Finance Strategy Lead

Grant Thornton is building a world-class Finance & Accounting organization to power decisions, performance, and growth across an increasingly global business. 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.

You will partner closely with the CFO, ELT, and Board to shape the financial narrative behind the firm's transformation, bringing structure, rigor, and foresight to strategic decision-making as Grant Thornton scales into a truly global professional services platform.

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton is consistently recognized as one of the best places to work – named to Forbes' America's Best Employers and honored by Fortune, Vault, Glassdoor, and Working Mother for our culture, career development, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In 2024, Grant Thornton Advisors partnered with New Mountain Capital, a leading growth-oriented investment firm with approximately $50 billion in assets under management, to help drive the firm's future growth and innovation. Since then, Grant Thornton has been expanding rapidly on a global scale – executing 20 acquisitions since Q1 2025, beginning with Ireland and scaling swiftly across EMEA, Americas, and APAC. This is a pivotal moment to join a firm with the ambition, capital, and momentum to become a truly global professional services leader.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Finance Strategy

• 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.

Capital Strategy & Long-Range Planning

• 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.

Executive & Board-Level Reporting

• 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.

Leadership & Organizational Development

• 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

Required

• 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.

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. At Grant Thornton, compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

At Grant Thornton, we believe in making business more personal and building trust into every result – for our clients and you. Here, we go beyond your expectations of a career in professional services by offering a career path with more: more opportunity, more flexibility, and more support. It’s what makes us different, and we think being different makes us better. 

In the U.S., Grant Thornton delivers professional services through two specialized entities: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services ― and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (not a licensed CPA firm), which exclusively provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services.

In 2025, Grant Thornton formed a multinational, multidisciplinary platform with Grant Thornton Ireland. The platform offers a premier Trans-Atlantic advisory and tax practice, as well as independent American and Irish audit practices. With $2.7 billion in revenues and more than 50 offices spanning the U.S., Ireland and other territories, the platform delivers a singular client experience that includes enhanced solutions and capabilities, backed by powerful technologies and a roster of 12,000 quality-driven professionals enjoying exceptional career-growth opportunities and a distinctive cross-border culture.

Grant Thornton is part of the Grant Thornton International Limited network, which provides access to its member firms in more than 150 global markets.