Head of Strategic Finance

Clair

Head of Strategic Finance at Clair optimizing financial models and driving financial strategy. Collaborating with VP of Finance and building analytical foundations for informed decision-making.

Posted 4/12/2026full-timeNew York City • New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $188,600 - $325,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

SQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Build, maintain, and defend Clair’s consolidated operating model
Run the annual budget process end-to-end. Bottoms-up plans with every department, reconciled to top-down targets
Maintain weekly rolling forecasts. You’re the first person to know when something is off and you turn that into action, not just insight
Variance analysis that says something. Not "Revenue was $50K below plan" but "Revenue was $50K below plan because partner X’s conversion dropped 15% after their app update, and here’s what we should do"
Own the reporting cadence: monthly reviews, QBRs, board materials
Build the models behind fundraising: investor decks, data rooms, due diligence answers
Model new product economics before we build anything. What are the unit economics? What’s the break-even?
Pricing and take-rate analysis for new and existing partnerships
Be the VP of Finance’s go-to analytical partner on big-picture questions
Product team says engagement is up. Partnerships says a new population is onboarding. Data science says default rates are shifting. You’re the one who turns those inputs into a coherent financial picture
Translate model outputs into plain English for people who don’t live in spreadsheets
Make sure the model matches reality. Partner with accounting on close. If actuals and forecast diverge, figure out why
Build processes that scale. Automate the stuff that should be automated. Know when a human needs to look at the number. Evolve our processes and tools to be AI-native and generating maximum operating leverage
Own the tooling: Pigment, dashboards, reporting infrastructure

Requirements

What you’ll need

5-8+ years. Ideally a combination of IB, PE, or consulting foundation. At least 2+ years owning FP&A or strategic finance at a growth-stage startup (Series B through D)
You’ve built or rebuilt a company operating model, not just inherited a clean one and updated it
Experience supporting a fundraise. Data rooms, investor models, fielding questions
You can model across business types: transaction-based, SaaS, lending/credit
Excel/Sheets, SQL, Pigment, or Anaplan. Pigment preferred
You can write a board memo on our growth trajectory and walk a Data Analyst through our margin profile in the same afternoon.
You’ve managed or mentored at least one person
Bachelor’s in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or STEM

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, Dental, & Vision Coverage, with option to extend to your family
Fully-paid parental leave
Company-sponsored 401k, HSA, and FSA
Unlimited vacation for salaried roles, generous PTO for hourly roles
Work from home setup allowance
Access to your earnings every day on Clair
Company-sponsored short-term and long-term disability insurance

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

financial modelingvariance analysisbudgetingforecastingpricing analysisdata analysisunit economicsfinancial reportingstrategic financeFP&A

Soft Skills

analytical thinkingcommunicationcollaborationproblem-solvingmentoringprocess improvementadaptabilityattention to detailstorytellingleadership

Certifications

Bachelor’s in FinanceBachelor’s in EconomicsBachelor’s in AccountingBachelor’s in STEM