Lead Specialist, Financial Analysis

Transamerica • Cedar Rapids, IA

3d • $128,000 - $170,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead Specialist, Financial Planning & Analysis supports the Director of FP&A by performing and coordinating high-quality financial analysis, management reporting, planning, data, platform, and control activities across our company. The role connects US GAAP performance, capital considerations, and operational key performance indicators to help leaders understand results, evaluate trade-offs, and make informed decisions. This role support the establishment of modern finance platforms and disciplined processes that support reliable monthly and quarterly management reporting, while building trusted working relationships with business-unit partners across insurance and non-insurance financial services.

This position leads defined workstreams and contributes subject-matter expertise while operating within the broader direction of the Director of FP&A. The Lead Specialist partners across functions and business units, strengthens scalable finance capabilities, and escalates significant judgments, reporting errors, and control deficiencies to the Director. The role may mentor peers and help coordinate shared deliverables, but is not the primary people leader for the FP&A function.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance, or equivalent experience
• Ten years of financial analysis experience, including work in the insurance, financial services or investment management industry
• Expert knowledge of accounting/finance
• Analytical and problem solving skills
• Strategic thinker able to communicate on business/market and legislative issues at a macro level
• Organizational and prioritization skills, and the ability to make timely decisions using the appropriate information
• Excellent written/oral communication and presentation skills to provide complex information to diverse audiences
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office, Excel and financial business systems

Nice To Haves

• Experience within insurance, financial services, or another regulated, capital-sensitive industry, including exposure to international operations or multiple business models.
• Hands-on experience with Power BI, financial data warehousing or aggregation, governed dashboards, and the integration of data from multiple financial and operational sources.
• Exposure to cloud environments such as AWS and to modern finance or planning platforms such as Oracle.
• Experience supporting finance transformation, platform implementation, process automation, data modernization, or scalable reporting design.
• Familiarity with SOX processes and controls, control testing support, deficiency assessment, root-cause analysis, and remediation tracking.
• Exposure to AI-enabled analytics or other emerging technologies used to enhance analysis, forecasting, anomaly detection, narrative reporting, or decision support.
• CPA, MBA, or a master’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, analytics, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Perform and coordinate monthly and quarterly management reporting, including analysis of US GAAP results, capital considerations, operational KPIs, trends, variances, and emerging business drivers across an international organization.
• Prepare clear, concise commentary and decision-useful insights for leadership, connecting financial outcomes with operational performance, market conditions, strategic priorities, and material risks or opportunities.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and scenario analysis by coordinating inputs, challenging assumptions, maintaining models, and helping translate business strategies into financial and operational outlooks.
• Develop and maintain executive dashboards, recurring reporting packages, and ad hoc analyses that present reliable measures, meaningful comparisons, and actionable conclusions for varied audiences.
• Partner with Finance, Technology, Actuarial, Accounting, Capital, Risk, Data, and insurance and non-insurance business units to clarify requirements, align definitions, resolve data or reporting questions, and deliver coordinated analysis.
• Lead or support defined FP&A workstreams, establishing practical plans, coordinating contributors, monitoring dependencies, documenting decisions, and escalating significant judgments or delivery risks to the Director of FP&A.
• Use Power BI and related analytics tools to create intuitive, governed reporting experiences; support financial data warehousing and aggregation, multi-source data integration, and efficient distribution of management information.
• Contribute to modern finance platforms and scalable data structures, including planning platforms such as Oracle and cloud environments such as AWS, by defining business needs, supporting testing, validating outputs, and improving adoption.
• Help design and sustain reliable data flows, governance practices, controls, common definitions, lineage, and quality standards so that financial and operational information is consistent, explainable, and fit for decision-making.
• Support SOX-relevant processes and controls by maintaining documentation, performing or coordinating control activities, supplying evidence, and partnering with control owners and assurance teams.
• Investigate reporting errors, reconciliations, data anomalies, and control deficiencies; coordinate root-cause analysis and remediation actions; validate corrections; and promptly escalate material issues to the Director of FP&A.
• Evaluate and apply emerging capabilities, including AI-enabled analytics, with appropriate attention to data quality, transparency, governance, controls, and human judgment.
• Promote inclusive collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement by simplifying recurring work, standardizing effective practices, documenting processes, and constructively mentoring or supporting peers.

Benefits

• Competitive Pay
• Bonus for Eligible Employees
• Pension Plan
• 401k Match
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Disability Insurance
• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Employee Discounts
• Career Training & Development Opportunities
• Paid Time Off starting at 160 hours annually for employees in their first year of service.
• Ten (10) paid holidays per year (typically mirroring the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) holidays).
• Be Well Company holistic wellness program, which includes Wellness Coaching and Reward Dollars
• Parental Leave – fifteen (15) days of paid parental leave per calendar year to eligible employees with at least one year of service at the time of birth, placement of an adopted child, or placement of a foster care child.
• Adoption Assistance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Back-Up Care Program
• PTO for Volunteer Hours
• Employee Matching Gifts Program
• Employee Resource Groups
• Inclusion and Diversity Programs
• Employee Recognition Program
• Referral Bonus Programs

What This Job Offers

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