Strategic Finance Associate

<h1><strong>Strategic Finance Associate</strong></h1> <p><strong>Location:</strong> New York City</p> <p><strong>In-office:</strong> 3 days per week (Tues–Thurs)</p> <p><strong>Reports to:</strong> VP of Finance</p> <p><strong>Compensation:</strong> $120,000 – $160,000, plus equity</p> <h2><strong>About Axial</strong></h2> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <h2><strong>Role Overview</strong></h2> <p>We're hiring a Strategic Finance Associate to own the analytical work behind how Axial plans, measures performance, and allocates resources.</p> <p>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. </p> <h2><strong>Responsibilities</strong></h2> <ul> <li><strong>Planning & Forecasting:</strong> 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.</li> <li><strong>Performance Analysis:</strong> Lead monthly performance reviews and synthesize data into actionable insights and a cohesive narrative for leadership.</li> <li><strong>Unit Economics:</strong> Develop LTV/CAC models and contribution margin analysis to guide resource allocation decisions and build a shared understanding of our business model.</li> <li><strong>FP&A Infrastructure, Automation & AI:</strong> Maintain models, dashboards, and reporting architecture while leveraging AI workflows and agents to automate recurring financial analysis.</li> <li><strong>GTM & Commercial Finance:</strong> Partner directly with Go-To-Market leadership to drive growth strategy, set quarterly goals, and evaluate performance.</li> <li><strong>Strategic Finance Projects:</strong> Lead analysis to inform our largest decisions, such as pricing strategy, capital structure scenarios, and build vs. buy evaluations.</li> <li><strong>Internal & External Presentations:</strong> Prepare materials such as quarterly company-wide presentations and external business development decks.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>How the finance team is structured</strong></h2> <p>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. </p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>VP of Finance:</strong> Your manager and the person you'll partner with most closely. Their remit spans finance, accounting, rev ops, HR, and legal.</li> <li><strong>Accounting:</strong> Manages monthly close, AP, tax, and financial operations. You'll rely on that output but will be required to understand the data. </li> &