Job Summary

The Sr. Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst is a highly visible role supporting Makers Pride's corporate finance function through financial analysis, forecasting, reporting, and special projects. This position will have broad exposure to finance leadership, and cross-functional teams to develop clear insights into business performance and support management and Board-level decision-making.

This role is designed for a motivated, early-to-mid career finance professional with strong analytical horsepower, intellectual curiosity, and the drive to learn quickly. The work will include recurring reporting and planning activities, but the role also requires comfort with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and last-minute requests. The successful candidate will enjoy solving messy business problems, improving processes, and translating complex data into practical recommendations.

Work Schedule

• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; this is a hybrid role out of our Downers Grove, IL office 4 days/week.
• Hours: 8-5

Key Responsibilities:

Financial Planning, Forecasting & Reporting

• • Support the annual budget, rolling forecast, and long-range planning processes, including model updates, variance analysis, and performance commentary.
  • Prepare recurring and ad hoc financial reporting packages for finance leadership, Executive Leadership Team, and Board of Directors presentations.
  • Analyze full P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, liquidity, and key performance indicators to identify performance trends, risks, and opportunities.
  • Support monthly and quarterly close activities through financial reporting, reconciliation, and variance bridges.
• Corporate FP&A & Business Partnership
  • Partner with Accounting, Procurement, Commercial, Operations, and functional leaders to ensure accurate and timely reporting.

• • Support SG&A and indirect spend analysis across Finance, HR, IT, professional services, facilities, and other corporate functions.
  • Assist with liquidity forecasting, working capital analysis, covenant support, lender reporting, and other corporate finance requirements as needed.
  • Translate large, complex data sets into clear insights and recommendations for financial and non-financial stakeholders.
• Analytics, Systems & Continuous Improvement
  • Leverage SAP/BW, Business Objects, advanced Excel, and Tableau or similar visualization tools to improve reporting quality and speed.
  • Identify opportunities to automate recurring reports, standardize data, and improve consistency across reporting platforms.
  • Support the design and enhancement of templates, dashboards, and analytical tools to improve efficiency and decision-making.
  • Help strengthen data integrity, master data governance, and reporting discipline across finance processes.
• Strategic Projects & Fire Drills
  • Support ad hoc analysis related to strategic initiatives, cost savings, acquisitions, pricing, operational performance, and executive requests.
  • Quickly develop analyses and presentation materials in response to changing business needs and leadership priorities.
  • Take ownership of workstreams with limited direction, proactively identifying issues, asking thoughtful questions, and driving toward solutions.

Ability to:

• Demonstrates intellectual curiosity and a desire to understand the business beyond the numbers.
• Has strong drive, ownership, and follow-through; does not wait for perfect direction before making progress.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly and fire drills are part of the job.
• Enjoys solving complex problems, reconciling imperfect data, and building practical solutions from scratch.
• Balances attention to detail with the ability to step back and explain the larger business story.
• Communicates clearly, professionally, and concisely with both finance and non-finance audiences.
• Is passionate about improving processes, simplifying reporting, and making finance more data-driven.

Qualifications & Education

• • Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or related field required.
  • CPA, CMA, MBA, or progress toward advanced certification preferred, but not required.

Experience

• 3-5+ years of progressive finance, FP&A, accounting, plant finance, commercial finance, or related analytical experience preferred.
• Manufacturing, food and beverage, consumer products, or other industrial sector experience preferred.
• Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, variance analysis, or profitability analysis.
• Prior experience working in a fast-paced environment with senior leadership exposure is a plus.

Technical Skills

• Advanced Excel skills, including financial modeling, large data analysis, pivot tables, and formula-driven reporting.
• Strong PowerPoint skills with the ability to create clear, executive-ready materials.
• Experience with SAP/BW preferred.
• Tableau experience preferred; Power BI or other visualization/reporting tool experience also helpful.
• Comfort working with data structures, data quality issues, and reporting automation concepts.

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• High ownership mentality, strong work ethic, and willingness to jump into new challenges.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to partner with corporate, plant, and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to write clear reports, develop business correspondence, and present information effectively to managers and leadership teams.
• Adaptability and resilience in a changing business environment.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

This position operates in a professional office environment. The role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, and photocopiers. The work setting is typically quiet to moderate in noise level with a climate-controlled environment.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job:

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Work is primarily performed in an office setting; on-site corporate office presence expected in accordance with company policy.
• Infrequent exposure to production environments, including noise, dust, moving machinery, forklifts, and temperature fluctuations.
• Sitting at a workstation for extended periods of time; occasional standing, walking, stair climbing, and lifting up to 20 pounds on an infrequent basis.

The information provided in this document provides an overview of the most common duties, qualifications, and demands of the position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of the role, and the duties, qualifications, and demands of the position are subject to change without notice. The expectations provided here may also be modified if an employee with a disability could effectively meet the expectations for the role with reasonable accommodation.

The pay range for this full-time, salaried position is $85,788-$128,682/year. Individual base pay depends on work location and additional factors such as experience, job-related skills, and relevant education or training. The position is eligible for a discretionary annual incentive based on company and individual performance. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, 401k and wellness benefits beginning on the first day of employment. This information is provided per the relevant state and local pay transparency laws for the location in which this position will be performed. Base pay information is based on market location.

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