Finance Operations Specialist (Vancouver-based, US Experience)

$62,000 - $73,000 a year

Location: Hybrid (3 days in office, Vancouver)

Type: Full-time

Compensation: $62,000–$73,000 CAD (depending on experience)

About the Role

Hi, I'm Anna, CFO at Zen Educate. We are scaling rapidly across the UK and US, and with that growth comes complexity. We are looking for a Finance Operations Specialist based in Vancouver to serve as a pivotal operational hub across our US finance operations. This is a broad, highly crucial cross-functional role that directly powers our growth engine. Beyond driving our US revenue cycle and accounts receivable, you will play a central part in payroll onboarding and processing, accounts payable, credit card reconciliations, and internal control enforcement. We need a systems thinker with strong data skills who thrives on owning multi-faceted financial operations. If you are excited to build scalable financial infrastructure, partner across teams, and directly impact the success of a fast-growing tech company, we want to meet you.

About Zen

Zen Educate is a technology company that matches schools with temporary educator staff. Our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. Schools spend over $9bn a year on temporary educators, with over $2bn per year of that spent on fees that take money out of the education system. By leveraging the latest technology, we purpose-built a platform that helps schools to pay less while educators earn more. We have recently raised our Series B funding of $37mil, the largest round in European EdTech this year. This is an exciting prospect to make a difference and be part of a high-growth startup that is expanding rapidly in the UK and US markets





What We’re Looking For

We are looking for an analytical operator who is passionate about efficiency and user experience. You aren't satisfied with just "getting the job done"—you want to know how to do it better next time.

Traits that define success in this role:

- Data-Driven: You are comfortable manipulating large datasets to find answers. You don't just see a late payment; you analyze the data to understand why it happened.
- Systems Thinker: You seek to automate and structure workflows. You build guardrails, not just workarounds.
- Collaborative Problem Solver: You can communicate complex financial issues to non-finance stakeholders (like Account Managers) to resolve client disputes quickly.
- US Market Experience: You have hands-on experience with US billing and payroll, sales tax, or cross-border complexities.

What You’ll Be Doing

- Architect the AR Lifecycle: Own the billing and receivables process for US partner schools, ensuring the system can handle increased volume as we scale.
- Data Analysis & Reporting: Monitor aging reports and billing data to identify negative trends or recurring issues. Proactively flag risks to leadership before they become problems.
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the financial strategic partner to US Account Managers.



You will help them navigate billing hurdles to maintain healthy relationships with our school partners.
- Process Optimization: Continuously audit the Order-to-Cash cycle. Identify bottlenecks and implement data-backed solutions to streamline invoicing and cash reconciliation.
- Customer Success: Manage inquiries regarding billing issues with a focus on root-cause resolution, ensuring a seamless experience for our schools.
- Credit Card Reconciliation: Perform regular reconciliations of corporate credit cards and expenses, ensuring accurate categorization and documentation.
- Accounts Payable (AP) Support: Support the AP function by verifying vendor invoices, coding expenses, and assisting with disbursement runs.
- Educator Payroll Onboarding: Assist with payroll onboarding for educators, ensuring seamless intake, accurate setup, and compliance.
- Policy Enforcement & Compliance: Enforce internal finance policies and best practices across daily operations and team workflows.

Tools & Systems

- Excel Mastery is Essential: You should be highly proficient (Pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, managing large datasets).
- Tech-Forward: Experience with Xero or large-scale ERPs is great, but an aptitude for learning new tools quickly is better.
- Bonus: Experience with visualization tools (Looker, Tableau) or SQL is a strong asset, though not required.

Growth & Career Path

We value impact over titles. The US business is growing fast, and as a key hire in the Finance Operations team, you will have plenty of opportunities to expand your scope. We’ll support your development with honest feedback, flexibility, and clear progression criteria.

📌 Finance Operations Specialist (Vancouver)
🏢 Zen Educate
📍 Vancouver