Senior Analyst - Financial Planning & Analysis

StepStone Group•Newton, MA

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Analyst – Financial Planning & Analysis to join our Finance team. This role will play a critical part in supporting corporate financial planning, corporate reporting, decision making, and G&A business partnering. The Senior Analyst – Financial Planning & Analysis will work closely with Finance leadership and cross-functional business partners to drive financial accountability, improve forecasting accuracy, and provide meaningful insights that support strategic decision-making. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical capabilities, financial acumen, and communication skills with a proactive approach to problem-solving in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Proficient in advanced Excel, with expertise in constructing scenario analyses to inform strategic decisions.
Solid understanding of GAAP principles, ensuring adherence to accounting standards.
Experienced in data mining and developing analytical models to drive actionable insights.
Skilled in distilling complex data into clear, concise information that supports effective decision-making.
Driven by a strong passion for problem-solving, with a proactive approach to tackling new challenges.
Exceptional critical-thinking abilities, capable of analyzing data from multiple perspectives.
Meticulous attention to detail, with a keen ability to identify trends and inconsistencies in large datasets.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly present findings to stakeholders at all levels.
Thrives in fast-paced, high-pressure environments, excelling in cross-functional collaboration.
Self-motivated, consistently generating valuable business insights and taking initiative to drive improvements.
Adaptable and independent, with a flexible mindset that enables success in dynamic work settings.
Experience working with financial planning and reporting systems, such as TM1 (Planning Analytics), Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, Oracle Hyperion or similar FP&A platforms.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field is required.
5+ years of experience in Finance or Accounting.
1-2 years of experience as a finance business partner working with senior management and presenting financial insights and recommendations.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the development and refinement of monthly financial forecasts, support consolidation of corporate forecasts, ensuring precision and timely updates.
Lead corporate headcount planning and workforce expense forecasting, partnering with the People Team and business leaders to monitor hiring plans, vacancy assumptions, organizational changes, and personnel-related spending to ensure alignment with financial plans and company objectives.
Conduct comprehensive financial analyses, including variance assessments, profitability trends, margin evaluations, and cost management, to identify key performance drivers.
Create and support the delivery of the company’s financial reporting package, presentations, and dashboards.
Partner with Accounting during month-end close to ensure accurate financial reporting and understanding of business performance.
Support the annual operating plan (AOP), budget, and long-range planning processes.
Foster clear communication and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.
Review and analyze monthly financial reports to identify discrepancies and ensure accuracy.
Compare monthly results with budgeted figures and forecasts, performing variance analysis to provide actionable insights for performance optimization.
Serve as a finance business partner for assigned functions, including departments such as People Team, IT, Legal, Finance, Facilities, and Corporate Operations.
Provide functional leaders with insights related to spending trends, headcount planning, resource allocation, and investment decisions.
Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and optimize budget utilization.
Build strong working relationships across the organization and act as a trusted financial advisor to business stakeholders.
Train client teams in the use of forecasting tools and reporting systems, proactively addressing challenges and creating educational materials to support their success.
Lead and manage ad-hoc projects to address specific business needs and challenges.
Support the annual budgeting process to ensure alignment with strategic goals.
Deliver concise and impactful recommendations to senior leadership based on quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Perform ad hoc analyses to support evolving business priorities.
Identify and implement continuous improvement of reporting capabilities to enhance scalability, efficiency, and decision-making.
Explore and leverage emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to improve financial analysis, reporting efficiency, forecasting accuracy, and business insights.
Identify opportunities for automation and reporting simplification to increase efficiency and scalability.
Assist in the integration of new systems and analytical tools to improve financial processes.
Help establish FP&A best practices and improve financial discipline across the organization.