Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis (Business Controller)

Little Sprouts, LLC • Lawrence, MA

1d • $100,000 - $120,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

As part of the Babilou Family network, Little Sprouts and our sister brands are scaling rapidly and evolving into a data-driven, financially disciplined organization. The Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis plays a critical leadership role in strengthening the company’s financial infrastructure, ensuring the integrity of all financial data, and building a best-in-class business controlling function that is forward looking with an eye towards accurate and timely financial results and KPI development that will help guide the business. This leader oversees the FP&A Department, in collaboration with the CFO and executive team, the Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis will elevate financial processes, manage budget planning and reporting, develop and oversee performance reports and action plans, evaluate team capabilities, and ensure the quality of insights are driving key decisions within the organization. Our work is guided by our educational approach, Sustainable Education®, which bridges research and daily practice to help children thrive and lay the foundation for lifelong learning. We’re in what we like to call the science of children. Everything we do is rooted in research about how young minds grow—how they learn, connect, and build the skills that last a lifetime. We also lead our HONOR values: Humility, Open-Mindedness, Nurture, Ownership, and Recognition. This guiding framework fosters an environment where educators, children, families, and partners feel valued, empowered, and inspired to grow.

Requirements

• BS/BA in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field; MBA or CPA/CFA a plus.
• 8 -10+ years of progressive FP&A experience, ideally in a multi–site or service–based business and prior team leadership or supervisory experience (2-4+ years).
• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and analytical skills.
• Experience with MS Dynamics 365, SQL, BI tools, or similar systems preferred.
• Proven ability to partner with senior leaders and influence decision–making.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly organized, detail–oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated success improving financial processes, reporting, and systems.
• High emotional intelligence, professionalism, and sound judgment.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or CPA/CFA

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual budgeting process and forecasts.
• Consolidate business plans (with financial controller) and challenge assumptions.
• Align financial forecasts with strategic goals, department heads and executive leadership.
• Build bottom-up budgets from center assumptions.
• Run rolling forecasts based on enrollment trends and staffing changes.
• Consolidate into corporate view for lenders / PE / board.
• Analyze financial results and KPIs (margin, cost, profitability, productivity).
• Identify performance gaps.
• Track impacts of corrective actions deployed vs targets.
• Support monthly business reviews and quarterly performance (shareholders & bank reports).
• Build center-level models for enrollment ramp / attrition, waitlist conversion, and tuition pricing changes.
• Analyze capacity utilization % by classroom / age group.
• Partner with ops on underperforming centers.
• Model teacher-to-child ratios (EEC compliance driven).
• Forecast labor using staffing grids by classroom and wage inflation / retention pressure.
• Identify overtime leakage and under/over staffing by center.
• Own monthly P&Ls at site level (often 20–100+ locations).
• Drive visibility into contribution margin by center and fixed vs variable cost structure.
• Flag centers below breakeven and margin compression trends.
• Own cash flow forecasting, liquidity planning, and treasury partnerships.
• Optimize cash management, banking relationships, and capital structure in collaboration with the CFO.
• Strengthen the integration and utilization of Microsoft D365, Procare, payroll platforms, and reporting tools.
• Identify automation opportunities and reduce manual accounting work.
• Ensure documentation of policies, procedures, and internal controls (SOPs).
• Develop (or finetune existing) KPIs & dashboards to track then analyze business performance.
• Drive standardization and harmonization of management reporting / dashboards across Babilou.
• Translate financial results into actionable insights for executives then track impacts vs expected target.
• Present performance updates to the COMEX.
• Collaborate with business units and regional controllers (including Working cap monitoring).
• Provide guidance on cost control, growth initiatives, and operational efficiency.
• Link strategic goals with financial performance metrics.
• Lead, mentor, and develop team members.
• Holds authority and significant influence in employment–related decisions, such as hiring, performance evaluation, disciplinary action, team restructuring, promotions, and succession planning across the FP&A department.
• Build succession plans, training programs, and coaching frameworks.
• Foster a culture of accuracy, accountability, continuous improvement, and service to Operations.
• Enhance forecasting accuracy, profitability analysis, and decision tools.
• Develop and maintain BI system and planning processes.

Benefits

• Health benefits are available upon start date.
• Free Subscription to First Stop Health; receive ongoing care from doctors and prescribers through easy telehealth services.
• Up to 75% discount on your child's tuition (Option for the initial $5,000 of tuition to be taken out of your paycheck before taxes through payroll deductions.)
• Comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, and pet insurance.
• 401k with company match.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Career advancement and coaching.
• Additional Paid Time off and Holidays.
• Referral Program.

What This Job Offers

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