Senior Director of FP&A Deals Desk, Palo Alto Networks
(North America)
$241-332k
3 days a week in office (Santa Clara, CA)
Leading cybersecurity protections and software platform
Be an early applicant
Leading cybersecurity protections and software platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$241-332k
3 days a week in office (Santa Clara, CA)
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Role
Who you are
- 10+ years of progressive experience in Finance, FP&A, or Sales Finance, with a minimum of 5 years of direct experience leading a Deals Desk or Commercial Finance function
- Proven experience supporting a sales organization, with a strong understanding of the US and Canadian business environments and contracting nuances
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related quantitative field. An MBA or CPA is highly preferred
- Strong track record in a SaaS, Technology, or recurring revenue business model environment
- Expert-level financial modeling and analytical skills with a strong focus on revenue, gross margin, and working capital impacts of commercial terms
- Deep knowledge of US GAAP and revenue recognition principles (e.g., ASC 606)
- Exceptional business acumen and the ability to partner with and influence senior sales leaders (VP, SVP level)
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills to convey complex financial issues to non-financial audiences
- Proficiency with enterprise-level CRM/CPQ platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Oracle)
- If you have the relevant FP&A experience and acumen, an innovative and proactive “lean-in” mindset to problem solving, and a desire to help build a high-performing, positive and inclusive team culture, this could be the place for you!
- Our innovation doesn’t stay in Research and Development. Within finance, we seek people who are looking to try new things, while solving business critical equations. If you’re seeking a challenge with a world-wide impact – this is it
What the job involves
- The Senior Director of FP&A, Deals Desk (NAM), is a pivotal leader responsible for optimizing the financial performance of all North American commercial agreements
- As the Head of NAM Deal Desk, you will lead our centralized deal structuring, pricing, quoting, and contracting function, acting as a strategic partner to Sales, Finance, Legal, and Product teams
- You will build and scale a high-performing team, define deal approval policies and governance, and accelerate complex deal cycles while maintaining risk control and profitability
- Lead the North America Deals Desk FP&A function, serving as the financial approver for all high-value, non-standard, and complex commercial transactions in the US and Canada
- Develop region-specific pricing and discount strategies that align with NAM market dynamics, competitive landscape, and the company's long-term financial objectives
- Provide sophisticated financial modeling and analysis for sales proposals, assessing the impact of deal terms (e.g., pricing, payment schedules, volume commitments) on Gross Margin, ARR, and RPO as some of the KPI’s
- Accelerate deal velocity by streamlining the financial review and approval workflow for deals while maintaining rigorous financial controls and governance
- Drive financial accountability for regional bookings, ensuring all commercial agreements adhere to US GAAP and company revenue recognition policies
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Finance / Revenue Ops on revenue recognition, forecasting, margin analysis, and deal economics
- Work with Legal to standardize terms, review redlines, and manage risk tradeoffs
- Analyze trends in discounting, win/loss, pricing sensitivity, and deal outcomes; provide feedback and recommendations to GTM leadership
- Develop training, enablement materials, and playbooks for sales, deal desk, and cross-functional teams
- Leverage the use AI to automate repeatable deal workflows, identify discount outliers, and provide data-driven guidance that empowers teams to structure healthier deals
- Leadership and Process Improvement
- Manage and mentor a high-performing Deals Desk FP&A team, fostering expertise in commercial finance, deal structuring, and North American market knowledge
- Establish and enforce regional deal governance policies, ensuring consistency and compliance across the US and Canadian markets while balancing regional competitive needs
- Collaborate with Global/International FP&A teams to share best practices and ensure global consistency where appropriate, while providing regional context to corporate strategy
- Drive continuous improvement in deal desk processes and system utilization (e.g., CPQ/CRM enhancements) to increase efficiency and support high-volume growth
- You’re looking for a career with a more fulfilling mission. We have open positions to top talent seeking a challenge
- Our NAM Sales Finance team sits at an exciting intersection of a critical and rapidly growing industry, supporting a sales organization that is poised to evolve and scale
Our take
With cyber threats evolving at lightening speed, businesses need robust solutions to protect their data and infrastructure. And the global cybersecurity market is projected to grow significantly, driven by increasing cyberattacks and the adoption of digital transformation initiatives. Because of this, companies are seeking security platforms that can address these challenges efficiently.
That's where Palo Alto Networks steps in, a frontrunner in the cybersecurity arena. It offers a suite of AI-powered security solutions designed to safeguard enterprises across various sectors. Its platforms, such as Cortex XSIAM and Prisma AIRS, integrate advanced threat detection, zero trust architecture, and real-time response capabilities so organizations are ready to manage and mitigate risks.
Its leadership is evident too, with impressive growth and strategic partnerships. Recently the company surpassed $1.5M in sales through the Google Cloud Marketplace, highlighting the demand for its innovative security solutions. Additionally, a collaboration with AT&T aims to enhance cybersecurity offerings, further solidifying its position in the market.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Sep 2022
$34m
SERIES A
May 2022
$11m
SEED
Total funding: $45m
Company benefits
- Healthcare: We value your health and provide options so you can choose what best supports your lifestyle and personal health goals. Various nationwide plans — including Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente, Delta Dental, VSP, and more — are available to you and your family. Our providers offer the flexibility you want and the coverage you need
- Wellness: With a large on-site gym and daily, instructor-led exercise classes at HQ in Santa Clara, Palo Alto Networks actively supports employee fitness. Our juice bar, Gym & Juice, features fresh juice blends, a quick and nutritious option pre- or post-workout. And our ongoing wellness speaker series highlights the latest trends in health and wellness
- Development: Professional development is serious business at Palo Alto Networks, where the Talent Development team offers 25+ courses to help employees boost their careers and develop leadership capability
- Financial: Most roles are eligible for equity grants, and we now offer new hires a quarterly vesting schedule right away. We want you to be fairly compensated and rewarded as soon as you make an impact – on our team, that happens immediately! And because we consider every employee a stakeholder in our long-term success, we offer an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with a 24-month lookback. From life insurance to health savings accounts, we provide ways to help you protect and grow your wealth. Palo Alto Networks offers both traditional and Roth 401(k) options, along with a company match of 50% to a max annual amount of $1,000
- Time Off: In addition to paid corporate holidays, Flexible Time Off programs empower our employees to balance their work schedules with personal time off. We offer 12 weeks of full pay for medical leave and 6 weeks of full pay for parental leave. As a company with strong ties to the military and veterans, we also offer 26 weeks of full pay for military leave
- Perks: Our corporate discount program provides employees with significant discounts on merchandise, travel and entertainment. We offer many on-site perks at headquarters, including cafeterias, fuel service, dry cleaning service, EV charging stations, and a company store. We also provide complimentary drinks, fresh fruit, and snacks in break rooms across our campus to help everyone power through the day. Life at Palo Alto Network
Company HQ
Santa Clara, CA
Leadership
Nikesh Arora
(CEO & Chairman)Previously the President and COO at SoftBank, CBO at Google, and CMO at T-Mobile.
Nir Zuk
(Founder & CTO)Previously CTO at NetScreen Technologies, which was acquired by Juniper Neworks in 2004. They also co-founded OneSecure where they served as CTO and was the Principal Engineer at Check Point Software Technologies.
Lee Klarich
(CPO)Initially joined Palo Alto in 2006 as the EVP of Product Management and became CPO in 2018. Prior to this, they were the Director of Product Management at Juniper Networks and a Product Line Manager at NetScreen Technologies.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 219 more jobs at Palo Alto Networks