AVP, Data Strategy & Operations Analytics

US.020 Houlihan Lokey Financial Advisors, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job description

Business Unit: Data Strategy Group Industry: No Industry Overview Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.

Scope The Associate Vice President, Business Operations & Analytics will be a key member of the Business Operations team within the Data Strategy Group (DSG). The Business Operations team drives DSG’s internal operations, maximizing our operational efficiency and proving the tangible value of our technology investments. Working with DSG leadership, Product Marketing, and Corporate teams, this role will ensure data-driven decision-making across resource allocation and product adoption, translating engineering outputs into measurable business value. This role will report to the Head of Platform Finance and partner closely with Product Marketing, providing daily support for both functions.

Responsibilities

COO Partnership & Operational Modeling

Collaborate directly with DSG leadership to establish data-driven processes for operational planning, annual budgeting, and business operations within DSG. Develop robust cost-benefit models and ROI frameworks for major vendor transitions (e.g., FactSet displacement) and new technology investments (e.g., Claude AI integrations). Analyze resource allocation, vendor spend, and operational budgets to identify cost-saving opportunities and optimize DSG’s financial footprint.

Product Marketing Analytics & Value Measurement

Support measurement and adoption of internal tools like our HLOS system. Conduct deep-dive, AI-assisted cohort and funnel analyses on user activity logs to identify drop-off points, measure feature engagement, and establish product-market fit. Translate user interaction data into actionable intelligence, providing Product Marketing with targeted lists for adoption campaigns and user re-engagement.

Corporate Translation & Financial Analytics

Translate complex engineering and operational metrics into clear, executive-ready narratives for Corporate Finance, HR, and Internal Audit. Develop analytical views connecting DSG’s operating spend (including compensation, vendor, T&E, and G&A etc.) to utilization, delivery, and business outcomes. Build the predictive models that allow DSG leadership to have data-backed conversations with Finance regarding budget approvals, expense management, and ROI.

Software Delivery & Talent Analytics

Analyze delivery data across our software development lifecycle, including cycle times, workflow states, and sprint retrospectives, to pinpoint engineering bottlenecks and improve product delivery timelines. Provide data and analytical support for internal technology, change management, and audit requests as needed. Model workforce metrics, headcount distribution (including offshore integrations), and engineering utilization to ensure optimal team scaling.

Proactive Problem Solving & Strategic Analytics

Act as a proactive business advisor—diagnosing underlying operational challenges, identifying unasked questions, and structuring the quantitative approach to solve them. Rapidly prototype and test hypotheses to deliver actionable recommendations on how to improve DSG operations and product delivery.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
• Proven experience in Business Operations (BizOps), commercial analytics, or applied analytics.
• Hands‑on experience with advanced Excel (including VBA), SQL, Python, and building in BI and dashboard tools (e.g., Tableau/Tableau Server, Sigma, and Power BI).
• Exceptional ability to synthesize complex operational, financial, and technical data into clear, persuasive, and executive‑ready narratives.
• Proactive builder who thrives in ambiguous environments, independently sources data and challenges assumptions to surface the right insights.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with demonstrated success partnering with cross‑functional stakeholders (operations, finance, marketing) to drive measurable business outcomes.
• Experience working with large, unstructured data sets and building analytics tooling that automates analysis and drives strategic business decisions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA, MS) or professional certification (CFA, CPA or similar).
• Direct experience working within the financial services or B2B SaaS industry.
• Familiarity with financial data platforms, modern AI applications, and enterprise software development lifecycles (SDLC).

Compensation and Benefits

Houlihan Lokey is committed to providing its employees with an exciting career opportunity and competitive total compensation package, which may include other components such as discretionary incentive compensation. The firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the possible salary range for this role at the time of posting is: $150,000 - $200,000 Actual salary at the time of hire may vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant qualifications, skills, and experience and the location where this position may be filled.

Houlihan Lokey provides a competitive benefits package. Our current benefits offerings can be found here: 2026 Benefits.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com.