Manager, Commercial Planning (New York)

The Athletic Media Company•New York, NY

19h•$130,000 - $140,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Athletic is looking for a Manager, Commercial Planning to serve as the primary architect and steward of our most complex and high-value commercial initiatives and partnerships. This is a high-visibility role that sits at the intersection of business development, strategy, deal-making, and operational rigor; it is a hybrid role based in New York City, reporting into a Vice President of Advertising Finance. We are looking for a "dual-threat" professional: someone who has a deep reverence for analytical rigor, paired with a commercially-minded approach that helps guide projects and deals to success. You will be the quantitative engine driving our commercial strategy; not just evaluating ideas before launch and deals before they are signed; but rigorously tracking performance once they are live. This is a hybrid role and will require 3 days / week in office for candidates in the greater New York City Metropolitan area.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
Analytically rigorous individual with experience performing high stakes evaluation of potential deals, ideally including content licensing.
Deep understanding of the leverage points in a negotiation; can anticipate how a legal clause might impact a financial outcome.
Someone who understands the value of accuracy; whether it's a pre-deal valuation or a post-deal performance report, you own the numbers from start to finish.
Genuinely motivated by The Athletic’s mission; you understand the value of premium sports journalism and the gravity of the shifting media landscape.
Expert-level financial modeling.
Strong executive presentation development skills.
Deep understanding of commercial deal terms, negotiations, and deal processes.
Experience with key FP&A processes (budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis).
BS in Finance/Economics, MBA a plus.

Responsibilities

Translate dense financial data and analysis into high-impact visual narratives for discussions with The Athletic’s leadership team.
Articulate the "why" behind every major investment.
Build clean, flexible financial models to value complex and integrated deals and commercial initiatives across licensing and advertising, as well as other revenue streams.
Analyze and aid in negotiation of deal mechanics, focusing on minimum guarantees (MGs), revenue shares, and recoupment schedules.
Partner closely with Legal and Accounting to ensure term sheets translate into sound financial realities.
Own the "full-lifecycle" of the deal, tracking actuals vs. benchmarks, managing P&L impact, and providing FP&A oversight to course-correct or double-down.
Integrate live deal performance into broader rolling forecasts, explaining variances to leadership and identifying trends in audience monetization and rights costs.