Strategic Finance Manager

Location: NY Metro Area

Position Overview: Our client is seeking a hands-on, highly strategic Regional Finance Manager to serve as an embedded financial partner to regional leadership. This individual will function as a trusted advisor with a comprehensive understanding of the region's operating environment, from overall business performance to individual location-level financial results. The successful candidate will translate complex financial and operational data into meaningful insights and actionable recommendations that drive business performance. Reporting directly to the Director of Corporate FP&A, this position will have direct ownership and accountability for financial planning, reporting, analysis, and strategic financial support across the Northeast region. The ideal candidate brings extensive FP&A experience in multi-entity, multi-location, or private equity-backed environments and thrives in a fast-paced, evolving organization. This individual is proactive, hands-on, and equally comfortable developing strategic recommendations for senior leadership or diving into the underlying data to identify performance drivers. Success in this role requires strong executive presence, exceptional problem-solving skills, and the ability to translate complex financial and operational challenges into clear, actionable insights while maintaining accountability for execution. Candidates must be based in the NY Metro area. Proximity to the region is important, as this individual will regularly visit operating locations, develop in-person relationships with business leaders, and maintain a strong understanding of the operational factors driving financial performance. The successful candidate will be a collaborative team player who builds credibility through consistent engagement, communication, and partnership with regional leadership.

Key Responsibilities: Business Performance Reporting & Analysis (35%)Develop a comprehensive understanding of the region's operating environment, from consolidated business performance to individual location-level economics, ensuring financial recommendations are grounded in operational realities. Own the region's financial performance narrative by delivering monthly and quarterly reporting packages that provide meaningful insights, identify trends, and highlight actionable opportunities. Establish, monitor, and continuously refine key performance indicators (KPIs) across revenue, margins, utilization, realization, and customer profitability. Analyze financial performance against budget, forecast, and prior-year results. Develop early-warning indicators that provide leadership with a forward-looking perspective on potential business challenges and opportunities. Go beyond traditional variance reporting to investigate underlying performance drivers, identify root causes, and recommend opportunities for improvement. Translate complex financial and operational data into clear, concise, and actionable insights for senior leadership. Lead the annual budgeting process, multi-year strategic planning, and rolling quarterly forecasts for the region, maintaining ownership from development through presentation. Regional Financial Leadership & Support (35%)Serve as the primary financial business partner to regional leadership, providing proactive, hands-on support across strategic initiatives, operational performance, and day-to-day business decisions. Maintain accountability for the execution of financial recommendations by monitoring action plans, tracking progress, and ensuring initiatives move from analysis to implementation. Act as a trusted advisor and sounding board to regional leadership, providing independent perspectives and well-supported recommendations on strategic and operational matters. Conduct ad hoc financial and operational analysis to support business decisions, improve performance, and identify opportunities for growth. Develop and evaluate financial models and scenarios to assess strategic alternatives, growth investments, potential acquisitions, and market expansion opportunities. Influence investment decisions, resource allocation, and operational strategy through rigorous financial analysis and thoughtful recommendations. Strategic Business Partnership (15%)Build strong relationships with regional and operational leaders, translating business objectives and operational realities into financial projections, recommendations, and measurable results. Support financial due diligence, integration modeling, special projects, and acquisition-related initiatives, including synergy tracking and post-acquisition performance monitoring. Partner cross-functionally with corporate finance and other business leaders to ensure financial planning and forecasting accurately reflect operational priorities. Support regional growth initiatives, business development opportunities, and strategic planning activities through financial analysis and decision support. Systems, Automation & Process Improvement (15%)Continuously enhance financial planning and reporting processes, including forecasting methodologies, reporting templates, data pipelines, and business intelligence dashboards. Develop automated reporting tools and performance dashboards that provide leadership with timely visibility into financial and operational performance. Promote self-service analytics and improve access to meaningful financial information across the organization. Partner with Corporate FP&A and Finance Systems teams to drive consistency in financial planning tools, data definitions, reporting standards, and analytical processes. Identify opportunities to improve financial processes, increase efficiency, and create scalable FP&A infrastructure to support continued business growth.

Education & Experience: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field required; MBA or CPA strongly preferred.6+ years of progressive FP&A or corporate finance experience, including meaningful experience in a hands-on financial business-partnering role. Experience working within professional services, private equity-backed organizations, or multi-entity / multi-location businesses strongly preferred. Demonstrated experience supporting senior leadership with financial planning, forecasting, performance analysis, and strategic decision-making.

Technical Skills: Advanced financial modeling capabilities, including the ability to independently develop dynamic, comprehensive, and audit-ready financial models. Hands-on experience with ERP and financial planning systems such as NetSuite, Workday Adaptive, SAP, Anaplan, or equivalent platforms. Experience with business intelligence and data visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Databricks. Strong understanding of GAAP, financial statements, financial performance drivers, and key operational metrics within service-oriented businesses. Proficiency in analyzing complex financial and operational data and presenting findings through meaningful reporting and dashboards. Leadership & Interpersonal SkillsStrong executive presence and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial and operational issues into clear, cohesive narratives for senior leadership. Natural problem-solver who is comfortable navigating ambiguity, investigating complex situations, and identifying root causes rather than simply reporting financial results. Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority and establish credibility with senior stakeholders through sound financial judgment, collaboration, and consistent follow-through. Highly organized and capable of managing competing priorities while delivering results in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. Collaborative, low-ego team player who builds strong relationships across the organization and takes an active interest in the success of the broader business. Comfortable balancing strategic responsibilities with hands-on analytical work and operational involvement.

Travel & Work Environment: This is a highly collaborative, business-facing position requiring frequent interaction with regional leadership and operational teams. A NY Metro home base is strongly preferred to facilitate regular in-person visits to locations throughout the region. Candidates should expect up to 30% travel within the region, including regular visits to regional operating locations to support financial business partnering, new business initiatives, onboarding, and acquisition integration activities. Travel requirements may fluctuate by quarter based on business priorities and operational needs. Core collaboration hours will follow Eastern Time (ET) to support regional leadership and coordination with corporate finance and other cross-functional teams.