Senior Manager, CFO Advisory - Finance Operating Model

West Monroe•Chicago, IL

11h•$184,900 - $250,100•Hybrid

About The Position

West Monroe is seeking a Senior Manager to join our growing Office of the CFO Advisory team within our Operations Excellence practice. This role is designed for a finance transformation leader who can connect process architecture, service delivery design, organizational structure, and automation into an integrated operating model for the Office of the CFO. As a Senior Manager, you will lead complex finance transformation engagements, advise CFOs and Controllers on where to invest and where to stop investing, and translate operating model decisions into executable roadmaps with measurable capacity, cost, control, and performance outcomes. You will also help shape West Monroe's finance operating model and automation offerings, develop our people, and expand client relationships.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business, economics, industrial engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
10+ years of progressive experience in finance transformation, operating model design, shared services, GBS, or related advisory work, with substantial client-facing consulting experience.
Demonstrated leadership of at least two shared services or GBS stand-ups, migrations, or major transformations, including direct ownership of transition planning, cutover, and stabilization.
Deep functional experience in at least three finance domains such as Record-to-Report, Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, FP&A, Treasury, Tax, or Financial Reporting.
Experience advising mid-market and private equity-backed organizations, with the ability to scale solutions to businesses with approximately $200 million to $2 billion in revenue.
Strong capability in service delivery model design and costing, activity-based capacity modeling, spans and layers, role architecture, and workforce transition planning.
Working knowledge of APQC or comparable process taxonomies, process mining concepts, and finance benchmarks such as cost of finance, FTE productivity, close cycle time, touchless processing, and forecast accuracy.
Experience with finance automation and AI solution design, including the organizational, control, data, and adoption implications of automating work.
Experience with BPO provider markets, selection processes, transition planning, and governance.
Proven success leading complex engagements and executive client relationships, including scope, budget, profitability, risk management, team leadership, and quality assurance.
Demonstrated contribution to business development through relationship expansion, opportunity shaping, proposals, and project origination.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create concise executive-level deliverables and influence senior stakeholders.
Experience using AI tools in day-to-day work to improve productivity and insight generation, paired with strong critical thinking to evaluate accuracy, bias, controls, and business relevance.
Ability to work permanently in the United States without sponsorship.
A commitment to inclusion and diversity, and openness to new ideas and perspectives.
Ability to travel up to 50 percent based on client and engagement needs.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a leading consulting or advisory firm, or an in-house leadership role in Operating Model Transformation, Finance Transformation, Shared Services, or GBS.
CPA, CMA, MBA, or another relevant advanced degree or professional credential.
Experience leading finance transformation in carve-out, separation, integration, or other transaction environments.
Demonstrated thought leadership or market-facing point of view on AI and automation in the finance function.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end finance operating model engagements, including current-state assessment, process architecture, target operating model design, service delivery strategy, implementation planning, and value realization.
Design operating models across retained finance, centers of excellence, shared services, outsourced services, and AI-enabled or agentic capacity, with clear decision rights, service levels, governance, and economics for each delivery channel.
Apply a disciplined sequence of fixing process breakdowns, standardizing work, and then automating activities so that technology investments are built on sustainable processes and controls.
Develop activity-based FTE baselines, cost-to-serve models, spans and layers analyses, role architectures, and post-automation capacity glidepaths that support defensible business cases and implementation plans.
Lead shared services and GBS stand-ups, migrations, and transformations, including scope definition, location strategy, provider evaluation, transition planning, cutover, hypercare, and stabilization.
Advise clients on BPO provider selection, commercial evaluation, contracting considerations, and governance, while distinguishing sustainable transformation value from labor arbitrage alone.
Use process taxonomies, process mining outputs, performance benchmarks, and operational data to identify root causes, prioritize opportunities, and translate findings into executive-ready recommendations.
Lead finance operating model work in transaction environments, including carve-outs, TSA scoping and exit sequencing, Day 1 minimum viable finance, and standalone cost modeling.
Own engagement delivery across scope, budget, profitability, staffing, risk, quality, and client satisfaction while serving as a trusted advisor to CFO, Controller, and private equity stakeholders.
Apply AI, automation, analytics, and data tools to accelerate analysis and improve delivery outcomes while exercising sound judgment, validating outputs, and managing control and adoption risks.
Build and expand executive relationships with CFOs, Controllers, transformation leaders, and private equity operating partners.
Identify and shape follow-on opportunities across finance transformation, automation, shared services, close and consolidation, EPM, ERP strategy, and value creation.
Lead or support proposals, statements of work, solution design, pricing, and executive presentations that balance client value with strong engagement economics.
Contribute market-facing thought leadership on finance operating models, AI-enabled service delivery, cost optimization, and the future of finance work.
Develop and maintain methodologies, fieldwork tools, interview guides, benchmark interpretation resources, business case models, and reusable client assets.
Lead, coach, and mentor Managers, Senior Consultants, and Consultants, providing hands-on quality review and clear feedback on analyses, deliverables, and client communications.
Serve as a Career Advisor and actively participate in performance management, recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and capability development.
Collaborate across Operations Excellence, Technology and Experience, Mergers and Acquisitions, Organization and People, and industry teams to deliver integrated solutions.