Director of Finance / Senior Manager

Director of Finance / Senior Manager

Financial Planning & Analysis

CTK Enterprises - La Vergne, Tennessee

Position Overview

CTK Enterprises is seeking a highly experienced, strategic, and commercially minded Director of Finance / Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis to oversee financial planning, analysis, forecasting, reporting, and performance management across a multi-hundred-million-dollar entertainment and destination business.

This senior-level position will serve as a trusted financial partner to executive leadership, providing the analytical insight, financial discipline, and strategic guidance necessary to support the organization's continued growth and diversification. The role will oversee financial performance across multiple business lines, including retail, dining, entertainment, museum operations, and other experiential ventures, as applicable.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and managing budgets and financial forecasts, evaluating business performance, identifying opportunities to improve profitability, supporting capital investment decisions, and establishing financial reporting processes that provide leadership with clear visibility into the organization's financial health.

This individual must be equally comfortable developing sophisticated financial models, evaluating operating performance, presenting recommendations to senior executives, and partnering with department leaders to translate financial objectives into measurable business results. The ideal candidate combines strong technical financial expertise with commercial acumen, sound judgment, and the leadership capabilities required to support a complex, evolving, multi-revenue-stream organization.

Key Responsibilities

1. Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting

• Lead the development and management of annual operating budgets, long-range financial plans, and periodic forecasts across business units and operating departments.
• Develop comprehensive financial models to support revenue projections, expense planning, cash flow forecasting, profitability analysis, and strategic decision-making.
• Partner with executive leadership and department heads to establish financial targets, evaluate resource requirements, and align operating plans with organizational priorities.
• Monitor actual results against budget, forecast, and prior-period performance, identifying variances, trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Prepare scenario analyses and financial projections that account for seasonality, attendance, consumer spending, pricing, labor, and other key operating assumptions.
• Establish consistent budgeting methodologies, planning calendars, financial assumptions, and accountability standards across departments.
• Provide financial analysis and recommendations to support strategic initiatives, new ventures, business expansions, and operational changes.

2. Financial Analysis & Business Performance

• Oversee financial analysis and performance reporting across retail, dining, entertainment, museum operations, and other business activities.
• Evaluate business-unit and consolidated financial performance, identifying opportunities to improve revenue, margins, productivity, and operating profitability.
• Analyze key financial drivers, including revenue, gross margins, cost of goods sold, labor expenses, controllable costs, operating expenses, and contribution margins.
• Develop and maintain financial dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs) that connect financial results to operating performance.
• Conduct profitability analyses by business unit, department, location, product category, or other relevant operating segment.
• Identify financial risks, operating inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement, presenting actionable recommendations to executive leadership.
• Translate complex financial data into concise, decision-oriented reporting that supports strategic planning and operating decisions.
• Evaluate business performance against established targets and recommend corrective actions when results deviate from expectations.

3. Revenue Optimization & Commercial Finance

• Partner with retail, dining, entertainment, marketing, and other operating teams to evaluate revenue drivers and strengthen financial performance.
• Analyze sales trends, guest spending, transaction volumes, average transaction values, pricing, product mix, and other relevant commercial metrics.
• Evaluate gross margin performance, purchasing trends, inventory-related financial impacts, discounting, promotional activity, and cost management opportunities.
• Support revenue optimization and pricing strategies through financial modeling, sensitivity analysis, and scenario planning.
• Assess the financial implications of visitation fluctuations, seasonality, special events, promotions, and changes in consumer behavior.
• Develop business cases and financial evaluations for new products, services, attractions, experiences, and commercial partnerships.
• Identify opportunities to improve revenue per guest, operating margins, labor productivity, and overall profitability.

4. Capital Planning & Investment Analysis

• Support capital budgeting and long-range capital planning for facilities, attractions, museum exhibits, equipment, technology, retail, dining, entertainment, and other business investments.
• Develop financial models to evaluate proposed capital expenditures, including return on investment, payback periods, projected cash flows, and other relevant financial measures.
• Partner with development, construction, project management, operations, and executive leadership to monitor project budgets, commitments, expenditures, and forecast-to-complete estimates.
• Evaluate the financial feasibility and projected returns of new business ventures, expansion opportunities, and strategic investments.
• Monitor capital spending against approved budgets and communicate material variances, financial risks, and funding considerations.
• Provide financial analysis to support capital allocation decisions and maximize the long-term economic value of investments.

5. Financial Reporting, Controls & Governance

• Oversee the preparation and delivery of accurate, timely financial reports, management dashboards, and executive-level performance presentations.
• Establish standardized reporting processes, financial definitions, analytical methodologies, and performance measures across business units.
• Partner with accounting and finance personnel to ensure the integrity, completeness, and consistency of financial information.
• Support monthly and annual financial reviews, including variance analysis, reconciliations, accrual considerations, and management reporting, as appropriate to the role's scope.
• Develop and strengthen financial controls, approval processes, documentation standards, and budget accountability measures.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial systems, reporting workflows, data quality, and financial planning processes.
• Establish scalable reporting infrastructure and financial management processes to support organizational growth and increasing operational complexity.

6. Executive Partnership & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as a trusted financial advisor to executive leadership, providing objective analysis and recommendations to support business decisions.
• Partner with department leaders to strengthen financial literacy, budget ownership, cost management, and accountability for operating results.
• Present financial performance, forecasts, risks, and strategic recommendations clearly and effectively to senior leadership.
• Collaborate across finance, accounting, operations, retail, dining, entertainment, museum management, marketing, human resources, and other relevant functions.
• Lead financial reviews and planning discussions that connect business strategy, operating performance, and financial outcomes.
• Promote a culture of financial discipline, transparency, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Provide leadership and development to finance team members or analysts, as applicable.
• Help build scalable financial processes and reporting capabilities that support CTK's continued growth and diversification.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, commercial finance, operational finance, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience in a senior financial role supporting a complex business with significant revenue, operating expense, and financial planning responsibilities.
• Strong experience leading or managing budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, variance analysis, and management reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze financial statements, operating results, cash flow, profitability, and key business performance indicators.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including financial modeling, scenario analysis, forecasting, and complex data analysis.
• Experience developing executive-level financial reports, dashboards, and presentations that translate complex data into actionable recommendations.
• Strong understanding of revenue drivers, operating expenses, gross margins, labor costs, cost of goods sold, and profitability analysis.
• Proven ability to identify financial risks, evaluate business opportunities, and develop practical recommendations that support improved financial performance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with executive leadership and cross-functional operating teams.
• Strong organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• High level of integrity, attention to detail, accountability, and discretion in handling confidential financial information.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain accuracy in a fast-paced, evolving business environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline.
• Professional designation such as CPA, CMA, or CFA.
• Experience supporting a business with annual revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars or comparable financial and operational complexity.
• Experience in entertainment, theme parks, attractions, museums, hospitality, resorts, premium retail, food and beverage, live events, or other consumer-facing destination businesses.
• Experience managing financial analysis across multiple business units, revenue streams, locations, or operating entities.
• Experience with capital-intensive development projects, capital expenditure planning, project cost management, and investment return analysis.
• Experience evaluating new business ventures, commercial partnerships, expansion opportunities, and other strategic investments.
• Familiarity with attendance-driven revenue models, per-capita guest spending, admissions, ticketing, merchandise sales, food and beverage operations, and seasonal operating patterns.
• Experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) platforms, and business intelligence tools.
• Proficiency with Power BI, Tableau, or comparable reporting and data visualization platforms.
• Experience improving financial reporting systems, implementing standardized KPIs, and building scalable financial planning processes.
• Prior experience mentoring analysts, managing finance personnel, or leading cross-functional financial initiatives.

Key Competencies

Strategic Financial Leadership

Ability to connect financial planning and analysis with broader organizational objectives, anticipate financial implications, evaluate business trade-offs, and provide recommendations that support sustainable growth.

Financial Modeling & Analytical Excellence

Advanced capability in financial modeling, forecasting, scenario analysis, profitability assessment, variance analysis, and interpretation of complex financial and operating data.

Commercial & Operational Acumen

Understanding of the relationship between revenue, pricing, guest spending, sales mix, labor productivity, inventory, operating expenses, and profitability across multiple business lines.

Business Partnership & Executive Communication

Ability to establish credibility with executive leadership and department heads, communicate financial information clearly, challenge assumptions constructively, and influence decisions through data-driven recommendations.

Budget Ownership & Accountability

Ability to establish clear financial targets, promote responsible resource management, monitor performance, and foster accountability for financial outcomes across operating teams.

Capital Allocation & Investment Evaluation