Senior Director FP&A Deals Desk (NAM)

Palo Alto Networks•Santa Clara, CA

44d•$241,000 - $332,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director of FP&A, Deals Desk (NAM), is a pivotal leader responsible for optimizing the financial performance of all North American commercial agreements. As the Head of NAM Deal Desk, you will lead our centralized deal structuring, pricing, quoting, and contracting function, acting as a strategic partner to Sales, Finance, Legal, and Product teams. You will build and scale a high-performing team, define deal approval policies and governance, and accelerate complex deal cycles while maintaining risk control and profitability. This is an in office role 3 days/week in our HQ, Santa Clara, CA

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in Finance, FP&A, or Sales Finance, with a minimum of 5 years of direct experience leading a Deals Desk or Commercial Finance function.
Proven experience supporting a sales organization, with a strong understanding of the US and Canadian business environments and contracting nuances.
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related quantitative field. An MBA or CPA is highly preferred.
Strong track record in a SaaS, Technology, or recurring revenue business model environment.
Expert-level financial modeling and analytical skills with a strong focus on revenue, gross margin, and working capital impacts of commercial terms.
Deep knowledge of US GAAP and revenue recognition principles (e.g., ASC 606).
Exceptional business acumen and the ability to partner with and influence senior sales leaders (VP, SVP level).
Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills to convey complex financial issues to non-financial audiences.
Proficiency with enterprise-level CRM/CPQ platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Oracle).

Nice To Haves

An MBA or CPA is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the North America Deals Desk FP&A function, serving as the financial approver for all high-value, non-standard, and complex commercial transactions in the US and Canada.
Develop region-specific pricing and discount strategies that align with NAM market dynamics, competitive landscape, and the company's long-term financial objectives.
Provide sophisticated financial modeling and analysis for sales proposals, assessing the impact of deal terms (e.g., pricing, payment schedules, volume commitments) on Gross Margin, ARR, and RPO as some of the KPI’s.
Accelerate deal velocity by streamlining the financial review and approval workflow for deals while maintaining rigorous financial controls and governance.
Drive financial accountability for regional bookings, ensuring all commercial agreements adhere to US GAAP and company revenue recognition policies.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Finance / Revenue Ops on revenue recognition, forecasting, margin analysis, and deal economics
Work with Legal to standardize terms, review redlines, and manage risk tradeoffs
Analyze trends in discounting, win/loss, pricing sensitivity, and deal outcomes; provide feedback and recommendations to GTM leadership
Develop training, enablement materials, and playbooks for sales, deal desk, and cross-functional teams
Leverage the use AI to automate repeatable deal workflows, identify discount outliers, and provide data-driven guidance that empowers teams to structure healthier deals.
Manage and mentor a high-performing Deals Desk FP&A team, fostering expertise in commercial finance, deal structuring, and North American market knowledge.
Establish and enforce regional deal governance policies, ensuring consistency and compliance across the US and Canadian markets while balancing regional competitive needs.
Collaborate with Global/International FP&A teams to share best practices and ensure global consistency where appropriate, while providing regional context to corporate strategy.
Drive continuous improvement in deal desk processes and system utilization (e.g., CPQ/CRM enhancements) to increase efficiency and support high-volume growth.