Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. ITHAKA is a mission-driven organization that expands access to knowledge and education through services including JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R. The Finance Systems & Process Lead will own and strategically evolve core financial platforms, lead process improvements and automation, strengthen governance and controls, and drive finance systems projects from definition through implementation and adoption.
Responsibilities
- Own configuration, user access, master data, integrations, and operational health across Acumatica, Ramp, Adaptive Insights, Vertex and other Finance-owned technologies, including future finance systems
- Proactively monitor and resolve sync errors, data mismatches, and workflow failures
- Maintain system documentation, change logs, and productive vendor relationships; coordinate upgrades and new feature rollouts
- Provide expert-level support to Finance and Operations staff; triage issues quickly and correct their root causes
- Continuously evaluate Finance and cross-functional processes for improvement opportunities to reduce manual effort and error risk—take action to initiate improvements
- Partner with Finance and business stakeholders to evaluate current approaches, using evidence to develop alternatives and clear recommendations to improve outcomes
- Ensure improvement recommendations are supported with business justification to build alignment and appropriate prioritization of all opportunities
- Drive continuous improvement by navigating competing priorities, gaining support for recommended priorities and maintaining focus on delivering meaningful business outcomes
- Design and implement automation to eliminate manual effort; create high-level workflow solutions and engage the right technical or functional partners to finalize and build them
- Ensure financial systems support audit readiness, internal controls, and data governance standards
- Maintain documentation for integrations, configurations, and key workflows; support annual audits and ad-hoc reviews
- Partner with Finance leadership on system-level controls for expense management, AP/AR, and tax compliance
- Develop business cases that articulate expected value, resource requirements, implementation approach, and success measures to support prioritization and investment decisions
- Drive finance systems projects from problem definition through implementation and adoption—with clear owners, execution needs, and expected timelines at every stage
- Identify and engage the right stakeholders at the right time; neither building in isolation nor over-socializing every decision
- Exercise sound judgment about when to work through an issue independently and when to escalate
- Communicate project status, risks, and trade-offs clearly to Finance leadership, engaging leadership early enough in the process to effect change
Skills
- 5+ years of hands-on experience with ERP, spend management, bill pay, and financial planning systems in an operational or ownership capacity
- Direct experience with at least two of: Acumatica, Ramp, Adaptive Insights, Vertex, or comparable platforms
- Demonstrated track record of initiating and completing process improvements—not just documenting or recommending them
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and lead organizational change without direct authority
- Evidence of pushing back on stakeholders productively: successfully advocating for a better approach even when it was initially unwelcome
- Strong analytical and communication skills; able to build a case, present trade-offs, and influence decisions across levels
- Self-directed: comfortable owning work end-to-end with limited oversight, while keeping leadership appropriately informed
- Familiarity with API integrations, workflow automation, or low-code tools (e.g., Power Automate, Zapier, or native ERP automation)
- Accounting or finance background sufficient to understand how system configurations affect financial reporting
- Experience supporting systems implementation or migration projects in a Finance context
- ITHAKA is not currently considering candidates who require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) to work in the United States
- At this time, we're not considering candidates who are unable to work and reside in the continental U.S
- Experience in a nonprofit, SaaS, or dual-model organization preferred
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision plans
- An employer-paid 10% retirement contribution
- Paid parental and caregiver leave
- 22 days of paid time off
- 11 paid holidays
- Up to 12 sick days
- Wellness benefits
Company Overview