Director, Financial Planning & Analysis
About This Role
The Director, IT Finance owns financial planning and analysis for Hearst Technology Services — the forecast, the annual budget cycle, the monthly close, the management reporting package, and the analysis that supports investment decisions across the technology division.
This is a leadership role for an experienced FP&A professional. The Director manages the Manager, FP&A and the analyst team beneath that role, and partners directly with technology department heads and with the Sourcing, Technology Business Management, and corporate accounting teams — translating technology cost into decisions about investment and run-rate reduction. Success is measured by forecast accuracy, a clean and on-time close, and the quality of the insight delivered to senior management.
What You'll Do
Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting
- Own the monthly forecast for operating expense, project expense, and capital, consolidating inputs from technology department heads into a single defensible view.
- Lead the annual budget cycle for assigned technology towers: build the calendar, set assumptions, challenge submissions, and deliver a board-ready plan.
- Drive the capital planning process — validate business cases, build financial models, quantify ROI and payback, and make funding recommendations to senior management.
- Model the financial impact of organizational, vendor, and architecture changes, including multi-year run-rate savings and one-time transition costs.
Reporting & Analysis
- Deliver monthly P&L, G&A, and budgetary status reporting to IT senior management with variance analysis against budget and forecast, root-cause explanation, and recommended remediation.
- Build and maintain the recurring management reporting package — reducing manual preparation through automation and standardization rather than headcount.
- Surface budgetary inconsistencies, control gaps, or improprieties to senior management promptly and with supporting analysis.
- Develop the analytics that answer forward-looking questions from leadership, not only what was spent but what is likely to be spent and what should change.
Business Partnership & Operations
- Serve as the finance partner to assigned technology department heads — understand their roadmap, align forecast to delivery, and flag risk before it materializes in the actuals.
- Work with Technology Sourcing & Vendor Management on the financial analysis supporting contract negotiations, renewals, and consolidation decisions.
- Support the Technology Business Management team on intercompany assessments — reconcile differences against the general ledger and supply the financial inputs the cost model depends on.
- Anticipate risk, adjust plans, and keep leadership informed early — no surprises at month end.
Month-End Close & Financial Operations
- Own the monthly close for the technology division — accruals, journal entries, and reclasses — working with the corporate accountant to close the books accurately and on schedule.
- Manage the IT invoice process: review and approve invoices, confirm general ledger coding and cost center assignment, and resolve exceptions before they reach the close.
- Oversee purchase requisitions and purchase orders — validate budget availability and coding at request, and keep open commitments and aged POs current.
- Maintain the close calendar and hold the division to it; drive down the number of post-close adjustments period over period.
Leadership
- Manage the Manager, FP&A — set priorities, review output, and develop the role toward broader financial leadership; oversee the analyst team through that position.
- Set standards for analytical rigor, documentation, and turnaround across the FP&A function.
- Improve how the team works: standardize recurring deliverables, eliminate low-value manual effort, and raise the baseline quality of financial output.
- Represent IT Finance in cross-functional initiatives and senior management forums.
What You'll Bring
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a closely related business discipline.