The Finance Manager will oversee payroll for educators and internal teams across Canada and the US, manage accounting and compliance, and improve financial processes while supporting US market expansion.
Location: Hybrid, Vancouver Office
Type: Full-time
Compensation: 100,000 - 140,000 CAD dependent on experience.
👋 About the Role
Hi, I’m Anna, CFO at Zen Educate, and I'm looking for a Finance Manager based in Vancouver to handle all aspects of our hypergrowing North American business. We're looking for someone with strong US and Canadian accounting and payroll experience, who can also independently run large projects and work side-by-side with North American leadership on our strategy.
Our North American business is growing fast - up 3x year over year - and is accelerating. In this environment, there is always a lot to do. For the right finance leader - with the urgency to work in a hypergrowth environment, a low ego to roll up sleeves and do work, plus the confidence to make decisions and build systems - this role puts you in an unparalleled position to make a massive impact on our team, and in turn, a massive acceleration in your career.
👋 About Zen
Zen Educate is a technology company that matches schools with temporary educator staff. Our mission is to solve the teacher staffing crisis and fill classrooms, so that all children can thrive.
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 want students to have access to the best education possible, and we go the extra mile to find, onboard, match, and coach incredible educators that deeply care about their students. We wake up every day on a mission to care more. We care more about our schools. And we care more about our educators.
This is your chance to make a difference and join a high growth tech startup on the ground floor. We are a collaborative company, and the career growth opportunities are endless if you are someone willing to dive in, be entrepreneurial, and do whatever is needed to get the job done. We are passionate about learning and development, and will invest in both your personal and professional growth.
We raised our Series B of US$37 million last year, the largest round in European EdTech in 2023. This is an exciting opportunity to make a difference and be part of a high growth start-up that is expanding rapidly in the UK and US markets!
🧠 What We’re Looking For
We want someone who doesn’t just “do the numbers”—but uses finance as a tool to drive clarity and better decisions. Some traits that define success in this role:
You’re hands-on and love getting into the detail—but also step back to see the bigger picture
You’ve worked across jurisdictions, ideally including US payroll and tax
You seek to improve and automate, not just maintain
You communicate clearly and confidently with stakeholders at all levels
🏗️ What You’ll Be Doing
Own payroll for our educators in the US and our internal team in US and Canada
The face of finance to the Schools we support in the US. Dealing with invoice queries and credit control.
Lead our North American finance operations: Manage accounting, reporting, and compliance across Canada and the US
Work side-by-side with North America and Finance leadership to support budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning, working closely with our FP&A manager in London
Work with external tax and legal advisors to ensure compliance in all jurisdictions we operate in working closely with our financial controller
Improve and streamline financial processes, from billing to month-end close
🛠 Tools & Systems
We use Xero as our accounting system. Familiarity with it is helpful but not required — adaptability and a tech-friendly mindset are more important.
A love of Excel is essential!
🌱 Growth & Career Path
We value impact over titles. The US business is growing fast and as the first permanent hire in the finance team in the US you will have plenty of opportunity to grow. We’ll support your development with honest feedback, flexibility, and clear progression criteria.
🤝 Our Culture
Our finance team is distributed across the UK, Europe and North America. Even though we are not all physically together we are a tight knit team and work closely and collaboratively.
You'll also be a central leader in our growing Vancouver office, working side-by-side with leaders in our North American Sales, Client Success, and Operations teams
We’re still building. You’ll help shape systems, not just maintain them.
Diversity and inclusion matter—and we’re still learning how to do better. If you’d be the first of something on our team, we want to support you.
🤝 What the team say:
“One of the most rewarding parts of working in finance at Zen is how embedded we are in the business. It's not just about numbers, it's about partnering with teams to make the right decisions. Zen's growth means we are constantly tackling new challenges which keeps work fresh and interesting! We are also a really close team who support each other in our day to day.”
“I genuinely enjoy my role at Zen — it challenges me, inspires growth, and allows me to make a meaningful impact to our schools, whilst working with a friendly and supportive team”
“What genuinely resonates with me about working at Zen is the powerful combination of great people (especially in the finance team) and the profound impact our business has. We're addressing critical issues. Zen has grown rapidly, both organically and inorganically, this provides many opportunities to dive into something new and is a great pathway for personal and professional development”
⚡ Hiring Process
We move fast. Here’s what to expect:
Initial chat – A quick screen to align expectations and answer questions.
Interview with two finance team members and technical task – A session to walk through your career to date, past finance challenges and how you’d approach real Zen scenarios.
Final values-based conversation – With a member of leadership to discuss mindset, alignment, and growth goals.
🙌 Ready to Apply?
If you’re a finance professional in Canada with experience in US finance, and you’re excited to be part of a finance team supporting real-world outcomes in education—we’d love to hear from you.
Apply now or reach out with questions.
Top Skills
Excel
Xero
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