Senior Strategic Finance Analyst

About this role

<div class="content-intro"> <p> </p> </div><p><strong>About ALKU</strong></p> <p>ALKU is a high-growth specialty staffing firm headquartered in Andover, MA, placing elite contractors across technology, life sciences, and government sectors. We are performance-driven, analytically minded, and relentless about making data-informed decisions at every level. The finance team does not sit on the sideline - we are embedded in the business, challenging assumptions and shaping strategy.</p> <p><strong>The Opportunity</strong></p> <p><strong>Salary + Bonus:</strong> $110,000 - $150,000</p> <p>The FP&A team searching for a Senior Strategic Finance Analyst - a high-caliber, analytically rigorous professional who can operate as a trusted advisor to ALKU's senior leadership and Revenue teams. The right person will combine investment-grade financial modeling with an intimate understanding of the staffing business to produce insights that change how we operate.</p> <p>We are targeting candidates with an investment banking or other strategic finance background who are ready for ownership, influence, and impact at a high growth company.</p> <p><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></p> <p><strong>Strategic Analysis & Executive Advisory</strong></p> <ul> <li>Serve as an analytical resource for the CFO and Head of FP&A on the business' most consequential financial and strategic questions</li> <li>Develop and maintain a clear, defensible point of view on ALKU's financial performance - not just what the numbers say, but what they mean and what should be done about them</li> <li>Build and own ALKU's most complex financial models: long-range plans, scenario/sensitivity analyses, returns frameworks, and unit economics models (revenue modeling, GP per contractor, contribution margin by practice)</li> <li>Design and build bespoke financial models to evaluate strategic scenarios: organic growth investments, new practice launches, hiring plan, geographic expansion, pricing changes, and operating model shifts</li> <li>Identify data gaps/opportunities and work cross-functionally to ensure the analytical infrastructure (data sources, definitions, reporting cadence) is fit for executive decision-making</li> <li>Leverage SQL, BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent), Excel/Python, and Claude/ChatGPT to synthesize large datasets into clean, decision-ready outputs</li> <li>Translate complex, multi-variable analyses into crisp executive narratives</li> <li>Partner with the CFO and Head of FP&A on investor, board, and lender presentations, ensuring financial story is tight, defensible, and compelling</li> </ul> <p><strong>Business Partnership</strong></p> <ul> <li>Partner with Revenue leaders to proactively identify performance trends, risks, and opportunities</li> <li>Develop and support business cases for major investments, headcount decisions, and strategic pivots - providing rigorous analytical backing for resource allocation decisions</li> <li>Lead periodic deep-dive analyses on key business drivers: recruiter productivity, contractor utilization, client concentration risk, competitive positioning, and market share trends</li> <li>Own ad hoc analytical requests from senior leadership, bringing speed, clarity, and intellectual rigor to each deliverable</li> </ul> <p><strong>Planning & Forecasting Support</strong></p> <ul> <li>Support the annual operating plan and quarterly re-forecast processes, with specific focus on top-line revenue assumptions, headcount-driven cost modeling, and operating leverage analysis</li> <li>Develop the scenario planning framework for the FP&A team - building upside, base, and downside cases that are grounded in business logic, not just spreadsheet mechanics</li> <li>Monitor and report on plan-vs-actual performance with a narrative lens: explain the variance, identify the root cause, and recommend the corrective action</li> </ul> <p><strong>Qualifications</strong></p> <p><strong>Required</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or a related analytical field; MBA, CPA or CFA a plus</li> <li>Total 3–6 years of progressive experience with a mix of investment banking, private equity or management consulting, and strategic finance at a high-growth company demonstrating advancement and expanding responsibilities</li> <li>Elite financial modeling skills - this person should be able to build a three-statement model or DCF from scratch and explain every assumption</li> <li>Track record of producing analysis that influenced real decisions</li> <li>Exceptional communication skills - written and verbal - with demonstrated ability to present complex financial analysis to non-finance executives at the C-suite or board level</li> <li>High emotional intelligence: able to challenge leadership respectfully, hold a point of view under pressure, and navigate competing priorities in a fast-moving organization</li> <li>Self-directed and intellectually curious</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred</strong></p> <ul> <li>Prior experience in staffing, professional services, or a business with a similar revenue model (GP-driven, headcount-intensive)</li> <li>Proficiency in BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker) and comfort with AI tooling</li> <li>Familiarity with…