Senior Director FP&A Deals Desk (NAM)

The Senior Director of FP&A, Deals Desk (NAM), leads the financial optimization of North American commercial agreements at Palo Alto Networks. This pivotal role involves heading the centralized deal structuring, pricing, quoting, and contracting function, acting as a strategic partner to Sales, Finance, Legal, and Product teams. The director will build and scale a high-performing team, define deal approval policies, and accelerate complex deal cycles while ensuring risk control and profitability. This hybrid role requires 3 days/week in the Santa Clara, CA HQ.

Must Have

• Lead North America Deals Desk FP&A function
• Serve as financial approver for high-value, non-standard commercial transactions
• Develop region-specific pricing and discount strategies
• Provide sophisticated financial modeling and analysis for sales proposals
• Accelerate deal velocity by streamlining financial review and approval
• Drive financial accountability for regional bookings, adhering to US GAAP
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Finance/Revenue Ops and Legal
• Manage and mentor a high-performing Deals Desk FP&A team
• Establish and enforce regional deal governance policies
• Drive continuous improvement in deal desk processes and system utilization
• 10+ years in Finance, FP&A, or Sales Finance
• Minimum 5 years leading a Deals Desk or Commercial Finance function
• Experience supporting sales organization with US and Canadian business understanding
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related quantitative field
• Strong track record in SaaS, Technology, or recurring revenue business model
• Expert-level financial modeling and analytical skills
• Deep knowledge of US GAAP and revenue recognition principles (ASC 606)
• Exceptional business acumen and ability to influence senior sales leaders
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Proficiency with enterprise-level CRM/CPQ platforms (Salesforce, Oracle)

Good to Have

• MBA or CPA highly preferred

Perks & Benefits

• Flexible work (hybrid model)
• Equal opportunity employment
• Reasonable accommodations for disabilities

Company Description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.

Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Who We Are

We believe collaboration thrives in person. That’s why most of our teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when it’s needed. This model supports real-time problem-solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes.

Job Description

Your Career

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.

This is an in office role 3 days/week in our HQ, Santa Clara, CA

Your Impact

North American Deal Strategy & Execution

• 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.

Qualifications

Your Experience

• 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).

Additional Information

The Team

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. 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.

Compensation Disclosure

The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $241000- $332000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

Our Commitment

We’re problem solvers that take risks and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.