Manager, Business Insights

ABRAMS•New York, NY

4h•$110,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Business Insights Manager supports financial planning, sales forecasting, and strategic decision-making in the book publishing industry. The role uses predictive modeling, historical sales data, market trends, consumer behavior insights, and publishing-specific performance drivers to develop sales and financial projections. It combines FP&A and forecasting capabilities with data analytics and predictive modeling, partnering with Finance, Sales, Marketing, Publishing, Inventory Planning, and Executive Leadership to provide insights that support revenue growth, inventory management, and profitability. The position covers forecasting and predictive analytics, financial planning and analysis, publishing industry analysis, and data, reporting, and controls. It develops title-level and consolidated forecasts, evaluates business performance and market dynamics, supports planning and investment decisions, and builds dashboards and reporting processes. The role also documents models, assumptions, and reconciliation processes and communicates analyses to finance leaders and cross-functional stakeholders. Success is measured by improved forecast accuracy, better inventory and working-capital outcomes, more informed acquisition and commercial decisions, and scalable, well-documented forecasting and reporting processes. Compensation is described as competitive, with comprehensive benefits and bonus eligibility. Hybrid work flexibility may apply; final compensation and work arrangement depend on company policy, experience, and location.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Statistics, Data Analytics, or a related field.
3–7 years of experience in FP&A, financial analysis, sales forecasting, demand planning, or a related analytical role.
Demonstrated experience building revenue forecasts and predictive models using large, complex datasets.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Power Query, Power Pivot, advanced formulas, and financial modeling.
Proficiency in SQL and experience with Python or R for predictive analytics and statistical modeling.
Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or a comparable visualization platform.
Knowledge of forecasting methods such as time-series modeling, regression analysis, seasonal trend analysis, and machine learning techniques.
Strong analytical judgment and problem-solving skills.
Ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable business insights.
Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to data integrity.
Effective written, verbal, and presentation skills.
Strategic thinking, commercial awareness, and strong business partnering.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Nice To Haves

MBA, CFA, or advanced analytics certification.
Experience in book publishing; experience in media, content, licensing, or another intellectual property-driven business may also be relevant.
Experience with title profitability, inventory, returns, royalties, or publishing sales channels.
Experience with ERP and reporting platforms such as NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or publishing-specific systems.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain predictive models to forecast book sales across frontlist and backlist titles, formats, channels, imprints, and territories.
Analyze historical sales trends, seasonality, title and author performance, promotional activity, metadata, and market dynamics to improve forecast accuracy.
Build statistical and machine learning models to project sales, revenue, gross margin, inventory requirements, returns, and royalty obligations.
Create scenario analyses and sensitivity models to evaluate assumptions, launch strategies, pricing changes, and market shifts.
Monitor forecast performance using defined accuracy metrics and refine methodologies based on actual results.
Analyze revenue, gross margin, inventory, working capital, and title-level profitability.
Support executive management with ad hoc financial modeling, investment analysis, and strategic decision support.
Contribute to executive- and board-level reporting and presentations.
Evaluate title-level performance and profitability across authors, imprints, categories, formats, retailers, and distribution channels.
Support print-run, reprint, inventory, and demand-planning decisions through forecast-driven recommendations.
Monitor industry trends, competitive activity, consumer buying patterns, and retailer dynamics.
Provide forecasting support for licensing, subsidiary rights, special sales, digital publishing, and client-publisher arrangements.
Partner with Sales, Editorial, Marketing, Production, and Operations to incorporate commercial assumptions into forecasts.
Design and maintain dashboards, KPI reporting, and automated forecast routines.
Extract, transform, validate, and analyze large datasets from ERP, royalty, sales, inventory, and business intelligence systems.
Maintain model documentation, assumptions, version control, and reconciliation processes to support auditability and management review.
Present complex analyses in a concise, business-focused manner to finance leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.