Finance Sr. Director, Strategy & Business Development

Woodward, Inc.; Fort Collins (CO); On-site; USD 221,000 - 298,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Stock contribution

Tuition reimbursement

12 paid holidays

Health insurance

Job summary

Woodward, Inc. in Fort Collins seeks a Senior Director of Finance to lead strategy and business development partnerships, overseeing diligence and value creation across acquisitions and divestitures.

You will partner with senior leaders to shape finance direction and enterprise-wide value capture. You will coordinate tax, treasury, accounting, SEC reporting, and other specialists to ensure disciplined decisions, reporting accuracy, and effective risk management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field.
• MBA or CPA/CFA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic finance leadership and SBD partnership with the EVP and the SBD leadership team.
• Coordinate with tax, treasury, accounting, SEC reporting, and other specialists for disciplined decision-making.
• Oversee financial due diligence for acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions.
• Evaluate deal models, accretion/dilution, tax implications, and valuation outputs with senior stakeholders.
• Guide negotiations on purchase agreements, closing methods, and integration planning.
• Lead external advisor management and governance throughout transactions.
• Drive value creation and alignment with enterprise objectives.

Skills

M&A experience

Finance knowledge

Financial modeling

Valuation mindset

Executive presence

Communication skills

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Advisor management

Integrity

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/Business

MBA or CPA/CFA preferred

Job description

Woodward is committed to creating a great workplace for all team members. Our company and its members are committed to acting with integrity, being respectful and accountable to one another, and staying humble and driven, while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards. We are steadfastly committed to attracting the best talent across our communities, creating a rewarding workplace. Together we are fulfilling our purpose to design and deliver energy control solutions our partners count on to power a clean future. Woodward supports our members’ wellbeing and regularly benchmarks with other companies in our industry to offer an extensive Total Reward package for this position. Salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Estimated annual base pay: $221,000(minimum) - $260,000(midpoint) - $298,000(maximum)

Benefits

• All members included in annual cash bonus opportunity.
• 401(k) match (4.5%)
• Annual Woodward stock contribution (5%)
• Tuition reimbursement and Training/Professional Development opportunities for all members
• 12 paid holidays
• Industry leading medical, dental, and vision Insurance upon date of hire
• Vacation / Sick Time / Vacation Buy-up / Short Term Disability / Bereavement leave
• Paid parental leave.
• Adoption Assistance
• Employee Assistance Program, including mental health benefits.
• Member Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability / Member Optional Life Member referral bonus
• Spouse / Child Optional Life / Optional AD&D / Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending
• Volunteer benefits, including: Home / Auto Insurance discounts Whole Life Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance / Legal Assistance / Military Leave

Why Join This Team Supporting Strategy & Business Development?

This is an opportunity to play a visible leadership role in shaping strategic growth through mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other high-impact transactions. The Senior Director, Finance will partner closely with senior leadership, influence enterprise-wide finance alignment, protect deal value, and help ensure strategic decisions are supported by disciplined financial insight and execution.

What You Will Be Doing

Strategic Finance Leadership & SBD Partnership: Serve as the senior finance partner to the EVP, Strategy and Business Development and as a member of the SBD leadership team, providing executive-level guidance on transaction priorities, risks, decision points, and value-creation opportunities.

Connect the deal team with enterprise finance functions, ensuring tax, treasury, accounting, SEC reporting, technical accounting, operational finance, and other specialists are engaged at the right points to support disciplined decision-making and execution.

Transaction Diligence, Financial Analysis & Value Creation: Lead financial diligence for acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions, including financial statement analysis, risk identification, mitigation strategies, and assessment of key value drivers.

Evaluate deal models and transaction economics, including valuation outputs, gain/loss analysis, accretion/dilution analysis, working capital considerations, tax implications, purchase accounting, and integration/separation assumptions. Bring a commercially informed perspective to transaction decisions, helping senior leaders understand financial tradeoffs, risks, and opportunities before decisions are finalized.

Deal Structuring, Negotiation & Execution: Support Partner with legal, business development, and finance stakeholders to shape transaction structure and review purchase agreements, disclosure schedules, representations and warranties, and other financially significant deal terms. Support negotiations involving purchase price adjustments, net working capital targets, accounting principles, closing methodologies, post-closing adjustments, purchase price allocation, and other financial considerations.

Provide finance leadership for regulatory, antitrust, financing, sell-side diligence, virtual data room, carve-out financial statement, quality of earnings, and management presentation activities, as applicable. Advisor Management, Integration & Governance: Engage and manage external advisors, including diligence, accounting, tax, valuation, and integration consultants, ensuring scope, deliverables, timelines, quality, and costs are aligned with transaction priorities.

Lead or guide finance integration planning for acquisitions and separation planning for divestitures, ensuring smooth transitions, clear accountability, and alignment with business objectives. Ensure completed transactions inform future deal processes, models, controls, governance practices, and value‑capture opportunities.

What We Are Looking For

• Deep M&A and strategic transaction experience, including acquisitions, divestitures, integrations, separations, due diligence, deal structuring, purchase agreements, and closing mechanisms.
• Strong working knowledge of the finance disciplines that influence transactions, with the judgment to engage subject‑matter experts at the right points.
• Advanced financial analysis and modeling capability, including valuation, discounted cash flow analysis, forecasting, accretion/dilution analysis, gain/loss analysis, and executive‑level transaction materials.
• Commercial judgment and value‑creation mindset, with the ability to identify value drivers, assess risks and tradeoffs, and connect technical details to enterprise business outcomes.
• Executive presence and trusted advisor capability, with the ability to influence senior leaders, challenge assumptions constructively, and bring clarity to complex transaction decisions.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, including the ability to translate complex financial, accounting, tax, and valuation concepts into practical recommendations for non‑financial stakeholders.
• Cross‑functional leadership and partnership orientation, with a track record of building trust across finance, legal, strategy, business development, business leaders, and external partners.
• Disciplined project and workstream management, including stakeholder coordination, issue escalation, execution follow‑through, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Effective external advisor management, including oversight of consultant scope, deliverables, cost, quality, accountability, and alignment to transaction priorities.
• High integrity, discretion, ownership, and sound judgment in handling confidential information, leading through ambiguity, and driving alignment, accountability, and results.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field required; Master’s degree or MBA preferred.
• CPA, CFA, or equivalent certification highly desirable.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in finance, accounting, corporate development, M&A, transaction advisory, or related roles; prior leadership experience.

Application window is anticipated to close 30 days from original posting date. This information is provided in compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and is the company’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation range and benefits offered for this position. The compensation offered to the successful applicant may vary based on factors including experience, skills, education, location, and other job‑related reasons.

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be U.S. Persons within the meaning of the ITAR and EAR, or eligible to obtain all required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The ITAR defines a U.S. Person as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident (i.e., 'Green Card holder'), or a protected person (e.g., asylee, or refugee).

Woodward is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected under federal, state, or local laws.

What does it mean to be part of Woodward?

It means contributing to what matters most in your career, in your community and around the world. It means being a part of rewarding experiences, where innovation, collaboration and problem‑solving are at the heart of what we do.

Woodward is the global leader in the design, manufacturing, and service of energy conversion and control solutions for the aerospace and industrial equipment markets. Together with our customers, we are enabling the path to a cleaner, decarbonized world. Our innovative fluid, combustion, electrical, propulsion and motion control systems perform in some of the world’s harshest environments. At Woodward we have created a culture that appreciates and values the contributions of every member. We are a global team of curious, innovative problem‑solvers who commit our knowledge, resources and technical expertise to the challenges associated with reducing emissions, enabling alternative energy sources and increasing efficiency, always innovating for a better future. Woodward is working with our customers to solve some of the world’s biggest energy challenges. This important work needs more than just the brightest technical minds. It requires talented and committed manufacturing professionals, accountants, supply chain managers, human resources experts, information technology specialists and many more. We are looking for dedicated people who want to learn and grow in a supportive environment that fosters collaboration, innovation and inclusion.