Strategic Finance Business Partner – Product & Engineering

D2L is a cloud company that is modernizing education and building the Future of Work. The old models of teaching and learning are in the midst of the largest transformation in history, and D2L is at the heart of that fundamental shift.  New models of teaching and learning enable a personalized, student-centric experience – and deliver improved retention, engagement, satisfaction, and results for learners of all ages – in schools, campuses, and companies. D2L is disrupting the way the world learns, by providing the next generation learning environment and solutions to engage and inspire learners. And most importantly, by giving customers a platform that is easy, flexible, and smart. No other company provides a solution as robust and innovative as D2L. D2L has had a singular mission for 25 years and is dedicated to that same mission in the years ahead: to transform the way the world learns – and by doing so, we will help improve human potential globally. Every application we receive is personally reviewed by a member of our Talent Acquisition team - yes, a real person looks at your resume! While we use AI tools internally to streamline tasks like meeting notes, summaries, and administrative work, these tools never rank resumes, make hiring decisions, or influence candidate evaluations.JOB SUMMARY: The Strategic Finance Business Partner is a highly visible role that serves as the primary financial partner to the Product and Engineering organizations. This role requires frequent collaboration with senior management, broad decision support across R&D, and leveraging financial data to influence how we invest, build, and grow.  You will be a key business partner in the annual integrated planning process, including translation of product roadmap strategy into operational plans and prioritization of existing and potential R&D investments. You will also be a key participant in evaluating the financial viability and modeling of strategic initiatives including new products, product partnerships, and M&A.  This role is for someone who sees finance as a creative and strategic craft, not just a control function. We're building an FP&A practice that goes beyond traditional budgeting to deliver forward-looking insights that drive business performance and growth decisions – deeply understanding what levers we pull, in what order, and with what expected return.  HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT: Financial Planning, Analysis and Reporting   Act as the primary Finance Business Partner to the Product and Engineering organizations, directly supporting annual planning, quarterly forecasts, and decision support  Drive the R&D and cloud hosting (COGS) annual budget process, partnering cross-functionally to integrate bottom-up departmental inputs into an integrated financial plan  Conduct monthly analysis of cost variances and expenditure trends to uncover root causes, translating findings into recommendations that optimize business performance – moving beyond “here is what happened last quarter” to “here is the outlook, why, and what we should do about it”  Proactively manage the achievement of business unit results, including identification and mitigation of risks and driving opportunities  Build and systematize disaggregated P&L reporting at the product level – surfacing visibility into unit economics, gross margin, and investment efficiency  Own the financial framework for Product Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), translating product-level performance into roadmap and resource planning decisions  Implement modern planning system dashboards (Pigment) to surface forward-looking insights across the Product and Engineering organizations  Bring a builder's mindset to applying AI in finance – identifying tools and workflows that improve decision velocity, streamline the forecast process, and redirect time toward deeper business partnership  Integrated Business Planning  Build a deep understanding of our markets, customers, and product roadmap; partner cross-functionally with leadership to identify opportunities to expand D2L’s participation in the value chain  Serve as the lead finance partner in the annual R&D integrated planning process, including evaluation of internal operating performance, product unit economics, and P&L results  Partner with cross-functional leaders in the semi-annual product roadmap cycle, applying a financial lens which includes investment sizing, expected ROI, and targeted business outcomes  Strategic Initiatives  Lead the financial modelling and analysis for product-centric M&A opportunities, in partnership with the Corporate Development team – including evaluation, due diligence, and integration  Collaborate with key internal stakeholders on the Partners team, including support to inform the commercial terms for new strategic partnerships  Own the financial analysis of new product lines and pricing/packaging initiatives – translating customer needs into commercially sound recommendations WHAT YOU'LL BRING TO THE ROLE:  Experience:  7+ years of well-rounded finance experience, including FP&A or finance/operations roles  Proven analytical and problem-solving skills, superior attention to detail and quick learner  Forward-thinking mindset, curiosity, and the ability to simplify complexity into easily understood financial models and narratives  Experience within a SaaS business model and global company is considered a strong asset   Superior communication, including in verbal presentations and written business memos  Strong relationship, collaboration, and influence capabilities, including at the senior leadership stakeholder level   Process-oriented, with experience building scalable processes and leveraging automation  Strong systems aptitude and technical proficiency in advanced planning systems (Pigment, Adaptive); experience with AI/ML applications considered a strong plus  Education:   Bachelor’s degree in Business, preferably with emphasis in Finance / Accounting / Economics  CPA