Strategic Finance Associate

About Axial Axial is the trusted online M&A platform connecting buyers and sellers of $5M–$100M American privately held companies. Used by 4,000+ acquirers and 3,000+ M&A advisors, our digital transaction platform improves the efficiency, confidentiality, and success of private company exits. In 2025, over 12,500 private companies pursued an exit via the platform. Axial is a founder-led, profitable company based in NYC with a hybrid office culture. We are the category leader in our market: long-term oriented, values-driven, and focused on member trust, operational excellence, and profitable growth. Role Overview We're hiring a Strategic Finance Associate to own the analytical work behind how Axial plans, measures performance, and allocates resources. Reporting to the VP of Finance and working directly with the CEO and leadership team, you'll own the models we plan with, turn performance analysis into insight the whole company understands, build the unit economics that drive resource allocation, and build the infrastructure that enables the finance function to scale. Responsibilities Planning & Forecasting: Drive Axial's financial planning by rebuilding and managing the driver-based operating and financial models, turning them into decision-making tools. Own the annual budget and quarterly reforecasts. Performance Analysis: Lead monthly performance reviews and synthesize data into actionable insights and a cohesive narrative for leadership. Unit Economics: Develop LTV/CAC models and contribution margin analysis to guide resource allocation decisions and build a shared understanding of our business model. FP&A Infrastructure, Automation & AI: Maintain models, dashboards, and reporting architecture while leveraging AI workflows and agents to automate recurring financial analysis. GTM & Commercial Finance: Partner directly with Go-To-Market leadership to drive growth strategy, set quarterly goals, and evaluate performance. Strategic Finance Projects: Lead analysis to inform our largest decisions, such as pricing strategy, capital structure scenarios, and build vs. buy evaluations. Internal & External Presentations: Prepare materials such as quarterly company-wide presentations and external business development decks. How the finance team is structured This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports. You'll own your workstreams end to end and partner with the CEO, Leadership, and Business Operations. VP of Finance: Your manager and the person you'll partner with most closely. Their remit spans finance, accounting, rev ops, HR, and legal. Accounting: Manages monthly close, AP, tax, and financial operations. You'll rely on that output but will be required to understand the data. Qualifications Experience: 2–5 years in IB, PE, consulting, corp dev, strategic finance, or FP&A. Modeling: Strong three-statement, driver-based, and scenario modeling skills. Analytical Rigor: A track record of structuring ambiguous problems and driving them to an answer. Business Instinct: A sharp focus on extracting actionable takeaways from data. Communication: Clear, concise writing and speaking, calibrated to the audience. AI Fluency: Demonstrated use of LLMs and agents to automate meaningful work. Ownership: Proactive, organized, and dependable, with consistent follow-through. Working at Axial We're a tight-knit team (~55 employees) in a modern Manhattan office (30th and Park) with a collegial atmosphere. We work hard and have fun together. Benefits include: Medical, dental, and vision (nearly 100% company-paid) 401(k) program Flexible vacation policy Paid parental leave Monthly health & wellness stipend The values we subscribe to as a company Obsess Over Member Trust. Your daily choices reflect that we facilitate life-altering transactions. You take that responsibility seriously. Expect and Deliver Excellence. You're consistently excellent, so colleagues confidently partner with and rely on you. You're committed to continuous improvement. Communication Matters. You communicate concisely and articulately, internally and externally, and listen well and genuinely. Invent and Simplify. You're open-minded, seeking ideas that elevate the member experience and finding novel ways to simplify complex status quos. Be an Owner. You think long‑term about your decisions and invest real time in colleague relationships. Additional information Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. NY Pay Range $120,000 - $160,000 USD #J-18808-Ljbffr