Director, FP&A Deal Desk

About the role

We are seeking a highly analytical and commercially minded Director, Deal Desk to lead strategic commercial initiatives across 2U’s global education portfolio. The role supports products ranging from short-form courses and credentials delivered through the edX platform to 2U’s long-form Degree business, developed in partnership with leading global university brands.

Responsibilities

• Financial Modeling and Deal Structuring: Build and own financial models for new products, contracts, partnerships, and strategic investments. Evaluate revenue, margin, cash flow, capital needs, unit economics, payback, and ROI. Stress-test assumptions, identify key value drivers, and define investment thresholds. Shape pricing, deal terms, and resource allocation through clear financial recommendations.

• New Product Strategy and Launches: Lead business cases for short-form courses, credentials, executive education, and degree programmes. Assess demand, pricing, investment, profitability, delivery requirements, and ROI. Define launch economics and performance targets with Product, Marketing, Partnerships, and Operations. Evaluate monetization, packaging, bundling, and route-to-market options. Track performance against plan and use results to refine portfolio strategy.

• Contract Renegotiations and Partnerships: Lead financial analysis for renewals, renegotiations, extensions, and expansions. Model pricing economics, service levels, delivery costs, and investment commitments. Quantify the impact of proposed terms on margin, cash flow, cost-to-serve, and contract value through a rigorous ROI lens. Support negotiations with scenario analysis, recommendations, and clear walk-away thresholds. Evaluate new partnerships and market opportunities through commercial and operational due diligence.

• Execution and Performance: Lead cross-functional initiatives from evaluation and approval through launch and execution. Align financial returns with delivery capacity, learner support, implementation risk, and scalability. Track actual performance against modeled revenue, margin, cash flow, and ROI. Surface risks early and drive actions to improve performance and execution.

• Team Leadership and Governance: Develop and lead a high-performing team. Prioritize resources against the highest-value opportunities. Set standards for models, assumptions, business cases, and approval processes. Drive analytical rigor, pace, and accountability across the Deal Desk. Build strong partnerships across Finance, Product, Marketing, University Partnerships, Legal, and Operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or related field; MBA or CFA preferred
• 6–10+ years of experience including time within financial advisory e.g. investment banking, valuation, transaction advisory, or strategic finance
• Advanced financial modeling and valuation methodology skills (e.g., 3-statement modeling, DCF, scenario/sensitivity analysis, data analysis)
• Experience supporting complex deal negotiations or working in a Deal Desk / Pricing / Revenue Operations environment / Corporate Development
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing a team
• Strong understanding of either B2C marketing or SaaS and/or subscription-based business models (preferred)
• Exceptional analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills

Qualifications

• Must be able to work remotely across the U.S.
• Preferred to live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and be available to come into our Headquarters in Arlington, VA two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide millions of learners and counting with access to world-class higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference.

Pay

The anticipated base salary range for this role is $150,000 - $170,000, with potential bonus eligibility.

Schedule

Full-time, U.S. benefits include: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; Life insurance, disability, and 401(k) employer match; Free snacks and drinks in-office; Generous paid holidays and leave policies, including unlimited PTO; Additional time off benefits include: volunteer days, parental leave, and a company-wide winter break.