Description

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Wadhwani Foundation seeks an accomplished, strategic, and hands-on finance and people leader to serve as its inaugural U.S. Director, Finance and Human Resources (“Director, Finance and HR”). They will lead the Finance and Human Resources functions for Wadhwani Operating Foundation (WOF) and Wadhwani Charitable Foundation (WCF) (together, “the Foundation”), building the financial and organizational infrastructure for a global philanthropic enterprise.

Founded by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani in 2001, the Foundation is dedicated to accelerating economic development in emerging economies by creating large-scale, family-sustaining employment through initiatives in entrepreneurship, workforce skilling, artificial intelligence, innovation, and social good across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The Director, Finance and HR will join the Foundation at an important time of growth and evolution. The successful candidate will build the U.S. platform for human resources and financial management, including entity-level budgets and forecasts, strong internal controls and clean audits, disciplined treasury and grant-disbursement processes, and the people practices that allow a growing team to do its best work. They will partner closely with the Chairman, CEO, Governing Boards, and Family Office on financial strategy, resource allocation, risk, and organizational effectiveness, and with Finance and HR colleagues across the Foundation’s global network.

The ideal candidate will be a seasoned Director of Finance and HR with deep expertise in financial planning and analysis, accounting, controls, audit, treasury, and financial governance, ideally gained in a foundation, nonprofit, or similarly complex multi-entity organization. They will bring meaningful experience leading HR or people strategy, sound judgment, executive presence, and a practical, builder’s mindset, along with a genuine commitment to the Foundation’s mission and global impact.

This position is based in the United States, with a strong preference for candidates in the San Francisco Bay Area. The role requires regular travel in the United States and internationally. The salary range for this position is $225,000 – $250,000 inclusion of a 20% bonus component and a generous benefits package.

ABOUT THE WADHWANI FOUNDATION

Wadhwani Foundation is the global philanthropic brand representing the work of Wadhwani Operating Foundation (WOF), the principal operating and program-stewardship organization, and Wadhwani Charitable Foundation (WCF), the principal philanthropic donor and grant-making entity.

Founded by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani in 2001, its central mission is to accelerate economic development in emerging economies by creating large-scale, family-sustaining jobs. Through WOF and WCF, WOF and WCF fund and support independent local non-profit organizations to design and deliver high-impact programs in entrepreneurship, workforce skilling, artificial intelligence, innovation, and social good across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

WCF advances research, innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce skilling, and social good through philanthropic grantmaking. WOF sponsors and supports high-impact programs delivered by independent local non-profit organizations. Together, WOF and WCF work with affiliated and independent charitable organizations across multiple geographies. Each U.S. entity has distinct operating, grant-making, governance, and fiduciary responsibilities, and both depend on strong financial stewardship, disciplined planning and controls, and effective people practices.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Director, Finance and HR will lead Finance and Human Resources for WOF and WCF, serving as the senior executive responsible for financial planning and control, accounting and reporting, treasury and cash management, audit coordination, financial governance, people strategy, and organizational effectiveness for the two U.S. entities.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer of WOF, the VP, Finance and HR will partner closely with the Chairman, CEO, Governing Boards, Family Office, WCF Grants leadership, WOF Programs leadership, the General Counsel, and affiliated organizations. They will provide the financial infrastructure for WCF’s grant-making and stewardship mandate and WOF’s operating and program-performance mandate, while maintaining clear accountability at the entity level.

The role coordinates with affiliated organizations on funding, reporting, financial stewardship, and people practices, but does not hold operational authority over their Finance or HR functions. Each organization's Board and management remain responsible for local accounting, taxation, payroll, employment decisions, statutory filings, and compliance, supported by local advisors.

Immediate opportunities for impact include:

Financial Strategy, Planning and Stewardship

• Lead annual and multi-year financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, and financial stewardship for WOF and WCF.
• Establish clear entity-level budgets, forecasts, financial KPIs, cash requirements, and variance-review processes aligned with strategic and program priorities.
• Advise the Chairman, CEO, and Governing Boards on financial strategy, resource allocation, sustainability, and financial risk.

Accounting, Controls, Audit and Reporting

• Ensure accurate, timely, and transparent accounting and financial reporting for WOF and WCF, supported by appropriate policies, controls, systems, and documentation.
• Oversee external accounting providers, audits, tax-related coordination, financial statements, and management reporting in partnership with relevant advisors.
• Establish strong internal controls, approval authorities, segregation of duties, payment controls, and financial governance appropriate to philanthropic organizations.

WCF Grant Finance and Funding Operations

• Partner with WCF Grants leadership on the financial evaluation of grant proposals, budgets, funding requests, utilization reports, and the financial stewardship of approved grants.
• Coordinate approved grant disbursements, cash planning, and funding schedules with the Family Office, ensuring releases are consistent with Board approvals, grant agreements, and financial controls.
• Support financial due diligence and portfolio monitoring while maintaining a clear separation between WCF’s funding decisions and Finance’s fiduciary, control, and execution responsibilities.

WOF Program Finance and Operating Partnership

• Partner with WOF Programs and operating leadership on program budgets, forecasts, cost structures, financial performance, and resource requirements.
• Provide financial analysis that links program spending to outcomes, scale, productivity, and operating performance.
• Support periodic program and operating reviews with reliable budget-to-actual, forecast, unit-cost, and financial-performance information.

Treasury, Risk and Financial Infrastructure

• Lead treasury, liquidity, banking, cash-management, payment, and financial-systems requirements for WOF and WCF.
• Maintain financial-risk frameworks covering liquidity, controls, fraud, foreign exchange, counterparty, grant disbursement, and operational financial risk.
• Strengthen scalable financial systems, dashboards, workflows, and AI-enabled analytics to improve efficiency, visibility, and decision-making.

People Strategy and HR Leadership

• Lead HR strategy and operations for WOF and WCF, including workforce planning, organization design, recruiting frameworks, compensation and benefits, performance management, leadership development, succession planning, and employee policies.
• Partner with the CEO and functional leaders to build high-performing, inclusive teams, clarify organizational accountability, and strengthen leadership capability.
• Establish practical people analytics, talent reviews, and succession processes aligned with organizational priorities.

Partnership with Affiliated Organizations

• Coordinate with Finance and HR leaders of affiliated organizations to promote transparent reporting, strong stewardship, compatible planning disciplines, and the exchange of best practices.
• Provide Foundation-level frameworks and guidance without assuming responsibility for local accounting, taxation, payroll, employment decisions, or statutory compliance.
• Escalate material financial, governance, or organizational risks affecting WOF and WCF funding or operating relationships to the appropriate Foundation leaders.

Governance and Executive Partnership

• Prepare Board materials, financial analyses, workforce insights, audit updates, and governance reports for WOF and WCF.
• Partner closely with the General Counsel on governance, controls, risk, policies, and compliance matters.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Chairman, CEO, and Governing Boards on financial stewardship, organizational effectiveness, and people strategy.

Staff Management

• Lead recruitment and hiring of a finance and human resources team, identifying organizational needs, defining roles, interviewing candidates, and onboarding and training new staff.
• Supervise, coach, and evaluate finance and human resources team members, including assigning and prioritizing work, supporting performance and professional growth, and fostering a results-oriented and accountable work environment that supports high performance and retention.

WORK LOCATION, COMPENSATION and BENEFITS

Work Location: Wadhwani Foundation is a remote-first organization with U.S. offices in Los Gatos, California. While team members are located throughout the United States and internationally, there is a strong preference for candidates who reside in or near the San Francisco Bay Area to enable on-site presence in the office. This role will require regular domestic and international travel (approximately 4-5 weeks per quarter).

Salary and Benefits: The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $225,000 – $250,000 annually, which includes a 20% bonus component and a generous benefits package.

TO APPLY

More information about Wadhwani Foundation may be found here: www.wadhwanifoundation.org.

This search is being led by Ellen LaPointe and André Blackman of NPAG. Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.

Should you have questions, candidate nominations, or if you need assistance or accommodations in the application process, please contact Andre Blackman at andre@npag.com. 

The Wadhwani Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.

Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The VP, Finance and HR will be a seasoned, strategic, hands-on finance executive with meaningful people-leadership experience and a passion for, and alignment with, the mission, vision, and values that undergird the Wadhwani Foundation's work. While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• An experienced finance executive:
  • 15+ years of progressive finance leadership experience, including senior CFO or VP Finance-level responsibility in a foundation, nonprofit, mission-driven, multinational, or similarly complex organization.
  • Deep expertise in financial planning and analysis, accounting, internal controls, budgeting, audit, treasury, and financial governance.
  • Experience supporting grant-making, donor-funded programs, or philanthropic organizations, including the financial side of grant evaluation, disbursement, and monitoring.
  • A track record of building scalable financial systems, controls, and reporting across multiple entities or geographies.
  • Strong understanding of enterprise risk management and the financial implications of cross-border funding and operations.
  • CPA, CA, CFA, or MBA with a finance concentration strongly preferred.
• A people and organizational leader: Meaningful leadership experience in HR, people strategy, organizational development, or corporate services, with the ability to lead senior HR professionals and enterprise people processes. A demonstrated commitment to building diverse, inclusive, and high-performing teams. Additional HR or organizational-development credentials are a plus.
• Experienced in board governance: Experience preparing Board materials and advising Boards, Family Offices, and executive leadership on financial stewardship, risk, and organizational matters.
• A builder and systems thinker: Demonstrated ability to stand up new functions, processes, and tools, including modern finance systems and AI-enabled analytics, and to scale them as an organization grows.
• Global and cross-cultural perspective: Comfort working across geographies and cultures, with an appreciation for differences in financial, employment, and regulatory practices across the countries where the Foundation works, and the ability to collaborate with remote, globally dispersed colleagues.
• A strong communicator: Capacity to translate complex financial and organizational information into clear insight for Boards, executives, program leaders, and colleagues outside the finance profession.
• Comfort with ambiguity and working in an entrepreneurial culture: Adept at navigating complex, unstructured, dynamic situations without being deterred by a lack of clear direction, and energized by the work of building something new.
• Strategic, analytical, and operational: Strong change-management and stakeholder-management capabilities, with the judgment to balance rigorous controls with the speed a growing organization needs.