Workplace Solutions - Executive Director, Head of Financial Reporting (North America)
Job Title: Executive Director (ED) — Head of Financial Reporting, North America
Business: Workplace Solutions (WPS) / Financial Reporting
Location: Jersey City, NJ (in-office)
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports To: Global Head of Financial Reporting
Role Overview
The Executive Director, Head of Financial Reporting — North America is accountable for end-to-end financial reporting delivery across the region, spanning client onboarding/implementation through day-to-day reporting operations. This leader owns the regional portfolio and operating cadence, drives predictable and on-time delivery, elevates client experience, and enforces strong risk and control practices in partnership with Sales/Client Relationship Management, Implementation/Equity Plan Management, and Technology.
Key Responsibilities
This role includes the responsibilities below.
- North America Portfolio & Delivery Leadership (Onboarding → BAU)
- Own the regional pipeline/portfolio for client financial reporting onboarding and ongoing delivery, from scoping through go-live and handover.
- Establish standards for requirement gathering, solution design, controls, reconciliation/sign-off, and handover to BAU; run governance cadences (intake, weekly portfolio reviews, retrospectives).
- People Leadership, Capacity & Regional Operating Model
- Directly manage the current U.S. associate and build the team over time; set clear role expectations, coaching, and performance management.
- Forecast capacity, prioritize work, and allocate resources across North America demand, leveraging EMEA resources where appropriate; ensure consistent delivery against SLAs/KPIs.
- Client Service Delivery & Escalation Management
- Ensure high-quality client delivery under relevant reporting frameworks (US GAAP/ASC 718, IFRS 2, and local GAAPs where applicable); maintain strong ongoing client communications.
- Serve as the senior escalation point for complex client issues and delivery risks across onboarding and recurring reporting cycles.
- Operational Excellence, Risk & Controls
- Ensure audit controls, tickets, reconciliation issues, errors, and client complaints are triaged promptly and resolved within defined SLAs.
- Drive root-cause analysis, document preventative measures in approved tracking systems, and enforce implementation playbooks, documentation standards, and change-control procedures.
- Governance, Metrics & Reporting
- Track, analyze, and report delivery/operational metrics on a weekly/monthly cadence to the Global Head of Financial Reporting, producing data-driven insights and action plans.
- Ensure non-standard client requests and exceptions follow the appropriate governance forum and approvals before commitment.
- Product Development Partnership, Requirements & Testing
- Partner closely with Technology to enhance system-generated financial reporting by identifying gaps, writing requirement specifications, and supporting system testing/UAT through controlled release adoption.
- Maintain and improve user manuals/procedural documentation; train internal users on setup and processing; support demonstrations for clients/prospects as needed.
- Cross-Region Collaboration & Strategic Initiatives
- Lead and participate in strategic initiatives that drive training, adoption of new tools/processes, and cross-team collaboration, including coordinated delivery with EMEA-based resources where appropriate.
- Collaborate with peer leaders to share best practices and standardize ways of working across regions and teams.
Required Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills
The role requires the capabilities below.
- Strong leadership experience in client delivery/operations for financial services, Accounting, fintech, SaaS, or a related domain, including ownership of complex, multi-stakeholder outcomes.
- Proven people leadership (able to operate hands-on initially and scale an organization over time); ability to coach and develop talent and establish a high-accountability culture.
- Deep understanding of share-based payment reporting requirements and client reporting needs (ASC 718, IFRS 2, and applicable local GAAPs).
- Demonstrated risk and controls mindset; ability to enforce audit-ready documentation, change control, and disciplined issue management.
- Analytical and data-driven, with experience using KPIs to drive prioritization and continuous improvement; advanced Excel skills and comfort working with large data files.
Preferred Qualifications
Preferred qualifications include the following.
- Degree in Business/Finance/Accounting; accountancy qualification (CPA, CA, ACCA) preferred.
- Prior experience in the share plan/equity compensation industry.