Strategic Finance Director

Your work days are brighter here.

We’re obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We’re in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun-drenched optimism and drive. Whether you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too.

About the Team

The Strategic Finance team partners across Workday to deliver insights, drive execution of critical initiatives, and enable long-term value creation. We combine rigorous financial analysis with program management, cross-functional coordination, and executive storytelling to help senior leaders make informed decisions and move the business forward.

You will join a small, high‑impact group that operates at the intersection of strategy and execution. The bar for quality is high, the work is often ambiguous, and outcomes are highly visible to the CFO, CEO, and Board. We value collaboration, low ego, and a strong learning mindset, and we are comfortable adapting with AI-driven automation as the company and our operating model evolve.

About the Role

The Strategic Finance Director is a senior individual contributor who owns financial due diligence and analytical support for Workday’s inorganic growth initiatives, as well as select cross‑functional strategic projects. Reporting to the VP, Strategic Finance, this role is the primary finance partner to Corporate Development and a key contributor to how we evaluate and execute our M&A strategy.

Responsibilities:

• Lead end‑to‑end financial workstreams for potential acquisitions and investments.

• Assess target performance and quality of earnings, build ARR and three‑statement models.

• Evaluate synergies and integration costs, and translating insights into clear recommendations for senior leaders.

• Orchestrate input from multiple teams and ensure work is organized, coordinated, and delivered on time.

• Partner with Corporate Development, Business Finance, Accounting, Tax, Legal, HR, and Business Technology to provide a complete view of value, risk, and trade‑offs for each opportunity.

• Improve how we source data, build models, synthesize large information sets, and generate insight more quickly and at higher quality.

• Support high‑priority strategic projects for the CFO and senior leadership, such as business driver analysis, unit economics, and incorporating inorganic scenarios into our long‑range plan.

About You

You are a highly analytical finance leader with solid M&A experience and a passion for using data and technology to drive strategic decisions. You have led financial due diligence and complex modeling workstreams for acquisitions or investments and are comfortable working directly with senior executives, advisors, and cross‑functional partners. You are as strong at coordinating fast‑moving work across teams as you are at building the models behind it, and you thrive in environments that are changing and evolving rapidly.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years in Strategic Finance, Corporate Development, Investment Banking, Private Equity, or a related field, with a focus on software/SaaS.

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or related field, MBA preferred

• Advanced financial modeling skills, including ARR / SaaS cohort modeling, three‑statement forecasting, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and valuation / returns analysis.

Other Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to apply emerging technologies and AI tools directly to your work (e.g., accelerating analysis, enhancing data quality, building reusable templates, improving decision support).

• A strong grasp of the metrics that drive value in recurring‑revenue businesses (e.g., ARR, net dollar retention, churn, LTV/CAC, gross margin, payback) and how they connect to strategic choices and long‑range plans.

• Proven ability to structure ambiguous problems, frame clear hypotheses, and translate complex quantitative insights into simple, compelling narratives for executive audiences.

• Exceptional coordination and organization skills: you manage many parallel workstreams, keep stakeholders aligned, and deliver clear, accurate outputs under tight deadlines.

• Experience partnering with Corporate Development and cross‑functional teams (Finance, Accounting, Tax, Legal, HR, Product, GTM) throughout the deal lifecycle.

• High ownership, sound judgment, and discretion with confidential information, and a low‑ego, partnership‑oriented working style that builds trust and raises the bar for the teams around you.

• Highly analytical with solid M&A experience and a passion for using data and technology to drive strategic decisions

• Experience leading financial due diligence and complex modeling workstreams for acquisitions or investments and are comfortable working directly with senior executives, advisors, and cross‑functional partners.

• Strong at coordinating fast‑moving work across teams as you are at building the models behind it, and you thrive in environments that are changing and evolving rapidly.

Workday Pay Transparency Statement

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below.  Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things. For more information regarding Workday’s comprehensive benefits, please click here.

Primary Location: USA.CA.Pleasanton

 

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $189,200 USD - $283,800 USD

 

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $159,800 USD - $283,800 USD

Our Approach to Flexible Work
 

With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.

At Workday, we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills. If you require assistance or an accommodation at any point, please email accommodations@workday.com.

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