Finance Operations Manager

Axle•Rockville, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Axle Informatics is a bioscience and information technology company that offers advancements in translational research, biomedical informatics, and data science applications to research centers and healthcare organizations around the globe. With experts in biomedical science, software engineering, and program management, we focus on developing and applying research tools and techniques to empower decision-making and accelerate research discoveries. We work with premier research organizations and facilities including multiple institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other public and private organizations. We are seeking a highly analytical, business-oriented Finance Operations Manager to lead financial planning, forecasting, analysis, and operational decision support across the organization — while also managing and developing the team that produces this work. This role turns financial and operational information into forward-looking insight that helps leadership improve revenue, profitability, cash flow, contract performance, and business execution. This is not primarily a transactional accounting role: the successful candidate goes beyond reporting numbers to determine what's driving performance, what's likely to happen next, and what action to take — and builds the automated, scalable infrastructure to do that reliably as the team and business grow. This role requires an onsite presence in Tysons, VA.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field
5+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, financial operations, or business finance
At least 3 years in a direct management or supervisory role
Demonstrated experience with budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, and variance analysis
Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to translate complex data into clear business recommendations
Proven track record of implementing automation to streamline financial processes

Nice To Haves

Experience in government contracting, including contract economics, funding, backlog, and burn rates
Experience with workforce and labor economics in a professional-services environment
MBA, CFA, CPA, or CMA

Responsibilities

Lead annual budgeting and recurring forecasting across company, business-unit, customer, contract, and project levels
Develop detailed revenue forecasts using contract funding, deployed staff, bill rates, and utilization
Analyze actual performance against budget and forecast, determining root causes of variances and recommending corrective actions
Monitor financial performance by customer, contract, and project, including margin, funding, and burn rates, identifying risk early
Analyze bill rates, pay rates, fringe, and overhead to evaluate staffing and compensation decisions
Maintain visibility into backlog and contract funding, flagging exhaustion dates before they become operational issues
Develop short- and medium-term cash-flow forecasts and monitor AR/DSO trends to flag liquidity risk early
Develop recurring reporting on revenue, margin, backlog, and cash flow that clearly communicates what changed, why, and what's recommended
Serve as financial partner to leadership and Operations, modeling new opportunities, pricing, and staffing scenarios
Automate recurring reports and models, building dashboards and consistent KPI definitions to reduce manual spreadsheet work
Lead and develop a high-performing finance team, including staffing, workload balancing, and performance reviews — this role manages both the work and the people doing it
Set KPIs, deliver regular coaching, and support retention and succession planning