Director, R&D Strategic Finance

Ontra is seeking a Director, R&D Strategic Finance reporting to our Senior Director of Strategy.

For this job, we are currently only hiring candidates based in the United States. For more information on where we employ, please see below.

We’re looking for someone excited to drive financial strategy, oversee operations, and lead financial planning within the Research & Development organization. You will be the first person on this team and will be standing up an entirely new function. If you are a financial strategist with experience in R&D financial planning and analysis, capable of crafting robust spending frameworks and driving strategic decisions, we'd love to get to know you!

What You’ll Do

• Financial Strategy Oversight: Lead the development and execution of financial strategies for the Research & Development organization to ensure alignment with broader company goals.
• Strategy Ownership: Build and establish an R&D Strategic Finance function from scratch, leading both strategy and execution with a hands-on approach
• Cost and Revenue Modeling: Create and maintain detailed financial models to project costs and revenue across the R&D organization, providing insights for informed decision-making.
• Investment Case Framing: Develop and present comprehensive investment cases to guide funding decisions, ensuring effective allocation of resources within R&D.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Engage with leaders from finance, sales, and other departments to understand and communicate expected financial trajectories and align organizational strategies.
• Executive Communication: Effectively communicate financial insights and strategies to C-level executives and board members to influence key decisions.

What You’ll Bring

**Experience:* 10+ years in Finance, Strategic Finance, FP&A, or related roles, with significant experience in analyzing R&D spend and outcomes.*

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field
• Entrepreneurial mindset: A background in working autonomously to make significant impact on strategic functions

**Analytical Skills:* Ability to develop a deep understanding of R&D spending and projected ROI, and create frameworks to assess the efficacy across different investment vectors.*

• Strategic Leadership: Capability to guide and influence organizational direction in line with company goals, engaging with senior and executive management to achieve strategic objectives.

**Collaboration:* Strong teamwork skills to communicate and work across multiple teams including R&D, Finance, Sales, Customer Success, Marketing, and Leadership.*