Senior Manager, Strategic Finance & Operations Excellence

Spaulding Ridge; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

Spaulding Ridge is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategic Finance & Operational Excellence to lead finance, strategy, and operations. You will partner with senior leaders across the U.S., Canada, and India, driving planning, forecasting, and performance improvement in a dynamic consulting environment.

The role emphasizes AI-enabled finance, executive communication, and a seat at the leadership table to influence strategic decisions and growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business or related field.
• 8–12+ years in FP&A, strategic finance, or corporate finance with increasing scope.
• MBA or CPA preferred.
• Experience with consulting/service-based business models and performance metrics.

Responsibilities

• Own long-range and quarterly financial planning and annual budgets across multiple business areas.
• Drive forecasting rigor, KPI governance, and delivery performance.
• Build scalable management reporting tying financials to GTM, delivery and people metrics.
• Support M&A activities including modeling and due diligence.
• Lead finance transformation initiatives, AI enablement, and systems integration.

Skills

Financial planning & analysis

Strategic finance

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

M&A experience

AI enablement in finance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance/accounting/business

MBA or CPA preferred

Tools

Snowflake

Anaplan

Salesforce

FinancialForce

Tableau

Job description

Spaulding Ridge is an advisory and IT implementation firm. We help global organizations get financial clarity into the complex, daily sales, and operational decisions that impact profitable revenue generations, efficient operational performance, and reliable financial management.

At Spaulding Ridge, we believe all business is personal. Core to our values is our relationships with our clients, our business partners, our team, and the global community. Our employees dedicate their time to helping our clients transform their business, from strategy through implementation and business transformation.

Spaulding Ridge is looking for a high-caliber, hungry, and intellectually curious Senior Manager, Strategic Finance & Operational Excellence to operate as a true athlete across finance, strategy, and operations. This is not a traditional FP&A role. You will be a core thought partner to leadership, owning critical initiatives across financial and operational planning, financing, M&A and global business performance. You will help build and scale a modern, AI-enabled finance function, partnering with teams in the U.S., Canada, and India. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, builds trusting relationships with senior leaders, and is energized by solving complex problems that directly impact company trajectory.

This leader will work day-to-day with several P&L leaders to drive operational efficiency, financial performance, and strategic execution, while also partnering closely with the COO & CFO on broader company objectives. This individual will act as a delegate and representative for the practice in financial and operational discussions across the firm and with corporate functions.

Success in this role requires strong financial acumen, executive-level communication skills, exceptional stakeholder management, and the ability to lead complex initiatives in a fast-growing, consulting-driven environment.

What You Will Own

Finance

• Own planning cycles leading business planning & analysis for quarterly forecasts and annual financial plan for several business areas totaling $50M revenue
• Drive operational rigor across forecasting, backlog management, utilization, pipeline conversion and delivery performance through standardized KPI governance & operating cadences
• Build scalable management reporting and executive operating rhythms that connect financials, GTM, delivery and people metrics into actionable decision-making
• Support capital allocation, cash flow & covenant forecasting
• Align incentive design with profitability & growth by supporting workforce planning, sales performance and compensation plan economics
• Support M&A activities including financial modeling, due diligence & integration planning
• Drive finance transformation initiatives spanning process redesign, systems integration, AI enablement and organizational scalability
• Support advisory board & investor reporting
  
  
  

Performance & Business Impact

• Influence senior leaders to build & execute financial plans that drive growth & profitability
• Build and own scalable operating mechanisms that improve forecasting accuracy, decision velocity and accountability across the organization
• Improve visibility into pipeline, backlog and profitability
• Proactively identify risks, opportunities, and performance gaps holding leaders accountable
• Influence decisions on pricing, hiring, and investments
• Partner with cross functional groups to support onboarding, training, project close out, system and process enhancement and other routine operations
  
  
  

AI & Next-Gen Finance

• Continuously challenge how finance work gets done- simplify, automate, and scale
• Partner with business intelligence & operations teams to elevate data quality and accessibility
• Embed AI and automation into forecasting, reporting, and decision-making processes
• Act as a champion for a modern, tech-enabled finance organization
  
  
  

What Success Looks Like

• You are viewed as a go-to thought partner by leadership
• You elevate finance from reporting to a driver of strategy
• You help the business consistently hit (or exceed) its plans
• You build scalable, AI-enabled processes that improve speed and insight
• You raise the bar for talent, thinking, and execution across the team
  
  
  

Who You Are

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business or related; MBA or CPA preferred
• 8–12+ years in FP&A, strategic finance, or corporate finance with increasing scope
• High horsepower: exceptional problem solver with strong business intuition
• Experience managing or supporting consulting / service based business models with strong understanding of utilization, realization, backlog, staffing leverage and delivery economics
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive outcomes
• Snowflake, Anaplan, Salesforce, FinancialForce and/ or Tableau experience preferred
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and shifting between strategy and execution
• Deep curiosity and enthusiasm for AI, automation, and the future of finance
• Experience working across global or distributed teams
• Experience with M&A, financing, or corporate development strongly preferred
• Self-starter with a strong sense of ownership and urgency
  
  
  

Spaulding Ridgeis committed to helping team members thrive in their work and life, and we invest in comprehensive total rewards to support this goal.

Our benefits include generous time off, paid holidays, paid parental leave, a 401(k) with company match, and highly subsidized health, dental, and vision plans. We also offer company-paid life and disability insurance, a monthly allowance for well-being and technology expenses, and reimbursement for approved learning and development initiatives within defined limits.

Spaulding Ridge is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.The base salary range for this position in the United States across locations is reflected below. In addition, this role may be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. Actual compensation will be determined based on a range of factors, including skills, experience, qualifications, and location. Please note that the range provided is subject to change at any time in accordance with internal policies and applicable law.

Salary Range

$95,000 - $157,000 USD

Spaulding Ridge’s Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace

When we engage the expertise, insights, and creativity of people from all walks of life, we become a better organization, we deliver superior services to clients, and we transform our communities and world for the better.

At Spaulding Ridge, we believe our team should reflect the rich diversity of society and we take seriously the responsibility to cultivate a workplace where every bandmate feels accepted, respected, and valued for who they are. We do this by creating a culture of trust and belonging, through practices and policies that support inclusion, and through our employee led Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): CRE (Cultural Race and Ethnicity), Women Elevate, PROUD and Mental Wellness Alliance.

The company is committed to offering Equal Employment Opportunity and to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with Spaulding Ridge and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to our VP of Human Resources, Cara Halladay ([e-mail]). Requests for reasonable accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability.