Director, Finance Strategy Lead

About the role

As Director, Finance Strategy Lead, you will be a key member of the CFO organization – reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer and serving as a trusted strategic and analytical partner on the firm's most significant financial decisions. In this role, you will lead the development of Grant Thornton's enterprise-wide finance strategy – spanning long-range financial planning, capital allocation, and corporate development – helping translate the firm's ambitious growth agenda into a clear, disciplined financial roadmap.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and continuous refinement of Grant Thornton's multi-year finance strategy, aligning financial priorities with the firm's broader growth and transformation agenda.
• Serve as a direct strategic advisor to the CFO on enterprise-wide priorities, capital allocation, and long-term financial planning.
• Translate firm strategy into actionable financial frameworks, targets, and investment priorities across the CFO organization.
• Represent Finance in enterprise-wide strategic planning forums, ensuring financial rigor and discipline are embedded in the firm's most significant strategic decisions.
• Own the firm's long-range financial plan, translating enterprise strategy into a multi-year roadmap for growth, margin, and capital deployment.
• Develop capital allocation and capital structure strategy – balancing organic investment, M&A, and return of capital – to optimize long-term enterprise value creation.
• Lead scenario planning and strategic stress-testing to evaluate alternative strategic paths, risks, and trade-offs for CFO and Board consideration.
• Develop and deliver strategic financial materials for the CFO, ELT, and Board of Directors – including strategy updates, capital reviews, and investor-related reporting.
• Build compelling, data-driven narratives that connect financial performance to the firm's strategic priorities and growth story.
• Partner with New Mountain Capital and other key stakeholders on financial reporting, performance updates, and strategic communications.
• Build and lead a high-performing finance strategy capability, establishing Grant Thornton's Finance Strategy function as a center of excellence.
• Partner with FP&A, Controllership, and Corporate Development to standardize financial strategy processes, tools, and governance.
• Mentor and develop finance talent, fostering a culture of rigor, curiosity, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive finance experience spanning corporate finance, FP&A, investment banking, private equity, corporate development, or management consulting, including significant people and organizational leadership.
• Proven track record serving as a strategic finance partner to a CFO, CEO, or senior executive team, with direct ownership of enterprise-wide financial strategy.
• Substantial experience leading M&A activity, including deal evaluation, valuation, financial due diligence, and post-merger integration – ideally within a high-growth, acquisitive environment.
• Demonstrated experience building and leading long-range financial plans, capital allocation frameworks, and multi-year strategic roadmaps.
• Extensive experience preparing and delivering Board-level and investor-facing financial materials, including experience working alongside private equity or institutional investors.
• Advanced financial modeling, valuation, and analytical capabilities, with fluency across capital markets, M&A, and corporate finance concepts.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; experience with enterprise planning, consolidation, and BI tools.
• Exceptional executive presence and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence C-suite and Board-level audiences.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field; MBA, CFA, or CPA strongly preferred.
• Experience operating within a private equity-backed or newly public environment, with a clear understanding of institutional investor expectations and reporting requirements.
• PREFERRED: Experience within professional services, financial services, or a similarly complex, multi-entity organization.
• Familiarity with global or multi-national finance operations, including cross-border M&A and integration.
• Experience with enterprise planning platforms (e.g., Anaplan, OneStream, Adaptive Insights) and financial consolidation tools.
• Track record of building or scaling a finance strategy, corporate development, or FP&A function from the ground up.
• Experience partnering with growth-oriented investment firms or private equity sponsors on portfolio company financial strategy.
• Prior experience in an economics, strategy, or corporate development role at a top-tier consulting firm, investment bank, or private equity firm.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is between $185,000 and $278,000. Placement within the pay range is at Grant Thornton’s discretion, and it is based on multiple factors, including but not limited to, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, progression within the role, geographic location, and internal equity.

Schedule

This position requires in-person attendance at least three days per week, either at a GT office or client site.