Location: 400 Main Street, Ashland, MA
Hybrid role (3/2)
Position OverviewThe Financial Planning & Analysis Manager is a senior individual contributor who partners closely with the Director of FP&A to deliver timely, accurate, and insightful financial planning and analysis.
This role will help manage the monthly reporting and analysis cycle, prepare executive-ready performance materials, maintain the monthly rolling forecast, support the annual budget and long-range planning processes, and provide financial decision support across the business.
The successful candidate will combine strong financial acumen, disciplined attention to detail, and the ability to translate complex financial and operational results into clear business insights. This position has no direct reports and requires a high degree of independence, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration.
Key Responsibilities- Partner with the Director of FP&A to manage the monthly financial reporting and analysis process, ensuring deliverables are complete, accurate, and submitted on schedule.
- Prepare and maintain monthly management reporting and analysis materials, including actual results, budget and forecast comparisons, key performance indicators, business drivers, risks, and opportunities.
- Own and update the monthly rolling forecast in collaboration with Finance and business stakeholders, incorporating current trends, operational inputs, and changes in business assumptions.
- Own balance sheet forecasting, including key working capital and other balance sheet drivers, ensuring assumptions are aligned with the income statement and cash flow outlook.
- Own cash flow forecasting, including the development and maintenance of a detailed 13-week cash flow forecast, providing visibility into liquidity, timing, risks, and opportunities.
- Manage monthly spend reporting and forecasting by partnering with cost center owners to analyze actuals, explain variances, update outlooks, and identify emerging risks and opportunities.
- Lead capital expenditure review and forecasting, including evaluation of planned investments, tracking of actual spend and commitments, assessment of timing and business assumptions, and reporting of variances against plan.
- Support the annual budgeting and long-range planning processes, including model development, assumption gathering, scenario analysis, consolidation, and presentation materials.
- Develop clear financial commentary that explains performance drivers and highlights actionable insights for senior leadership.
- Partner with Accounting to validate monthly actuals, investigate unusual results, and ensure consistency between management reporting and financial statements.
- Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, Accounting, and other functions to align financial assumptions with business plans and operational expectations.
- Maintain strong controls, documentation, and review procedures to ensure a high level of accuracy and consistency across FP&A deliverables.
- Identify and implement process improvements, automation opportunities, and reporting enhancements that increase efficiency and improve decision-making.
- Support ad hoc financial analysis and special projects requested by the Director of FP&A and executive leadership.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Typically 6-10+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, financial analysis, or a related field.
- Strong knowledge of financial statements, management reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
- Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to work efficiently with large and complex data sets.
- Strong PowerPoint and executive presentation skills.
- Hands-on experience with ERP, EPM, business intelligence, or financial reporting systems.
- Experience preparing executive-level financial presentations and communicating financial results to non-finance stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to manage recurring monthly deliverables and multiple priorities with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently as a senior individual contributor while collaborating effectively across functions and levels of the organization.
Preferred Qualifications- MBA or other relevant advanced degree or professional certification.
- Experience supporting senior leadership, executive management, Board-level reporting, lenders, or investors.
- Experience in a private-equity-backed, manufacturing, industrial, distribution, or multi-entity environment.
- Experience with Power BI or other data visualization platforms.
- Experience with planning and FP&A systems such as Planful, Adaptive Planning, Anaplan, HFM/Hyperion, or similar platforms.
- Experience improving or automating FP&A processes, models, and reporting.
- Prior experience in a fast-paced, multi-entity, or growth-oriented environment.
