Application Guide

How to Apply for Head of Finance and Operations

at High Impact Athletes

🏢 About High Impact Athletes

High Impact Athletes uniquely combines the influence of sports with effective altruism to drive massive charitable impact. As a lean, high-growth nonprofit, you'll have the opportunity to shape the financial and operational backbone of an organization that channels $10-20M annually to high-impact charities.

About This Role

This role is pivotal: you'll take over back-office work from the Managing Director, building the financial systems, controls, and governance structures needed to scale from $10-20M to $25-50M in annual impact. You'll enable strategic decision-making through financial visibility and ensure compliance across a growing international organization.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might start with reviewing cash flow across entities, then meeting with the Managing Director to discuss strategic priorities. You'll spend time designing a new grant disbursement process, reviewing compliance updates for international operations, and wrapping up by preparing a financial report for the board.

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🎯 Who High Impact Athletes Is Looking For

  • Experienced in finance and operations leadership within a nonprofit or impact-driven organization, ideally with multi-entity management.
  • Expert in financial systems, controls, and reporting, capable of handling $10-20M+ in annual donations across multiple entities.
  • Skilled in strategic planning, governance, and risk management, with a track record of building scalable frameworks for rapid growth.
  • Comfortable working remotely in a lean team, proactive in taking initiative and establishing new processes from scratch.

📝 Tips for Applying to High Impact Athletes

1

Highlight specific examples of building financial systems from the ground up, especially in a nonprofit or multi-entity context.

2

Quantify your impact: mention dollar amounts managed, growth rates, or efficiency improvements you've driven.

3

Show understanding of effective altruism concepts (e.g., cost-effectiveness, evidence-based giving) and how they apply to finance/ops.

4

Tailor your resume to emphasize operational scalability and governance, not just accounting or compliance.

5

In your cover letter, directly address how you would approach scaling from $10-20M to $25-50M, including specific frameworks.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your experience building financial systems and controls for multi-entity, high-growth organizations.', 'Your ability to create operational frameworks and governance structures that enable strategic decision-making.', 'Your alignment with effective altruism and passion for high-impact charitable work.', 'Your proactive, hands-on approach to taking over back-office work and freeing up the Managing Director.']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Understand High Impact Athletes' current funding sources, donation channels, and beneficiary charities.
  • → Read about effective altruism principles, especially GiveWell's cost-effectiveness analyses.
  • → Review the organization's recent impact reports and any public financials to grasp their scale and growth trajectory.
  • → Familiarize yourself with the sports philanthropy landscape and how HIA differentiates itself.
Visit High Impact Athletes's Website →

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk us through how you would design a financial system for a nonprofit with multiple entities and $15M in donations.
2 Describe a time you implemented a risk management process in a growing international organization.
3 How would you prioritize building operational frameworks when the organization is scaling rapidly?
4 What metrics would you track to ensure financial visibility and guide strategic decisions?
5 How do you stay aligned with effective altruism principles while managing finances and operations?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on cost-cutting rather than building systems for growth and impact.
  • Underestimating the hands-on nature of the role—this is not a high-level oversight position; you'll be building from scratch.
  • Not demonstrating knowledge of effective altruism or showing disconnect between finance ops and mission impact.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to High Impact Athletes!

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