Senior Associate, Strategic Finance

West Monroe • Full-time • Chicago, IL, US • $108k - $127k / year • 1d ago

Are you ready to make an impact?

We are looking for a proactive and analytical Senior Associate, Strategic Finance to play a key role in driving financial planning, value creation, investor engagement, and risk management at our dynamic, PE-backed business & technology consulting firm. This position will contribute to the firm’s strategic initiatives by supporting forward-looking financial strategies, such as scenario-based planning, investment analysis, corporate development activities, and enterprise valuation efforts that promote growth and long-term value creation.

In this role, you will help execute the firm’s value creation plan, collaborate on investor and lender communications, and contribute to preparations for future liquidity events (e.g., sale or recapitalization). You will also play an integral role in initiatives like capital structure optimization, equity story development, and due diligence processes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Finance & Value Creation

Collaborate on the development of the firm’s investment thesis and value creation plan, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
Support budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning processes tied to value creation initiatives.
Develop business cases and conduct scenario-based financial modeling to inform executive decisions on high-impact initiatives (e.g., market expansion, platform integrations, M&A).
Assess profitability, pricing strategies, SG&A, and working capital to identify opportunities for margin growth and operational improvements.
Partner with corporate development and business leaders to evaluate investment opportunities through both financial and strategic lenses.
Contribute to M&A processes, including due diligence, financial modeling, and integration planning.
Monitor progress against the firm’s value creation plan and recommend adjustments to maximize growth and profitability.

Long-Term Planning & Valuation

Assist with the annual valuation process to help optimize share price.
Contribute to the development of multi-year financial outlooks to support strategic planning, board reporting, and exit scenario analysis.
Perform valuation analyses (e.g., DCF, comparables, transaction multiples) in alignment with market trends and stakeholder expectations.

Investor Relations & Board Engagement

Help prepare materials for investors, including KPIs, financial models, and equity story presentations, in support of potential transactions such as a sale, recapitalization, or refinancing.
Contribute to readiness initiatives like standardizing KPIs, automating reporting, and organizing data rooms.
Support the creation of board materials, investor updates, and covenant compliance reports.
Collaborate on communications with investors regarding the firm’s equity story, financial performance, and strategic initiatives.

Capital Strategy & Risk Management

Assist in evaluating the firm’s capital structure, including debt refinancing, recapitalizations, and strategic funding alternatives.
Help maintain the enterprise risk framework to identify, assess, and monitor key risks across strategic, financial, operational, and compliance areas.
Partner with leaders to develop mitigation strategies for high-priority risks (e.g., client concentration, talent gaps, compliance concerns, cybersecurity).
Incorporate risk insights into financial planning, forecasting, and reporting processes.

Qualifications

3–7 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, consulting, or strategic finance, ideally within a PE-backed organization.
Proficiency in financial modeling and developing business cases.
Experience preparing materials for investors and boards, with confidence in supporting executive-level stakeholders.
Familiarity with capital structure concepts, debt covenants, and exit processes.
Strong organizational and project management skills, with a focus on driving results.
Understanding of key professional services metrics (e.g., utilization, realization, contribution margin).
Advanced Excel skills and familiarity with financial systems; experience with BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) is a plus.
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field; MBA, CPA, or CFA is a plus.

Preferred Attributes

Proven ability to thrive in high-growth, PE-backed environments.
Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate across strategy, operations, finance, and investor-facing functions.
Detail-oriented and structured thinker with a sense of urgency and ownership.
Transaction experience (e.g., M&A, recapitalization, exit preparation) is highly desirable.

Based on pay transparency guidelines, the salary range for this role can vary based on your proximity to one of our West Monroe offices (see table below). Information on our competitive total rewards package, including our bonus structure and benefits is here. Individual salaries are determined by evaluating a variety of factors including geography, experience, skills, education, and internal equity.

Employees (and their families) are covered by medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in our company’s 401k plan, purchase shares from our employee stock ownership program and be eligible to receive annual bonuses. Employees will also receive unlimited flexible time off and ten paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Eligibility for ten weeks of paid parental leave will also be available upon hire date.

Seattle or Washington, D.C.

$112,900—$132,800 USD

Los Angeles

$118,300—$139,200 USD

New York City or San Francisco

$123,600—$145,500 USD

A location not listed above

$107,500—$126,500 USD

Other consultancies talk at you.

At West Monroe, we work with you.

We’re a global business and technology consulting firm passionate about creating measurable value for our clients, delivering real-world solutions.

The combination of business and technology is not new, but how we bring them together is unique. We’re fluent in both. We know that technology alone is not the answer, but how we apply it is. We rely on data to constantly adapt and solve new challenges. Actions that work today with outcomes that generate value for years to come.

At West Monroe, we zero in on the heart of the opportunity, getting to results faster and preparing people for what’s next.

You’ll feel the difference in how we work. We show up personally. We’re right there in the room with you, co-creating through the challenges. With West Monroe, collaboration isn’t a lofty promise, but a daily action. We work together with you to turn vision into clear action with lasting impact.

West Monroeis an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer 

We believe in treating each employee and applicant for employment fairly and with dignity. We base our employment decisions on merit, experience, and potential, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state or local law. To learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion at West Monroe, visit www.westmonroe.com/inclusion. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in our recruiting process, please inquire by sending an email to recruiting@westmonroe.com.

Please review our current policy regarding use of generative artificial intelligence during the application process.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read West Monroe’s Notice at Collection for California residents, provided pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and linked here.