Senior Director of Strategic Finance

About the role

Kantata is seeking a Senior Director of Strategic Finance to serve as a key thought partner to the CFO and executive leadership team. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role at the intersection of corporate finance, data-driven decision-making, and operational strategy.

Responsibilities

• Ai & Finance Transformation Lead:
  • Implement Kantata's AI implementation strategy within the Finance function, identifying and prioritizing high-ROI automation and intelligence opportunities across FP&A, accounting, and reporting workflows.
  • Partner with the data and engineering teams to evaluate, pilot, and operationalize AI tools (including LLMs, predictive analytics, and process automation) that reduce manual effort and improve forecast accuracy.
  • Build business cases for AI investments and track outcomes against projected value creation.
  • Stay current on emerging fintech and AI capabilities and bring forward-looking recommendations to the CFO.
• Product & Segment P&L Development:
  • Design and maintain product-level and segment-level P&L frameworks that provide granular visibility into revenue, cost of goods sold, and contribution margin across Kantata’s product portfolio.
  • Partner with Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to allocate costs accurately and build reporting that drives product investment and pricing decisions.
  • Develop unit economics models (CAC, LTV, payback period) at the product and customer cohort level.
  • Support go-to-market leaders with profitability analysis to inform packaging, pricing, and market entry decisions.
• Strategic Projects & Decision Support:
  • Own the financial modeling and analytical support for strategic initiatives including M&A evaluation, partnership structures, capital allocation, and investor reporting.
  • Lead scenario planning and sensitivity analyses to support executive and board-level decision-making.
  • Build and maintain operating dashboards and executive-ready materials that translate financial data into strategic narrative.
  • Serve as a cross-functional finance partner, embedded with business leaders across Product, Sales, and Operations.
• Expense Management & Operational Finance:
  • Design and manage a structured expense management framework that drives accountability and cost discipline across departments without sacrificing growth investment.
  • Partner with business unit leaders to build bottoms-up budgets, manage variance to plan, and develop actionable reforecast narratives.
  • Identify cost optimization opportunities and build the financial case for operational improvements.
  • Own monthly and quarterly business reviews for assigned functional areas, delivering insights that drive action.

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of progressive finance experience in SaaS, software, or high-growth technology companies, with at least 3 years in a strategic finance or FP&A leadership role.
• Deep fluency in SaaS metrics: ARR, NRR, churn, CAC, LTV, Rule of 40, gross margin, and the levers that drive them.
• Demonstrated experience with AI tools, automation, or data science in a finance context—either hands-on implementation or structured vendor/platform evaluation.
• Strong financial modeling skills; capable of building complex operating models, product P&Ls, and scenario analyses from scratch.
• Experience in a PE-backed company, with comfort navigating investor reporting requirements, board materials, and value creation frameworks.
• Track record of leading cross-functional projects and influencing decisions at the executive level without direct authority.
• Exceptional communication skills—you can distill complex financial narratives into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field required; MBA or CPA a plus.

Benefits

• Compensation: Base pay for this role is: $175,000 to $200,000. This role is eligible for a company bonus.

Pay

• $175,000 to $200,000

Schedule

• N/A

Company Information

Kantata provides AI-powered insights and next best action recommendations our clients need to win more business and optimize project delivery to exceed their clients’ expectations. Kantata is well-capitalized, hiring, and growing our loyal and diversified customer base faster than we ever have. Most importantly, we have a clear vision of where we’re going and how to get there. (Hint: It involves you.)

Kantata is also an awesome place to work. You’ll have the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment with a team that loves what they do. A talented team, great perks, and an amazing culture = an employee-rated Best Place to Work!