Director of FP&A – Revenue and Strategic Finance

DLA Piper is, at its core, bold, exceptional, collaborative and supportive.  Our people are the backbone, heart and soul of our firm.  Wherever you are in your professional journey, DLA Piper is a place you can engage in meaningful work and grow your career.  Let’s see what we can achieve. Together.

Summary

The Director of Revenue and Strategic Finance is a senior leadership role responsible for driving strategic financial planning, analysis, and decision support within the firm. This individual will lead the Revenue FP&A team and serve as a key advisor to firm leadership, aligning the finance function with the firm’s business objectives. The Director oversees all revenue planning and budgeting processes, develops multi-year strategic financial plans (3–5 year projections), and conducts in-depth ROI analyses for major initiatives to ensure resources are allocated for maximum return. They will also manage the preparation of financial reports and metrics, providing actionable insights to partners and executives. Importantly, this role champions innovation in financial management – implementing process improvements and adopting advanced tools (such as AI-driven financial Copilot solutions) to increase efficiency and accuracy in forecasting and reporting. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker and strong team leader with deep financial expertise, excellent communication skills, and the ability to collaborate across the organization to drive growth and profitability.

Location

This position can sit in our Reston, Washington D.C., Short Hills, or New York office and offers a hybrid work schedule.
 

Responsibilities

• Strategic Financial Leadership: Provide overall financial direction for the firm by spearheading the development of long-range financial plans (3–5 year strategic forecasts). Analyze market conditions and firm growth objectives to create financial models that guide the firm’s strategy and resource allocation. Assist the Senior Director in advising the CFO on long-term financial scenarios and recommend strategies to achieve sustainable revenue growth and profitability.

• Budgeting & Revenue Forecasting: Oversee the firm’s annual revenue budgeting process and periodic re-forecasts. Work closely with practice group leaders and department heads to establish budget targets that are ambitious yet attainable. Ensure that budgets are completed on time and that underlying assumptions are well-communicated. Continuously monitor performance against budget, highlighting variances in revenue or expenses, and lead efforts to adjust forecasts or initiatives to meet financial goals. Aim for high forecast accuracy (e.g., within a 5% variance of actuals) to enable confident decision-making.

• Team Leadership & Development: Manage and mentor a team of FP&A professionals, including Senior Manager(s), Senior Financial Analysts, and Financial Analysts. Foster a high-performance team culture, providing guidance, training, and professional development opportunities. Set clear objectives and evaluate team members’ performance. Promote collaboration within the team and with other finance functions (Accounting, Billing, etc.), ensuring the FP&A team remains viewed as a trusted resource across the firm.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as a strategic finance partner to other leaders in the firm. Collaborate with the Senior Director and CFO, practice group leaders, operations, HR, and business development teams on financial aspects of key initiatives. Facilitate finance discussions in partner meetings and committees, bringing data-driven insights to inform firm-wide decisions (including Finance Committee presentations on a monthly basis).

• ROI & Investment Analysis: Lead the evaluation of major investments and strategic initiatives through comprehensive financial modeling and ROI analysis. This includes analyzing lateral hiring opportunities by projecting portable books of business versus guaranteed compensation and overhead to determine payback period and long-term profitability. Perform scenario analysis for ventures such as opening new offices, launching practice groups, or major capital expenditures (technology, real estate). Provide recommendations on go/no-go decisions and track the actual results of these initiatives against projections, ensuring the firm achieves expected returns. (Notably, track lateral hires to confirm if they reach their break-even ROI within the typical ~5-year timeframe in the industry)

• Financial Reporting & Insights: Oversee the preparation of all key financial reports and management dashboards, including monthly and quarterly financial statements, revenue and expense analyses, practice group/office profitability reports, and budget vs. actual variance reports. Ensure reports are accurate,