Lead Finance Director for Technology, Data and Research

MSCI Inc; New York (NY); On-site; USD 304,000 - 395,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Lead Finance Director, where you'll partner with top executives to drive financial management and operational excellence. In this strategic role, you'll oversee a team dedicated to enhancing the firm's production processes across technology and data, ensuring alignment with commercial agendas. With over 40 years of industry expertise, this innovative firm offers a dynamic work environment that fosters collaboration and growth. You'll be empowered to challenge the status quo and lead initiatives that drive change and efficiency, making a significant impact on the company's success and the investment decisions of clients worldwide.

Benefits

Annual bonus eligibility

Flexible working arrangements

Comprehensive employee benefits

Learning and development opportunities

Collaborative workspaces

Global Orientation program

Multi-directional career paths

Employee Resource Groups for inclusion

Qualifications

• 10-15 years in leadership roles within the Finance industry.
• Experience as a CFO, COO, or IT Ops Leader is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategic roadmap and improve business performance.
• Manage financial operations across technology and data processes.

Skills

Financial acumen

Leadership and partnership skills

Communication and influencing skills

Process improvement

Capital budgeting

Risk management

P&L analysis

Business development

Data translation into actionable insight

Understanding of SaaS frameworks

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance or related field

Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA)

Job description

MSCI is seeking a senior business leader to serve as a key Finance leadership member, trusted advisor and strategic business partner to the Chief Technology Officer and the Chief Research Officer. This Lead Finance Director will be partnering closely with the CFO, the CTO and the CRO and will oversee a team of professionals managing all aspects of the financial management and financial operations of the firm’s production processes across technology infrastructure, software development and data process throughput. The individual will play a key role in driving operational excellence and efficiency across MSCI.

For more than 40 years, MSCI’s research-based indexes and analytics have helped the world’s leading investors build and manage better portfolios. Clients rely on our offerings for deeper insights into the drivers of performance and risk in their portfolios, broad asset class coverage and innovative research. Our line of products and services includes indexes, analytical models, data, real estate benchmarks and ESG research.

Scope of Responsibility

The Finance Director will report to the CFO and will partner closely with the CTO and the CRO and the leaders of the Technology & Data and Research organizations. As Finance Director, s/he will play a critical role in driving the strategic roadmap across our production processes, improve business performance and decision making, drive cross product/function coordination to ensure close alignment with product roadmaps and commercial agendas, and establish a strategic approach to the management of the firm’s resources and more than 6,000 global employees. As a leadership position, the individual will provide coordination and direction to a team of Finance professionals that drive the day-to-day financial management of each product/function as well as establish segment strategy and drive operational execution to support sustainable growth.

Specific Knowledge:

• Strong financial acumen, with proven track record in Financial and/or Operational leadership roles
• Experience with IT Finance and Operations and driving process improvement, reengineering and efficiency initiatives
• Strong leadership, partnership, communication and influencing skills
• Experience developing and leading strategic initiatives and investments through understanding the competitive landscape, industry trends, market structure and the potential business impact
• Proven expertise in articulating and presenting the Tech/Data and Research strategy to executive leadership
• Demonstrated ability to translate data into actionable insight
• Strong collaboration skills and comfortable providing indirect leadership
• Comfortable working in a global, high intensity and high energy environment
• Experience in capital budgeting, resource planning, risk management, P&L analysis, customer profitability, business development, competitor analysis, pricing strategy, product development
• Experience in developing and using metrics on profitability and growth
• Experience with product pricing and profitability review, large deal review & partnering with product & sales management
• The ideal candidate will provide a unique perspective, will question the status quo and challenge effectively and will drive change through innovation and strong commercial knowledge
• Helpful to have an understanding of subscription-based business models as well as an understanding of SaaS frameworks

Desired Experience

The ideal candidate should have at least 10 to 15 years minimum in leadership positions in Finance industry, preferably with experience as a business CFO, COO, IT Ops Leader or equivalent role with a focus on Technology. The candidate should have experience establishing strategy, driving execution and driving process improvement.

Desired Qualifications

Core financial competencies are a requirement along with strong leadership and business development skills.

What we offer you

• Salary range: $304,000 - $395,000 / year plus eligible for annual bonus
• Transparent compensation schemes and comprehensive employee benefits, tailored to your location, ensuring your financial security, health, and overall wellbeing.
• Flexible working arrangements, advanced technology, and collaborative workspaces.
• A culture of high performance and innovation where we experiment with new ideas and take responsibility for achieving results.
• A global network of talented colleagues, who inspire, support, and share their expertise to innovate and deliver for our clients.
• Global Orientation program to kickstart your journey, followed by access to our Learning@MSCI platform, LinkedIn Learning Pro and tailored learning opportunities for ongoing skills development.
• Multi-directional career paths that offer professional growth and development through new challenges, internal mobility and expanded roles.
• We actively nurture an environment that builds a sense of inclusion belonging and connection, including eight Employee Resource Groups.

At MSCI we are passionate about what we do, and we are inspired by our purpose – to power better investment decisions. You’ll be part of an industry-leading network of creative, curious, and entrepreneurial pioneers. This is a space where you can challenge yourself, set new standards and perform beyond expectations for yourself, our clients, and our industry.

MSCI Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversifying its workforce. It is the policy of the firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.