Advisor, Planning & Analysis

The Washington Post•Washington, DC

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Join the future of news We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most. About Our Team The Washington Post is powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us to reinvent news. Beyond our award-winning Newsroom and Opinions teams, we work across many departments, including Brand & Events, Communications, Customer Care, Engineering & Product, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing & Advertising, Print Operations, and Sales. Why This Role Matters The Advisor, Planning & Analysis is a highly analytical and execution-focused individual contributor role that supports the CEO in monitoring strategic priorities, enabling data-driven decision-making, and improving visibility into business performance. This role combines deep analytical rigor, structured thinking, and executive communication. It is responsible for developing high-stakes written narratives and executive memos, building and refining key business metrics and dashboards, and ensuring the CEO and senior leadership have accurate, timely, and actionable insights. Working cross-functionally with Strategy & Brand, Revenue, Data & Analytics, Public Relations, Finance, and HR, this role synthesizes complex data into clear insights, establishes consistent performance measurement frameworks, and anticipates questions to prepare the CEO for internal and external engagements. What Motivates You You are driven by intellectual rigor and data accuracy, and take pride in getting to the “ground truth” You enjoy building clarity from ambiguity, especially through data and structured frameworks You are motivated by connecting data to business outcomes, not just reporting metrics You have a strong inclination to build systems (dashboards, KPIs, processes) that scale beyond one-off analyses You value clear, direct communication grounded in facts—even when the message is difficult You thrive in environments where you are expected to think independently and challenge assumptions You are energized by working across functions to reconcile different perspectives into one coherent view of the business

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of experience in strategy, consulting, business operations, analytics, or corporate strategy roles, or an equivalent experience and education (MBA preferred)
Experience building or managing business metrics, dashboards, or performance reporting systems
Experience supporting senior executives (C-suite preferred) with analytical and strategic deliverables
Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work with complex and sometimes incomplete data sets
Strong ability to define meaningful metrics and translate business questions into analytical frameworks
Advanced proficiency in data analysis tools (Excel, BI tools such as Tableau/Looker/Power BI)
Ability to design dashboards and reporting that drive decision-making, not just visibility
Exceptional written communication skills, especially in structured, narrative formats (e.g., long-form memos)
Strong business judgment and strategic thinking
High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy and integrity

Nice To Haves

Background in media, digital, or data-driven businesses preferred

Responsibilities

Executive Decision Support Produce executive memos on a regular basis that clearly articulate the business context, data-driven insights, strategic options, and recommendations
Ensure all materials are fact-based, analytically rigorous, and supported by validated data sources
Frame complex decisions with clear trade-offs, risks, and quantified implications
Business Performance Measurement & Analytics Define, refine, and standardize core business metrics and KPIs across functions
Partner with Data & Analytics and Finance to ensure data integrity, consistency, and alignment on definitions
Develop and maintain executive-level dashboards that provide clear visibility into business performance, trends, and emerging risks
Move the organization from descriptive reporting to diagnostic and predictive insights
Dashboard & Insights Development Translate business priorities into structured reporting frameworks and visualizations
Identify gaps in existing data and work with stakeholders to close those gaps through improved tracking and instrumentation
Ensure dashboards highlight actionable insights, not just data outputs
Metrics Governance & Process Ownership Establish and manage processes for ongoing metric definition, refinement, and governance
Drive consistency in how performance is measured and reported across teams
Lead periodic reviews to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of key metrics and recommend improvements
Ensure alignment between strategic priorities and what is being measured
CEO Preparation & Anticipation Anticipate questions from ownership, senior leadership, and external stakeholders; prepare data-backed responses and briefing materials
Proactively identify areas of scrutiny or concern and ensure the CEO is prepared with facts and context
Executive Communications & Presentations Develop high-impact presentations that translate complex analyses into clear, compelling narratives
Support the CEO in communicating business performance, strategy, and decisions to internal and external audiences
Cross-Functional Synthesis Collaborate with Strategy & Brand, Revenue, Data & Analytics, Public Relations, Finance, and HR to aggregate and reconcile inputs into a single, coherent view of the business
Identify and elevate key trends, risks, and opportunities across functions
Analyze large and complex datasets to identify patterns, root causes, and actionable insights
Shift conversations from “what happened” to “why it happened and what we should do next”
Operational Leverage for the CEO Increase CEO effectiveness by ensuring decisions are supported by the best available data and analysis
Drive higher standards for analytical rigor and clarity in executive-level materials across the organization