Finance Sr. Director, Strategy & Business Development

Woodward is committed to creating a great workplace for all team members. Our company and its members are committed to acting with integrity, being respectful and accountable to one another, and staying humble and driven, while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.

We are steadfastly committed to attracting the best talent across our communities, creating a rewarding workplace. Together we are fulfilling our purpose to design and deliver energy control solutions our partners count on to power a clean future.

Woodward supports our members’ wellbeing and regularly benchmarks with other companies in our industry to offer an extensive Total Reward package for this position. Salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. 

• Estimated annual base pay: $221,000(minimum) - $260,000(midpoint) - $298,000(maximum)

All Levels are eligible for the benefits below:

• All members included in annual cash bonus opportunity. 
• 401(k) match (4.5%)
• Annual Woodward stock contribution (5%)
• Tuition reimbursement and Training/Professional Development opportunities for all members  
• 12 paid holidays
• Industry leading medical, dental, and vision Insurance upon date of hire
• Vacation / Sick Time / Vacation Buy-up / Short Term Disability / Bereavement leave. 
• Paid parental leave.
• Adoption Assistance  
• Employee Assistance Program, including mental health benefits. 
• Member Life & AD&D / Long Term Disability / Member Optional Life 
• Member referral bonus 
• Spouse / Child Optional Life / Optional AD&D / Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending 
• Voluntary benefits, including:  
  • Home / Auto Insurance discounts 
  • Whole Life Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance / Legal Assistance / Military Leave 

Are you ready to make your mark? If you’re a Finance Leader, we have an exciting opportunity for you. 

The Senior Director, Finance, Strategy & Business Development serves as the senior finance partner to the EVP, Strategy and Business Development and is a member of the SBD leadership team. This role provides finance leadership across mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions, shaping deal economics, evaluating risks and tradeoffs, and aligning enterprise finance expertise throughout the deal lifecycle. The successful candidate will bring deep M&A experience, commercial judgment, and executive presence to influence key decisions, challenge assumptions, and protect and create transaction value.

Why Join This Team Supporting Strategy & Business Development?

This is an opportunity to play a visible leadership role in shaping strategic growth through mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other high-impact transactions. The Senior Director, Finance will partner closely with senior leadership, influence enterprise-wide finance alignment, protect deal value, and help ensure strategic decisions are supported by disciplined financial insight and execution.

What You Will Be Doing 

Strategic Finance Leadership & SBD Partnership

• Serve as the senior finance partner to the EVP, Strategy and Business Development and as a member of the SBD leadership team, providing executive-level guidance on transaction priorities, risks, decision points, and value-creation opportunities.
• Connect the deal team with enterprise finance functions, ensuring tax, treasury, accounting, SEC reporting, technical accounting, operational finance, and other specialists are engaged at the right points to support disciplined decision-making and execution.

Transaction Diligence, Financial Analysis & Value Creation

• Lead financial diligence for acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions, including financial statement analysis, risk identification, mitigation strategies, and assessment of key value drivers.
• Evaluate deal models and transaction economics, including valuation outputs, gain/loss analysis, accretion/dilution analysis, working capital considerations, tax implications, purchase accounting, and integration/separation assumptions.
• Bring a commercially informed perspective to transaction decisions, helping senior leaders understand financial tradeoffs, risks, and opportunities before decisions are finalized.

Deal Structuring, Negotiation & Execution Support

• Partner with legal, business development, and finance stakeholders to shape transaction structure and review purchase agreements, disclosure schedules, representations and warranties, and other financially significant deal terms.
• Support negotiations involving purchase price adjustments, net working capital targets, accounting principles, closing methodologies, post-closing adjustments, purchase price allocation, and other financial considerations.
• Provide finance leadership for regulatory, antitrust, financing, sell-side diligence, virtual data room, carve-out financial statement, quality of earnings, and management presentation activities, as applicable.

Advisor Management, Integration & Governance

• Engage and manage external advisors, including diligence, accounting, tax, valuation, and integration consultants, ensuring scope, deliverables, timelines, quality, and costs are aligned with transaction priorities.
• Lead or guide finance integration planning for acquisitions and separation planning for divestitures, ensuring smooth transitions, clear accountability, and alignment with business objectives.
• Ensure completed transactions inform future deal processes, models, controls, governance practices, and value-capture opportunities.

What We Are Looking For 

• Deep M&A and strategic transaction experience, including acquisitions, divestitures, integrations, separations, due diligence, deal structuring, purchase agreements, and closing mechanisms.
• Strong working knowledge of the finance disciplines that influence transactions, with the judgment to engage subject-matter experts at the right points.
• Advanced financial analysis and modeling capability, including valuation, discounted cash flow analysis, forecasting, accretion/dilution analysis, gain/loss analysis, and executive-level transaction materials.
• Commercial judgment and value-creation mindset, with the ability to identify value drivers, assess risks and tradeoffs, and connect technical details to enterprise business outcomes.
• Executive presence and trusted advisor capability, with the ability to influence senior leaders, challenge assumptions constructively, and bring clarity to complex transaction decisions.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, including the ability to translate complex financial, accounting, tax, and valuation concepts into practical recommendations for non-financial stakeholders.
• Cross-functional leadership and partnership orientation, with a track record of building trust across finance, legal, strategy, business development, business leaders, and external partners.
• Disciplined project and workstream management, including stakeholder coordination, issue escalation, execution follow-through, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective external advisor management, including oversight of consultant scope, deliverables, cost, quality, accountability, and alignment to transaction priorities.
• High integrity, discretion, ownership, and sound judgment in handling confidential information, leading through ambiguity, and driving alignment, accountability, and results.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field required; Master’s degree or MBA preferred.
• CPA, CFA, or equivalent certification highly desirable.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in finance, accounting, corporate development, M&A, transaction advisory, or related roles; prior leadership experience.

Application window is anticipated to close 30 days from original posting date.

This information is provided in compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and is the company’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation range and benefits offered for this position. The compensation offered to the successful applicant may vary based on factors including experience, skills, education, location, and other job-related reasons.

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).   All applicants must be U.S. Persons within the meaning of the ITAR and EAR, or eligible to obtain all required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The ITAR defines a U.S. Person as a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident (i.e., 'Green Card holder'), or a protected person (e.g., asylee, or refugee).

Woodward is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other category protected under federal, state, or local laws.

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