Strategic Finance Associate

About the role

We are an early-stage company building a new kind of mental health program for kids. Our mission is to support school staff who see kids every day. We believe in earlier intervention, higher student and family engagement, and better coordination among the trusted adults in a student’s life. Our goal is to help students experience joy and envision a life they’re excited to live.

Responsibilities

• Build forward-looking forecasts to support runway planning and board communication
• Identify opportunities to automate and scale financial reporting processes
• Conduct ad-hoc analyses that help leadership make faster, better-informed decisions
• Maintain and improve Cartwheel's core financial model — P&L, cash burn, scenario modeling
• Own monthly board slide deck, investor reporting, and SLT financial updates
• Own KPI dashboards and maintain continuous improvement
• Lead the annual budgeting cycle: templates, department kick-offs, reviews, and final consolidation
• Partner with department heads on budget planning and resource allocation
• Maintain budget vs. actual tracking and variance analysis

Requirements

• 2–4 years of experience in strategy consulting (MBB, boutique strategy, or similar) or investment banking, startup or high-growth experience is a strong plus
• Built models from first principles and can explain assumptions and findings
• Connected finance to operations naturally
• Communicated clearly to non-financial audiences
• Operated in ambiguous environments
• Cared about the mission and understood finance was in service of student mental health

Qualifications

• Strong analytical skills
• Experience with financial modeling and reporting
• Ability to work independently and take ownership
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Skills

• Financial modeling
• Forecasting
• Financial reporting
• Strategic planning
• Collaboration

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Generous PPO medical, vision, and dental/ortho coverage
• Life Insurance
• Generous paid time off, including company closure from Christmas-New Years (12/25-1/1)
• Paid holidays and sick leave
• Paid parental leave
• 401K with employer match
• Meaningful equity ownership stake in Cartwheel
• Flexible and remote role with regular in-person retreats
• Annual learning stipend
• Laptop provided

Pay

$90,000 - $140,000 plus meaningful equity options

Schedule

Remote