Associate Partner - Finance Transformation

Job description

Introduction

A career in IBM Consulting is built on long-term client relationships and close collaboration worldwide. You’ll work with leading companies across industries, helping them shape their hybrid cloud and AI journeys. With support from our strategic partners, robust IBM technology, and Red Hat, you’ll have the tools to drive meaningful change and accelerate client impact. At IBM Consulting, curiosity fuels success. You’ll be encouraged to challenge the norm, explore new ideas, and create innovative solutions that deliver real results.

Our culture of growth and empathy focuses on your long-term career development while valuing your unique skills and experiences.

Role Overview

The Associate Partner serves as a tip-of-the-spear strategy consultant for CFOs, using finance transformation advisory engagements to originate and shape large IBM Consulting deals. The role identifies enterprise value opportunities across Record-to-Report (RTR), Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), Procure-to-Pay (PTP), and Order-to-Cash (OTC), translating CFO priorities into actionable strategies and integrated transformation opportunities.

The role leads CFO-sponsored SG&A optimization initiatives and AI-led finance process transformation, connecting cost reduction, working capital improvement, stronger controls, and better decision-making to measurable business outcomes. Partnering with IBM account, technology, and delivery teams, the Associate Partner converts strategy and diagnostic work into scalable implementation and managed services engagements.

Key Responsibilities

Client Strategy and Business Development

• Build trusted CFO relationships and lead executive strategy conversations on finance performance, SG&A optimization, and AI-led transformation to originate new opportunities.
• Lead early-stage discovery and finance diagnostics to identify value pools, establish a compelling case for change, and shape large transformation deals.
• Own pursuit strategy, win themes, and executive value articulation; guide proposals and RFP responses that connect CFO priorities to differentiated IBM solutions.
• Partner with account and practice leaders to convert advisory engagements into larger programs spanning process transformation, technology implementation, and managed services.

Transformation Strategy and Solution Leadership

• Define finance operating models, including retained finance, GBS, shared services, and centers of excellence, with clear process ownership and governance.
• Lead end-to-end process transformation across RTR, FP&A, PTP, and OTC, addressing close and reporting, planning and forecasting, payables, billing, collections, and cash application.
• Lead CFO-sponsored SG&A optimization initiatives through cost baselining, benchmarking, organizational and process redesign, service delivery changes, and prioritized investment cases.
• Reimagine finance workflows with AI, generative AI, and agents; prioritize opportunities based on value, data readiness, controls, and adoption, and develop sequenced implementation roadmaps.

Program Oversight and Practice Development

• Provide executive oversight of finance transformation programs, aligning sponsors and managing delivery risks, commercial performance, and benefits realization.
• Define and track outcomes including finance cost-to-serve, SG&A savings, close cycle time, forecast accuracy, working capital, and process productivity.
• Develop consulting leaders and multidisciplinary teams, and contribute reusable offerings, industry perspectives, and thought leadership to strengthen the practice. Required technical and professional expertise
• Experience with a Big Four firm or another leading consulting organization.
• Deep expertise in RTR, FP&A, PTP, and OTC, with strong end-to-end finance knowledge and the ability to connect process improvements to CFO priorities.
• Proven ability to lead finance strategy and diagnostic engagements that identify transformation opportunities and create a pathway to large deals.
• Strong CFO advisory skills, including executive facilitation, strategic problem-solving, and the ability to build a compelling case for change.
• Demonstrated business development and pursuit leadership, translating early advisory work into integrated transformation, implementation, or outsourcing opportunities.
• Experience leading SG&A optimization initiatives, including cost baselining, benchmarking, operating model redesign, and quantified business cases.
• Ability to design AI-led finance process transformation across workflows, human and agent responsibilities, data dependencies, controls, and adoption.
• Strong commercial acumen and experience shaping deal scope, delivery models, pricing inputs, investment priorities, and engagement economics.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary finance transformation teams, with strong ERP and analytics knowledge and executive communication skills. Preferred technical and professional experience
• Experience with SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or related finance transformation ecosystems.
• Exposure to generative AI, agentic AI, process mining, and the design of AI-native finance or GBS operating models.
• Industry expertise and experience translating sector-specific CFO priorities into finance transformation opportunities.
• Experience with finance benchmarking, zero-based cost approaches, working capital improvement, global delivery strategies, and organizational change.
• MBA and professional certification such as CPA, CA, CMA, or CFA. IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.