Finance Assistant (Minneapolis)

Location: Minneapolis

Type: Contractor (20-25 hours per week Tuesday to Friday)

Job Title: Finance Assistant

About us:

At Zen, we’re changing how schools find the staff needed for kids to thrive. There is a severe shortage of teachers and the support staff needed to support all children, accelerated by the pandemic. Millions of students experience understaffed classrooms and specialist programs. Schools looking to fill these roles with traditional agencies spend billions of dollars in high agency markups, which further hampers budgets and leads to more problems down the line.

That’s why we’ve developed an alternative solution - our online platform provides schools instant access to fully vetted teachers and support staff in their local area. Since our inception in 2017, we’ve placed tens of thousands of teachers into classrooms, helping kids thrive. And we’ve saved schools over $30 million versus what they would have paid a traditional agency, allowing schools to reinvest money back into school budgets and increasing teachers’ pay.

The opportunity:

Join an ed-tech startup that's reshaping education. This is your chance to be at the forefront of change, where innovation meets impact. We're not just selling a product – we're transforming the way schools operate, filling classrooms with the staff needed for kids to thrive and saving the education system millions of dollars along the way. 

 We’re also growing at a rapid pace. Our US revenues have doubled in the past quarter, and we plan to do the same in the quarters to come. This type of growth allows you to grow your impact and your career, while making a tangible difference in the education sector.

We're looking for enthusiastic, mission-driven people who fit our values and are passionate about what we do. 

What You'll Do:

-Handle to reconciliation of Accounts Receivable, matching receipts to invoices.

-Tackle invoice queries for our US operations and ensure everything's accurate in our system (Zen Educate platform and xero).

-Liaise with schools to resolve any invoice issues.

-Keep track of outstanding invoices and gently nudge clients for payment. Prepare monthly aged debtor reports.

-Responsible for reporting cash and working capital requirements.

-Manage Accounts Payable.

-Process payroll, benefits, and payroll-related tasks for US educators and staff in both the US and Canada.

What You Bring:

-Experience with bookkeeping and payroll, specifically for US and Canadian companies.

-Familiarity with accounting software (bonus points if you know Xero!).

-Solid understanding of accounting principles.

-A keen eye for detail and a knack for accuracy.

-Strong numerical skills and a love for numbers.

-Excellent communication skills – you can chat with anyone!

-The ability to work independently and as part of a team.

-A real passion for the education sector and our company’s success.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion, where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated for their unique traits, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and equitable environment where our team can thrive, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion or beliefs. We value our differences and believe that practices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion help us create a fairer, more compassionate environment for all. 

We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and different experiences and perspectives — just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in hiring the best people from the widest pool and creating an inclusive culture where people’s voices are heard and all our team can look forward to coming to work. 

We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We seek out diverse opinions, beliefs, and experiences because they collectively make us stronger; we’ve had former teachers, pilots, fundraisers, engineers, lawyers, marketers, social media experts and more join our team.