Lead, Financial Planning & Analysis

Success Academy Charter Schools•New York, NY

About The Position

We are looking for a strategic, high-performing finance leader to serve as a senior member of the FP&A team and a trusted advisor to leaders across the organization. The Lead, FP&A will own the financial planning, forecasting, and analysis function for a major area of the business, set the standard for analytical rigor, and build the systems, processes, and talent that allow Finance to scale with our growth. Reporting to the Head, FP&A, the Lead operates as a strategic partner to senior management, including the CFO. This person will translate complex financial data into clear, actionable insights, drive fiscal discipline across schools and network functions, and play a central role in shaping the long-range financial strategy of a rapidly expanding organization. This role has broad exposure across all levels and functions, so the ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with the leadership presence and communication skills to influence decisions at the most senior levels.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 7-10 years of relevant financial planning & analysis experience
Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team
Advanced analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills
Expertise building and working in complex financial models
Strong understanding of financial statements including P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow
Takes ownership of the accuracy and timeliness of deliverables
Highly detail-oriented, while also balancing the big-picture view
Adapts quickly to changes and able to manage multiple competing priorities
Excellent communication skills, able to clearly and accurately convey messages to senior leaders and varied audiences across the organization
Advanced knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, and Slides
Experience with an ERP system and/or similar reporting tools
Highest integrity and ethics
Intellectually curious and able to think deeply and qualitatively about business problems, breaking down issues and presenting solutions
Holds themself and others to very high standards of excellence
Takes pride in taking a high degree of ownership
Positive, cooperative attitude; collaborative with a track record of building strong relationships and leading teams
Entrepreneurial with unrelenting drive and comfortable operating in ambiguity
Analytical and metrics-driven, regularly leveraging data to support business decisions
Open, secure, and humble, with demonstrated resilience
Passion for education and a commitment to the mission of Success Academy

Responsibilities

Own the annual budgeting and monthly re-forecasting processes for your area of the business, establishing standard methodologies for short-, medium-, and long-term forecasts and overseeing the models and dashboards that support them.
Serve as the senior Finance point of contact for school operations and network functions, partnering with leaders to inform strategic and operational decisions and to drive fiscal responsibility across the organization.
Oversee detailed reporting on performance, including variance analysis (actuals vs. budget/forecast), risks and opportunities tracking, KPI monitoring, and trend analysis, and interpret results to provide management with concise, actionable insight.
Lead the preparation of monthly financial reporting and presentation materials for senior management, and present financial updates directly to executive leadership and other key stakeholders.
Develop financial impact models and sensitivity analyses for key business scenarios, and provide ad hoc decision support to the CFO, CEO, and other functional leaders.
Drive operational efficiencies throughout the organization—automating tasks wherever possible and strengthening financial systems, controls, and processes to support consistency and scale.
Establish and lead training for business partners on financial systems and budget management best practices to ensure consistency in data collection and execution across the organization.