Head of Strategic Finance

Cohere; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 330,000 - 410,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch stipend

Health and dental benefits

Retirement plan matching

Parental leave top-up

Enrichment benefits

Learning stipend

Paid vacation

Home office stipend

Job summary

Cohere is seeking an experienced Head of Strategic Finance who will own financial planning, forecasting, product pricing strategy, and fundraising initiatives. In this leadership role, you and your team will provide analysis to support contract negotiations, growth opportunities, and influence corporate strategy.

Reporting to the CFO and partnering with the Executive Team, you will lead financial, strategic, and fundraising insights to drive operational performance.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of leadership experience in Strategic Finance in high-growth environments.
• Experience operating in SaaS or AI/tech organizations with pricing strategies and enterprise sales cycles.
• Deep knowledge of enterprise financial planning systems and data visualization tools; governance and controls.
• Exceptional Excel and financial modeling skills including M&A, capital markets, valuation, and fundraising modeling.
• Experience with investor relations and capital raising activities.
• Executive-level presentation and communication skills with cross-functional influence.
• Ability to translate complex financial concepts into actionable business insights.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning.
• Partner with CFO, Investor Relations, and executives on fundraising materials and board reporting.
• Lead analyses for AOP, M&A, investments, partnerships, and fundraising opportunities.
• Provide recommendations based on financial and strategic implications; identify drivers and risks.
• Construct ad-hoc analyses (scenario modeling, sensitivity analyses) for investment decisions.
• Oversee long-term planning with FP&A and benchmarking.

Skills

Strategic finance leadership

Financial planning

Budgeting & forecasting

M&A analysis

Investor relations

Strategic analysis

Leadership

Executive communication

Tools

Excel

Data visualization tools

Finance governance tools

Job description

Who are we?

Cohere is the leading security‑first enterprise AI company. We build cutting‑edge foundation AI models and end‑to‑end products that are designed to solve real‑world business problems.

We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft.

We are a global technology company co‑headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, with key offices in London, New York City, Montreal, Seoul, Germany and Paris. Join us!

Role Overview

Cohere is searching for an experienced Head of Strategic Finance who will own financial planning, business forecasting, product pricing strategy, and assist in fundraising initiatives. In this leadership role, you and your team will provide analysis to support contract negotiations, growth opportunities, and influence corporate strategy. Reporting to the CFO and partnering with the Executive Team, you will lead financial, strategic, and fundraising insights to drive operational performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead strategic financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, long‑term planning, and assist in fundraising strategy development.
• Partner with the CFO and Investor Relations to assist in preparing materials for fundraising, investor relations, and board reporting. Partner with senior leadership to evaluate key business initiatives.
• Lead and perform financial analyses for a variety of strategic decisions, including Annual Operating Plan, M&A, strategic investments, partnerships, capital market transactions, and fundraising opportunities.
• Provide recommendations to executive management based on both financial and strategic implications of investment decisions. Identify business drivers and risks and present them to the Executive Team.
• Construct detailed ad‑hoc analyses (scenario modeling, sensitivity analyses, and contingency planning) to support internal investment decision‑making and fundraising efforts.
• Manage the long‑term planning process with a focus on operational and financial benchmarking, coordinating with the FP&A team.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of leadership experience in Strategic Finance, including a track record of building and scaling finance teams in high‑growth environments.
• Experience operating in a SaaS or similar technology organization, coupled with an understanding of AI/ML market dynamics, pricing strategies, and enterprise sales cycles.
• Deep knowledge of enterprise‑level financial planning systems and experience with data visualization tools. Proven track record of implementing finance governance frameworks and controls in a rapidly scaling environment.
• Exceptional Excel and financial modeling skills, including M&A, capital markets, valuation, and fundraising modeling experience. Experience with investor relations and capital raising activities.
• Executive level presentation and communication skills. Experience building relationships with cross‑functional partners, inspiring trust across the organization while providing mentorship to team members.
• Track record of success translating complex financial concepts into actionable business insights for non‑financial stakeholders.

Compensation

Cohere is committed to fair and transparent pay practices. The salary range listed for this role reflects the expected base compensation. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job‑related knowledge, skills, education, and experience.

For candidates in the US, the Compensation Range is: $330,000 – $410,000 USD.

Full‑Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks

• A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.
• Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.
• RRSP matching, 401K, pension scheme.
• 100% parental leave top‑up for up to 6 months, for either parent.
• Annual enrichment benefits: arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workplace improvement credit.
• Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.

• 6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days).
• Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite.

How and Where We Work

• Cohere is remote‑friendly. We have offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Montreal, and more coming soon.
• For those in the office: a daily lunch program, plenty of snacks, and regular community and social events.
• For those not near an office: a co‑working benefit so you can work alongside others in your city.
• Everyone receives a $500 home office stipend to set up your workspace properly.

We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.

We may use AI‑enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates, but it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.