Position Summary

The FP&A Manager will report to Sr. Director, FP&A, and will be responsible for the successful execution of FP&A activities including budgeting, BVA, forecasting, reporting and decision support. This role will work with cross-functional Vera Therapeutics team members including R&D, finance and accounting, and other business functions. This role requires a strategic thinker with strong analytical skills, a deep understanding of clinical finance, and the ability to translate complex financial and operational analysis into clear, audience-appropriate messaging. This is a highly visible role that provides financial insights critical to executive decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the dedicated finance business partner to functional leaders leading budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and variance analysis.
• Communicate financial analysis in a clear, operationally grounded way, discerning the message based on audience.
• Own and maintain clinical trial financial models incorporating protocol design, CRO budgets, investigator grants, enrollment assumptions, site activation schedules, and visit-based cost drivers to support forecasting and scenario planning.
• Analyze clinical trial expense variances against study operational metrics (e.g., enrollment rates, site activations, protocol amendments, vendor activity) to identify drivers of variances. Prepare study-level financial summaries that reflect the operational dynamics, and present the message in a clear thoughtful manner.
• Review and validate clinical trial forecasts generated within Auxilius, ensuring operational assumptions are accurate and financial outputs appropriately reflect study execution.
• Build multi-year trackers to track preclinical/discovery spend, including milestone-based investment tracking.
• Review purchase requisitions and purchase orders to ensure financial accuracy and support standardized procure-to-pay processes.
• Partner with Accounting on month end close, month-end accruals and perform procedures to ensure account and department coding is consistent.
• Support automation initiatives that improve forecasting accuracy, reporting efficiency, and data quality across FP&A processes.
• Develop trusted relationships with functional leaders, to provide financial recommendations that support operational decision-making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a field related to drug development.
• 5-7+ years of experience, biopharma or life science industries.
• Demonstrated experience building clinical trial cost forecasting and financial models (e.g., CRO budget grids, site activation and enrollment-driven cost projections, investigator grant models) within a biopharma or life sciences setting.
• Highly collaborative with exceptional consulting, project management, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Proactive and passionate about building processes and tools in a growing biotech.
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent oral and written communications.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including experience developing sophisticated financial models and scenario analyses.
• Experience with NetSuite, Adaptive Planning and purchase-to-pay systems or systems of similar stature.
• Strong presentation development skills using Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Ability to operate in alignment with Vera's core values.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Auxilius or similar clinical trial financial management/accrual automation platforms.
• Experience automating workflows and building dashboards.

Vera Therapeutics is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices and we strive to provide employees with total compensation packages that are market competitive. The exact base pay offered for this role will depend on various factors, including but not limited to the candidate's geography, qualifications, skills, and experience.

For this role, the anticipated base pay range is

$120,000-$140,000 USD

At Vera, base pay is only one part of your total compensation package. The successful candidate will be eligible for an annual performance incentive bonus, new hire equity, and ongoing performance-based equity. Vera Therapeutics also offers various benefits offerings, including, but not limited to, medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k match, flexible time off, and a number of paid holidays.