Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - The AI Access Initiative (2AI)

We're at an inflection point in artificial intelligence, presenting both tremendous potential opportunity and risk for people in developing countries. AI capabilities are improving on a timescale measured in months, while development systems often move on timescales measured in years and decades. Much of the technology needed for positive impact exists today, but few organizations exist to bridge research, deployment, and scaled implementation: we must act now to ensure AI's benefits reach people in poverty in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Incubated at Evidence Action, we're scaling The AI Access Initiative, an organization focused on scaling AI-enabled 'big bets' to benefit tens or hundreds of millions of people in poverty in LMICs. We operate at the intersection of global development actors, top AI labs, and leading researchers to drive meaningful access to AI's benefits for the 3.5 billion people living in poverty globally. We create “public good,” open-sourced playbooks, toolkits, and insights that define how to design and launch tractable and impactful AI-enabled programs.

We are led by former Evidence Action CEO Kanika Bahl, a founding member of Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust, and advised by Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer; Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic; and Kent Walker, President, Global Affairs for Alphabet and Google. This work builds on Evidence Action's track record reaching 530M+ people with cost-effective, evidence-based programs across 9 countries in Africa and Asia, with a focus on last-mile delivery.

The Role

We are seeking a high-ownership and rigorous Chief Financial Officer to help architect the institutional backbone of a rapidly scaling AI-focused global development organization. This founding role will partner closely with the CEO and leadership team on financial strategy, organizational scaling, and AI-first operational infrastructure. While we are currently incubated at Evidence Action, 2AI plans to spin out on November 1, 2026 as an independent organization.

The right person thrives at the intersection of institutional rigor and startup pragmatism. You will set the strategy, own the outcomes, and serve as the internal expert, while identifying, contracting, and managing high-quality external partners: accountants, attorneys, payroll providers, auditors, insurance brokers, and state compliance vendors. You are comfortable in a high-ownership, high-ambiguity role, understand how AI can be used to improve the finance & accounting process, and excited by the opportunity to define an organization’s operating system from scratch.

You Will:

Strategic Leadership

• Design and stand up 2AI's core financial architecture: accounting systems, budgeting, forecasting, cash management, internal controls, and a reliable month-end close, sized for an organization that will grow several times over.
• Create an AI-native set of accounting & finance processes: Ensure that you are using AI to drive meaningful efficiencies across 2AI’s financial architecture.
• Run analyses to drive strategic organizational decisions: Build financial models, scenario plans, and organizational forecasts to support strategic decision-making in a fast-scaling environment.
• Design, procure, and oversee a lean, high-performing finance and compliance ecosystem: Manage outsourced partners (e.g., accounting, audit, legal, payroll, insurance, and HR) while ensuring strong institutional controls without unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Own the annual audit, Form 990, and statutory and grant reporting obligations, holding clean institutional controls from the first close onward.

Drive Organizational Expansion and Compliance

• Lead the financial, legal, and compliance workstreams that establish 2AI as an independent 501(c)(3): entity creation, registrations, banking, payroll, benefits, insurance, and staff transfers.
• Enable our expansion: Design financial systems capable of supporting rapid international scaling and increasingly complex funding structures.
• Drive high-leverage resource allocation: Partner with leadership to build a culture of analytically rigorous budget allocation and organizational decision-making.
• Build and own compliance infrastructure: Own critical compliance and institutional risk infrastructure, including charitable registration, insurance, governance, and regulatory filings.
• Drive governance and board operations: Establish board meeting cadence, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and fiduciary orientation for new members.

Partner on Grants, Operations, and Legal

• Oversee the entire grant lifecycle: build funder-facing budgets and models, lead financial diligence with major funders, and own compliance and spend-down against restricted grants.
• Manage legal affairs & contracting: Serve as the primary internal point of contact for all legal matters; review and negotiate vendor contracts, grant agreements, MOUs, and partnership arrangements, while ensuring IP protections are in place for open-source assets.
• Ensure compliance, manage risk, and ensure the organization's adherence to legal and regulatory requirements.

Requirements

The ideal candidate has built key organizational infrastructure in high-growth, complex settings (including systems, teams, and institutions) and is excited to do it again at an entirely new frontier. Ideal candidates are motivated by the prospect of building an organization that will reach hundreds of millions of people, understand that we must act urgently to ensure AI’s benefits reach people in poverty globally, and bring the rigor and ambition that moment demands.

We are still actively scoping our leadership roles and structure, reflecting the dynamism of this fast-growing phase of the organization, both the fun and the realities that come with rapid growth. 2AI is open to candidates across a range of seniority levels for this role; title, scope, and compensation will be assessed candidly with each candidate throughout the process based on their experience and fit.

You will likely have:

• 12+ years in finance, including time as the most senior finance leader in an organization, business unit, or country program, with accountability for a full set of books.
• A track record as a builder: you have stood up or rebuilt a finance function rather than inherited a working one, and you can clearly separate what you created from what you were handed.
• Multi-entity, cross-border finance experience in LMIC settings: establishing and managing finance operations in other countries and navigating local statutory, tax, and foreign contribution requirements is a strong plus. Familiarity with managing legal and regulatory challenges in regions such as Africa, South Asia, and the US.
• Comfort in a lean model: you stay closer to the ledger than a CFO of a large organization would, and you select and manage outside providers (counsel, accountants, auditors, brokers, payroll) rather than hiring the capability in.
• Strong written communication skills; able to translate complex financial and legal concepts clearly for board members, program staff, and funders.
• Ability to assess complex data, foresee trends, and make strategic decisions to advance organizational goals.
• CPA, JD, MBA or equivalent professional credential strongly preferred; nonprofit-specific training or certification (e.g., CGAP, CNAP) a plus.
• Experience with nonprofit finance, compliance, and 501(c)(3) environments strongly preferred: e.g., Form 990, single audit, charitable solicitation registration, IRS rebuttable presumption, and state-level tax exemptions.
• Range across strategy and execution: you can pressure-test a multi-year scenario in the morning and fix the expense policy in the afternoon, with low ego about either.
• Curiosity and creativity with AI tools, including a testing mindset and eagerness to experiment with emerging technologies.