a 4 percent match
• HSA employer contribution match
• Quarterly wellness reimbursement
• Mobile equipment/mobile plan reimbursement
• Home internet subsidy
• Annual educational and professional development reimbursement
• Choice between child care assistance, pet care assistance, and student loan repayment assistance

At the R Street Institute, we strive for preeminence in every area in which we engage. We are driven by our commitment to excellence and innovation. Our culture thrives on action, creativity, and courage, with an unwavering focus on quality, credibility, and impact. We believe progress requires diverse experience and expertise, which is why we champion nontraditional yet prudent approaches to public policy. This principle guides how we build our programs, recognizing that each team member’s uniqueness strengthens our collective identity.

We approach our mission with intellectual rigor, embracing free inquiry and honesty to ensure our work is grounded in solid research and thoughtful analysis. While serious about our purpose, we value the joy of collaboration and the fun that comes from working together. Our collaborative spirit fosters trust and transparency, with respect and openness guiding our actions. We celebrate our individual contributions while recognizing that we are stronger as one team, united in our work and relationships.

Thus, R Street does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, era of military service, gender identity or expression, relationship structure, or anything else that’s illegal, immoral, or stupid to use as a basis for hiring.

We currently plan to accept applications for this job until filled. We will contact qualified individuals for telephone interviews, which are conducted on a rolling basis. Interviews will take place virtually via Zoom. 

To apply, please copy and paste your cover letter and resume in Microsoft Word or PDF. Any use of generative AI during the application process must be disclosed. 

The R Street Institute stands for free markets, limited, effective government and pragmatic solutions to difficult problems. We envision:

A free society, where public policy begins with freedom as its initial premise and governments exist primarily as guardians of inherent, inalienable rights.

An inclusive society that provides a place, a voice, and equal opportunity for all.

A just society that holds everyone accountable to the same laws.

Our Values

The following values are the principles that guide how R Street fulfills its mission and operates. Our organization believes in these values and we live them:

Always be better

We want to achieve preeminence in every area where we work. We encourage a bias for action, innovation, creativity, and courage in everything that we do. We measure ourselves by the quality, credibility and impact we achieve as a result.

Different is good.

We believe that great minds think differently and building broad coalitions has made us who we are. Making progress on policy requires that we operate outside of the echo chamber and take non-traditional approaches to policy making. We apply this same principle to the way we operate and how we build our teams: with a focus on diversity and inclusion. We are all unique but belong to the same team.

Serious(ly)

We’re serious about our work, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We believe in the intellectual rigor, free inquiry and honesty, that is required to achieve our mission, but having fun doing it is equally as important.

One Team

We all work together and work with humility. We strive to cultivate trust and transparency at all levels, between ourselves as individuals and as an organization, with our stakeholders, and in our work. We demonstrate respect and openness in our actions at all times. We are all unique but belong to the same team.