Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

CDS Global•New York, NY

1d•$190,000 - $220,000

About The Position

The Director, IT Finance owns financial planning and analysis for Hearst Technology Services, including forecasting, the annual budget cycle, monthly close, management reporting, and analysis supporting investment decisions across the technology division. The role manages the Manager, FP&A and the analyst team, and partners with technology department heads, Sourcing, Technology Business Management, and corporate accounting. The Director translates technology costs into decisions about investment and run-rate reduction. Success is measured by forecast accuracy, an accurate and timely close, and the quality of insight delivered to senior management. The position leads operating expense, project expense, and capital forecasting; annual budgeting; capital planning and investment analysis; financial reporting and analytics; financial partnership with technology departments; vendor and intercompany financial analysis; and the division’s month-end close and invoice and purchasing processes. It also sets standards for the FP&A function, develops team members, and improves recurring financial processes and deliverables.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a closely related business discipline.
CPA, CFA, or CMA.
Seven or more years of progressive FP&A experience, with demonstrated depth in budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and management reporting.
Experience owning a full planning cycle end to end, including assumptions, consolidation, review, and presentation to senior management.
Strong financial statement analysis, projection, and financial modeling skills.
Experience managing people, including managing a manager or team lead.
Hands-on experience owning or supporting a monthly close, including accruals and reconciliation with an accounting team.
Working knowledge of business operations, cost structures, and cost drivers, with a fundamental understanding of accounting principles.
Proven success as a business partner in a client-service environment spanning multiple business units and stakeholder levels.
Excel proficiency.
Excellent listening and communication skills, including the ability to deliver clear, well-organized presentations and written correspondence to executive audiences.
Strong personal time management and the ability to run several projects simultaneously against fixed close and planning deadlines.

Nice To Haves

Technology Business Management experience, or familiarity with a technology chargeback, showback, or cost allocation model.
Working knowledge of Oracle ERP.
Practical experience applying AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT to financial analysis, reporting, and workflow automation.
Familiarity with cloud cost management or FinOps practices.
IT finance or shared-services finance experience.
Strong interest in working within technology.

Responsibilities

Own the monthly forecast for operating expense, project expense, and capital, consolidating inputs from technology department heads.
Lead the annual budget cycle for assigned technology towers, including building the calendar, setting assumptions, challenging submissions, and delivering a board-ready plan.
Drive capital planning by validating business cases, building financial models, quantifying ROI and payback, and making funding recommendations to senior management.
Model the financial impact of organizational, vendor, and architecture changes, including multi-year run-rate savings and one-time transition costs.
Deliver monthly P&L, G&A, and budgetary status reporting to IT senior management, including variance analysis, root-cause explanations, and recommended remediation.
Build and maintain the recurring management reporting package, reducing manual preparation through automation and standardization.
Promptly surface budgetary inconsistencies, control gaps, or improprieties to senior management with supporting analysis.
Develop forward-looking analytics to help leadership understand expected spending and potential changes.
Serve as finance partner to assigned technology department heads, align forecasts with delivery, and flag risks before they appear in actuals.
Partner with Technology Sourcing & Vendor Management on financial analysis for contract negotiations, renewals, and consolidation decisions.
Support the Technology Business Management team on intercompany assessments, reconcile differences against the general ledger, and provide financial inputs for the cost model.
Anticipate risks, adjust plans, and keep leadership informed early.
Own the monthly close for the technology division, including accruals, journal entries, and reclasses, working with the corporate accountant to close accurately and on schedule.
Manage the IT invoice process by reviewing and approving invoices, confirming general ledger coding and cost center assignments, and resolving exceptions before close.
Oversee purchase requisitions and purchase orders, validate budget availability and coding at request, and keep open commitments and aged POs current.
Maintain the close calendar, ensure the division meets it, and reduce post-close adjustments over time.
Manage the Manager, FP&A by setting priorities, reviewing output, and developing the role toward broader financial leadership; oversee the analyst team through that position.
Set standards for analytical rigor, documentation, and turnaround across the FP&A function.
Improve team processes by standardizing recurring deliverables, eliminating low-value manual effort, and improving the quality of financial output.
Represent IT Finance in cross-functional initiatives and senior management forums.