Finance Business Partner

Digital Science•Washington, MA

About The Position

Digital Science is a technology company working to advance the research ecosystem through open, collaborative and inclusive research. The Finance Business Partner will be the primary finance partner for the Academic/GFN segment and the Sales and Marketing teams, owning financial results and supporting leaders with well-informed decisions. The role reviews monthly results, explains performance drivers, validates revenue and ARR against sales activity, and leads forecasting and budgeting for the assigned areas. It partners with senior business leaders, including the EVP of Academic/GFN and the Chief Revenue Officer, and provides financial analysis, reporting, decision support and continuous improvement. Candidates must be based in the Boston or Washington, DC area, where the company has established legal entities.

Requirements

Finance business partnering experience across cost and revenue areas.
Experience delivering discrete budgets and forecasts for specific business areas on time and to target.
Sound understanding of ARR, sales processes and revenue recognition principles.
Ability to work with imperfect data and reach robust conclusions.
Strong modeling and analytical skills, including turning granular data into clear, decision-useful recommendations.
Ability to build credibility with and challenge senior stakeholders.
Driven, inquisitive and collaborative approach, with initiative and a strong sense of ownership.
Professional finance qualification (CIMA, ACCA, ACA or CPA), or at least 5 years of relevant experience.
Must be based in the Boston or Washington, DC area.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a SaaS business.
Experience with NetSuite and Anaplan.

Responsibilities

Review monthly financial accounts, identify material corrections, and explain key variances.
Provide results commentary with business context, highlight where action is needed, produce monthly reporting for each business area, and hold teams accountable for agreed actions.
Understand monthly revenue and ensure reported revenue aligns with sales activity.
Validate monthly ARR by working with the business and understanding segment sales activity; identify performance issues such as delayed renewals.
Understand the status and lifecycle of non-recurring revenue on the books.
Lead cost, revenue and headcount forecasting and budgeting for assigned business areas, meeting guidelines and timelines.
Explain business changes using charts, tables and waterfalls with appropriate context; challenge assumptions to produce robust forecasts.
Provide monthly expected landing positions to support corrective action and early warnings.
Ensure segment allocations are accurate and that changes are understood and explainable.
Support business decisions with analysis, financial models and explanations concerning pricing, business cases, trends, accounting treatment and other business questions.
Review ways of working and drive improvements to output or efficiency; share best practices with the wider team.
Take ownership of issues and drive them to resolution; identify opportunities to improve control and automation through systems.