Director of Financial Planning & Analysis

Tailwind Deli News & Gifts • Wilmington, NC

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) is responsible for leading Tailwind’s financial planning and analysis function and strengthening the connection between financial performance, operational data, pricing, and commercial decision-making. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, this position will oversee budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, management reporting, business-case analysis, pricing analytics, and other forward-looking financial analysis. The Director of FP&A will serve as a key financial partner to senior leadership and operational teams, translating financial and business performance into actionable insights that support informed decision-making and Tailwind’s continued growth. This position will also provide leadership and oversight for Tailwind’s Revenue & POS Data function, which is responsible for maintaining the integrity of revenue data used throughout financial and operational reporting. This includes POS and Restaurant365 (R365) database maintenance, item and menu mappings, new-location database setup, and daily revenue reconciliation.

Requirements

• Approximately 8+ years of progressive finance experience , including meaningful responsibility within FP&A, commercial finance, strategic finance, or a related function.
• Demonstrated experience leading budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, variance analysis, and management reporting.
• Experience developing financial models, pro formas, and business cases for new investments, locations, contracts, or growth initiatives.
• Strong understanding of financial statements, profitability drivers, and operational performance metrics.
• Experience analyzing revenue, pricing, product mix, margins, profitability, and other commercial performance indicators.
• Strong commercial judgment with the ability to translate complex analysis into clear recommendations and actionable business decisions.
• Advanced Excel and financial-modeling capabilities.
• Ability to work effectively with large financial and operational datasets.
• Understanding of how transactional and operational data flows into financial and management reporting.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• Demonstrated experience leading, developing, and mentoring employees.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate with senior executives, corporate teams, and operational leadership.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced, growing organization.
• Hands-on approach with a willingness to investigate the operational and commercial drivers behind financial results.
• High level of accuracy, attention to detail, accountability, and professional judgment.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality when working with sensitive financial and business information.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related discipline required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience within multi-unit hospitality, restaurants, retail, airport concessions, travel, or another distributed operating environment is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting a multi-location organization with significant operational and transactional data.
• Experience with POS, ERP, financial planning, or restaurant-management platforms.
• Experience with Restaurant365 (R365) is preferred but not required.
• Familiarity with POS data structures, revenue reconciliation, and financial-data controls is beneficial; however, deep technical POS expertise is not required.
• MBA, CPA, or other relevant advanced degree or professional certification is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual budgeting process and ongoing forecasting activities across the company.
• Develop and maintain financial models to support strategic planning, operational decisions, and long-term growth.
• Analyze actual financial results against budget, forecast, and prior periods, identifying and clearly communicating key drivers of performance.
• Develop management reporting that connects financial results with underlying operational trends and business drivers.
• Lead financial analysis, business cases, and pro forma modeling for new locations, projects, contracts, investments, and other growth opportunities.
• Provide forward-looking analysis to identify financial risks, opportunities, and emerging trends.
• Improve the quality, timeliness, consistency, and usability of financial information provided to management.
• Develop and maintain scalable FP&A processes, reporting tools, and financial controls as the company continues to grow.
• Partner with Accounting to ensure alignment between historical financial reporting and forward-looking planning and analysis.
• Develop and maintain a disciplined approach to pricing analysis and commercial decision-making.
• Analyze sales, product mix, pricing, margins, profitability, and other revenue drivers to identify opportunities for improved financial performance.
• Evaluate the financial impact of pricing strategies and other commercial initiatives.
• Partner with Operations, Business Development, Culinary, and other functional teams to evaluate commercial opportunities and support business decisions.
• Translate financial and operational data into clear recommendations for senior leadership.
• Support strategic initiatives through financial modeling, sensitivity analysis, and scenario planning.
• Provide leadership and oversight to the Revenue & POS Data team.
• Ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of revenue information across POS, R365, and financial reporting systems.
• Establish clear ownership and controls for item and menu mappings, item-file maintenance, database maintenance, and related master data.
• Oversee new-location POS and database setup and configuration from a financial-data perspective.
• Ensure timely and accurate daily revenue reconciliation.
• Develop and improve processes for identifying, investigating, and correcting discrepancies in sales and revenue data.
• Establish standards and controls for maintaining clean, reliable data that can be used confidently for financial reporting, forecasting, and operational analysis.
• Partner with Accounting to establish appropriate processes and handoffs between revenue-data administration and accounting activities.
• Support new-location openings and transitions by ensuring revenue and financial-data systems are properly established and validated.
• Serve as a trusted financial partner to the CFO and senior leadership team.
• Partner closely with Operations and other functional leaders to understand business performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Bring a forward-looking, commercially focused perspective to management discussions and strategic decisions.
• Present financial analysis and recommendations in a clear and actionable manner to both financial and non-financial stakeholders.
• Develop and mentor team members across FP&A and Revenue/POS Data.
• Establish clear responsibilities, priorities, processes, and performance expectations within the team.
• Balance hands-on financial analysis with leadership, coaching, and development of the broader finance organization.
• Promote a culture in which business decisions are supported by reliable data, financial discipline, and rigorous analysis.
• Collaborate across departments to improve financial visibility and accountability throughout the organization.

Benefits

• Adhere to all Tailwind policies, procedures, and standards.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality and professionalism when handling company financial information.
• Work collaboratively across departments and levels of the organization.
• Demonstrate sound judgment and accountability in financial analysis and recommendations.
• Support company growth initiatives, new-location openings, acquisitions, transitions, and other strategic projects as needed.
• Maintain flexibility to adjust priorities based on changing business needs.
• Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Chief Financial Officer.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director