Director of Operational Finance

Description

The Director of Operational Finance serves as the key financial liaison between project teams and operational leadership. This role is responsible for translating project activity into accurate financial projections, ensuring alignment between operational execution and financial outcomes, and maintaining visibility into revenue and billing pipelines. The position requires strong cross-functional collaboration, analytical rigor, and the ability to proactively manage dependencies that impact financial performance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Operational Finance Leadership

• Act as the primary finance liaison between project teams and operational leadership.
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure alignment between project execution, financial projections, and organizational goals.

Financial Planning & Projections

• Develop, update, and maintain financial projections across all operations.
• Understand project timelines and incorporate them into accurate financial forecasts.
• Prepare and distribute weekly financial projections for organizational review.
• Analyze projection variances and communicate key drivers to leadership.

Project & Billing Coordination

• Monitor and manage project-level dependencies that impact financial projections and billing timing.
• Ensure smooth billing handoffs between project teams and finance leadership.
• Use project end dates and milestones to set and manage expectations for billing timelines.
• Identify risks to billing schedules and proactively escalate or resolve issues.

Stakeholder Communication

• Meet regularly with operational leadership to present financial updates, insights, and risks.
• Serve as a bridge between Operations, Project Teams, and Finance/Accounting to ensure transparency and alignment.
• Communicate the status of the billing pipeline and revenue expectations to finance leadership.

Revenue Recognition & Reporting

• Partner with Finance/Accounting to support accurate revenue recognition processes.
• Prepare end-of-month revenue recognition reports, ensuring compliance with company policies and accounting standards.
• Maintain visibility into the billing pipeline and ensure accurate forecasting of recognized revenue.
• Performs other duties as required by leadership.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, or a related field.
• 8–12+ years of progressive experience in finance, with a focus on operational finance, project finance, or FP&A.
• Experience working in project-based or service-oriented environments is highly preferred.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and analytical skills.
• Deep understanding of project lifecycles and their financial implications.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and complex dependencies across teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency in financial systems and advanced Excel (or equivalent tools).
• Detail-oriented with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

Key Attributes for Success:

• Proactive problem-solver with a forward-looking mindset.
• Strong collaborator who can influence without direct authority.
• Ability to translate complex operational data into clear financial insights.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Work Environment / Physical Requirements:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. This position works in an environment with moderate noise level. (Examples: business office with computers and printers, light traffic). Usual office environment with frequent sitting, walking, standing, and occasional climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and balancing. Frequent use of eye, hand, and finger coordination enabling the use of office machinery. Oral and auditory capacity enabling interpersonal communication as well as communication through automated devices such as telephone. The employee must occasionally lift and /or move up to 20 pounds. Ability to read and understand work instructions.

Note: Nothing in this job specification restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. Critical features of this job are described under various headings above. They may be subject to change at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons. The above statements are strictly intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees in this position.