---
title: 'Director of Finance at Passage'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-finance-passage-passage-hq-n7mg1fdt7196'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Director of Finance at Passage

- **Company:** Passage
- **Location:** Passage HQ
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-06-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/passage/6c64d319-d65a-4374-af50-3216974555b2

## Job description

Director of Finance Toronto, In-Office | High Ownership | Build for Scale

## About us

Who we are: We build technology that removes barriers blocking talent from opportunity, combining the latest advancements in AI with human judgment. How we expand access: Access isn't real if it's unaffordable. Through our sister company, Passage Funding, we provide financing for international students. What we believe: Access to opportunity should not be determined by geography, gender, or wealth. We reinvest a portion of our profits to support those cut off from education - including our Afghan program. Access is the product: We build AI that turns paperwork into decisions, and decisions into real outcomes. Our mission is bold but simple: by 2030, we aim to dismantle the barriers preventing brilliant minds from accessing the opportunities they deserve.

## Who you are

We’re looking for a Director of Finance with a CPA designation and a demonstrated history of owning the accounting and financial reporting function within a high-growth, VC-backed company. You likely began your career in public accounting (Manager+ level) and have since operated as a Controller within a scaling startup environment. You understand what strong financial infrastructure looks like and have successfully built and elevated reporting processes through periods of rapid growth. You are technically strong in IFRS and comfortable standing behind your financial statements. You are confident in leading audit processes, setting accounting policy, and ensuring financial reporting is accurate, timely, and decision-useful. You bring experience but remain hands-on. You are willing to review reconciliations, refine close processes, strengthen reporting models, and dive into operational detail when required. You lead from the front and take full ownership of outcomes. If you are motivated by accountability, precision, and building financial infrastructure that can support significant scale, we’d love to meet you.

## What you will do

You will take full ownership of the finance and accounting function and ensure our financial foundation is built to support the next stage of growth.

- Accounting & Financial reporting
- Own the month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes
- Prepare and oversee IFRS financial statements
- Lead the external audit end-to-end
- Establish and maintain robust accounting policies and documentation
- Ensure accurate revenue recognition and accounting for complex transactions
- Financial Infrastructure & Scale
- Strengthen and scale financial processes to support rapid growth
- Ensure integrity of core financial data and reporting systems
- Oversee treasury, cash management, and working capital processes
- Build scalable workflows that reduce risk and improve efficiency
- Tax & Compliance
- Oversee all corporate tax filings, including SR&ED, and compliance requirements
- Coordinate with external advisors across jurisdictions
- Reporting & Governance
- Ensure board-ready financial reporting
- Partner cross-functionally to uphold financial discipline across the organization
- Support long-term financial readiness as the company scales

## Qualifications

- CPA designation (required)
- 8–12 years of progressive accounting experience
- Manager level audit experience (Big 4 preferred)
- Prior Controller-level ownership within a VC-backed startup
- Proven experience scaling accounting operations through rapid growth
- Direct ownership of IFRS financial statements and external audit
- Strong technical accounting knowledge and practical judgment
- Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, high-growth environment

Location Passage operates with an in-office working model. Candidates must be based in Toronto or open to relocating and working five days per week in our Toronto office.

Ready to join us? We are building a company designed to expand access to life-changing opportunities around the world. If you are excited about building systems, solving complex problems, and shaping how a company makes decisions, we would love to meet you.

Note: Artificial intelligence may be used in the screening or assessment of applicants. If your experience does not match every requirement but you believe you can thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply.

## Compensation

C$130K to C$175K+ and Offers Equity

## About Passage

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Passage is a Talent Success Platform that matches international students with PGWP-eligible Canadian programs aligned with labour-market shortages, finances tuition and living costs, and supports students through graduation and employment.
- **Entity Type**: Private (funding stage not disclosed)
- **Headquarters**: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Martin Basiri (CEO), Saif Iqbal (CTO) [ca.linkedin.com](https://ca.linkedin.com/company/passagehq)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Education technology and student finance
- **Target customers**: International students from 100+ countries seeking Canadian education and post-graduation work pathways; Canadian public colleges and universities (DLIs)
- **Mission**: "A public commitment to change one million lives by the start of 2030" [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)

## Products & Services
- **Match**: AI-guided intake platform that routes international talent into Canadian programs aligned with verified Government of Canada labour shortages, screened for PGWP eligibility [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
- **Finance**: Loans up to C$65,000 at 11.95% fixed APR for tuition and first-year living costs, underwritten using program, profile, and outcome signals rather than traditional credit history [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
- **Stay**: End-to-end support from pre-arrival study-permit guidance through on-the-ground academic and settlement help, job search, and PGWP-eligible placement [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
- **Afghan Program**: A dedicated initiative launched in 2024 to fund and admit up to 100 Afghan women through Canadian university and college programs [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Total funding not disclosed; team size of ~16 employees (as of early 2026) [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not listed in available sources
- **Growth Signals**: Launched in 2023 with first cohorts arriving in 2024; active hiring across operations, finance, and engineering globally; expansion into onshore and offshore pathways for students from Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Latin America [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Integrated model**: Combines matching, financing, and post-graduation support in one platform – unlike loan-only or recruitment-only alternatives.
- **Alternative underwriting**: Uses education and outcome signals instead of cross-border credit history, enabling financing for students traditionally priced out.
- **Labour-market alignment**: Programs selected based on verified Canadian shortages, increasing employability and PGWP success.
- **AI-driven consistency**: Policy enforcement, document validation, and audit trails ensure every applicant receives the same care [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/).

## Strategic Focus
- Scale the platform to serve more international talent and expand the network of Canadian partner institutions.
- Grow the lending book while maintaining low default rates via outcome-linked financial model.
- Build technology infrastructure (data platform, engineering) to support automated intake and policy application.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Direct, measurable impact on access to education and career opportunities for underserved international talent.
- **Small, ambitious team**: 16 employees in Toronto with a flat structure; roles in product, operations, finance, and law [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom).
- **Work policy**: Hybrid/on-site at Toronto HQ for most roles; some remote positions available for global acquisition coordinators and growth leads in specific regions [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/).
- **Open roles**: Currently hiring for Business Operations Associate, Credit Strategy Analyst, Director of Data, Principal/Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Staff Analytics Engineer, and global growth/acquisition roles [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom/jobs).
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on using AI to automate repetitive tasks so the team focuses on human-centric support; modern stack with data-driven decision-making.

## Sources
1. [passage.com](https://www.passage.com/)
2. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/passage-passagecom)
3. [ca.linkedin.com](https://ca.linkedin.com/company/passagehq)

## Other roles at Passage

- [Senior Marketing Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-marketing-engineer-passage-toronto-c1xjtwedtdpx) — Toronto, Canada
- [Senior Analytics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-analytics-engineer-passage-toronto-30tb82f8adh7) — Toronto, Canada
- [Global Growth Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/global-growth-lead-passage-india-pkf2abavmkw2) — India
- [Senior Accountant / Finance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-finance-manager-passage-passage-hq-7as3n1v5dc33) — Passage HQ
- [Principal Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-software-engineer-passage-passage-hq-h7ywwarrefd0) — Passage HQ
- [Staff Analytics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-analytics-engineer-passage-passage-hq-8gdmbfyccxvb) — Passage HQ
- [Director of Data](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-data-passage-passage-hq-apdmc8ym2w47) — Passage HQ
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-passage-passage-hq-wj2v9pmg2cp4) — Passage HQ
- [Global Acquisition Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/global-acquisition-coordinator-passage-india-3tm3gt5fe30b) — India
- [Global Acquisition Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/global-acquisition-coordinator-passage-nigeria-sm4mdx5df6bj) — Nigeria