Menlo Park, California (Hybrid)

About the Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation invests in creative thinkers and problem solvers working to ensure that people, communities, and the planet can flourish. Together with its partners, the foundation is harnessing society’s collective capacity to solve our toughest problems. A nonpartisan philanthropy, the Hewlett Foundation has made grants in the U.S. and globally for nearly six decades based on an approach that emphasizes long-term support, collaboration, and trust.

Globally, the foundation makes grants to address both longstanding and emerging challenges, like efforts to reduce the growing threat of climate change, contribute to evidence informed policy making, and reimagine the economy and society. Its U.S. efforts prioritize strengthening democracy, advancing K-12 education for all students and supporting community-led conservation. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it makes grants to support meaningful artistic experiences in local communities and support regional foundations working on critical issues such as housing. The foundation’s grantmaking also invests in strengthening the effectiveness of our grantees, and of philanthropy itself. The Hewlett Foundation’s assets are approximately $13.9 billion, with annual awards of grants exceeding $600 million in recent years.

The Foundation has approximately 130 employees in programmatic, operational, and investment roles, and is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Across the organization, employees are challenged with meaningful work, have the resources for ongoing professional development and learning, and contribute to a collegial and engaging environment. Hewlett is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion as part of our Guiding Principles and encouraging individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply.

About the Finance Department

The Finance department supports the Foundation’s grant-making goals by managing budgeting, reporting, forecasting, cash disbursements, expense management, investment accounting and tax. The team maintains a system of internal controls delivers accurate financial reporting, and provides analysis to support thoughtful, well-informed decision-making. Team members enjoy a culture that values partnership, learning, inclusion, and operational excellence.

About the Position

The Senior Financial Analyst serves as a strategic thought partner to Administrative and Program teams, by translating organizational priorities into thoughtful budgets, accurate forecasts, and well-structured financial models. Financial analysis is focused on deep-diving into administrative expenses, including but not limited to consulting and evaluation, travel, and training expenses. This position works closely with Grants Management to forecast our short-term cash needs and fund operational expenses.

The ideal candidate is team oriented with multiple years of budgeting experience, works well in ambiguity, multitasks across stakeholders and deadlines, and brings a solutions-oriented mindset to further expand upon how we plan, measure and communicate the foundation’s financials.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Budgeting, Forecasting & Decision Support

• Manages the submission, analysis, and preparation of materials for the annual administrative budget presented to the President and Board of Directors. Ensures accuracy, completeness, and integrity across budget models and submissions.
• Collaborates with Administrative and Program Directors to monitor and manage operating expenses providing guidance, financial review, forecasting, and recommendations to support effective resource utilization.
• Supports monthly budget-to-actual variance analyses, particularly across consulting, evaluation, travel, training, and similar cost categories.
• Drives and facilitates monthly close conversations, ensuring timely issuance of departmental reports and supporting enhancements to financial reporting and budgeting systems.
• Develops the short term cash forecast in partnership with the Grants Management team, evaluating the grant schedules and payment patterns to ensure cash is appropriately allocated for all upcoming disbursements.

Accounting, Reporting & Analysis

• Develops benchmarking, unit metrics and insights for key budget expenses, such as consulting and evaluation, travel, conferences and coaching expenses.
• Supports the preparation of materials for the Audit and Risk Committee meeting and the Board of Directors.
• Identifies and implements process improvements to strengthen reporting, internal controls and workflow efficiency.
• Provides backup accounting support as needed and stays current on relevant systems, accounting, and tax standards.

Foundation Support

• Plays a role in change management as new systems, tools, and processes are adopted within Finance and the broader Foundation.
• Serves as a content expert on cross-functional teams, contributing financial insights and analysis.

Success Factors

• Strong customer-service and business partnership orientation with the ability to build trusted relationships across the organization.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to set expectations, explain complex concepts clearly, and collaborate effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and deliver high-quality work while managing multiple priorities.
• Positive, proactive mindset with a commitment to problem-solving and continuous improvement. Understands how changes in one process or department impact the broader financial ecosystem.

Required Skills, Experience, and Education

• 5+ years of progressive experience in financial analysis, budgeting, and planning, preferably with experience building and managing manual budget models in Excel.
• Bachelor’s Degree in finance, accounting, or related field. MBA or CPA is a plus.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel (complex formulas, model auditing, building templates, working with large datasets).
• Familiarity with financial reporting systems. Experience with Sage Intacct and/or Salesforce is a plus.
• Strong accounting foundation, including working with financial statements, reconciliations, and multiple data sources.

Compensation and Benefits

The Hewlett Foundation is committed to providing compensation that is competitive within the philanthropic sector. We offer a generous total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this role is $125,000 - $150,000. Offers are based on the candidate's years of experience and our practice of maintaining salary equity within the foundation.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods of time and to travel via various modes of transportation for extended periods of time. The Senior Financial Analyst role will be based in Menlo Park, Calif. The foundation work in a hybrid work environment of two-three days in the office per week, or 10 days per month, at a minimum.

To apply

Please apply online and submit a resume and cover letter explaining how your skills fit this position.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation embraces the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally, in our hiring process and organizational culture, and externally, in our grantmaking and related practices. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.