Senior Manager Financial Planning & Analysis - Charlotte

The Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis is a hands-on finance role focused on complex modeling, forecasting, cost analysis, cash flow analysis, rate analysis, and executive-level financial presentation support. This position serves as a senior analytical partner within a flat Finance and Data Analytics organization, translating firm financial data into clear business insights, recommendations, and decision-support materials for leadership.

This is a senior individual contributor role for an experienced FP&A professional who can independently own nuanced, judgment-based analysis from question-framing through model development, interpretation, and executive presentation. The role will support areas such as revenue forecasting, lateral group modeling, profitability analysis, expense planning, cash flow forecasting, pricing and rate analysis, and strategic scenario modeling. The successful candidate must be comfortable working directly in the details, pressure-testing assumptions, developing financial narratives, and preparing polished materials for senior audiences.

This role reports to the Director of Finance and Data Analytics and will work closely with members of the FP&A, business intelligence, and broader Finance teams to support the firm’s planning, reporting, and strategic analysis needs.

• Independently build, maintain, and enhance complex financial models supporting revenue forecasting, cost analysis, cash flow planning, rate analysis, profitability analysis, and strategic scenario modeling.
• Develop revenue forecasts and related analyses that incorporate historical trends, billing and collections patterns, matter activity, staffing assumptions, practice group dynamics, and other relevant business drivers.
• Support lateral partner, lateral group, and other strategic growth analyses, including modeling projected revenue, compensation, staffing, expenses, profitability, cash flow impact, and sensitivity scenarios.
• Prepare financial analyses and executive-ready presentations for firm leadership, practice group leaders, office leaders, and administrative leadership, with a focus on clear narrative, key implications, risks, and recommended actions.
• Analyze key law firm performance drivers, including hours, demand, rates, realization, collections, leverage, matter economics, client profitability, practice performance, office performance, and market trends.
• Partner with business intelligence and technical finance colleagues to leverage source-system data, dashboards, and reporting tools while independently applying financial judgment, business context, and analytical interpretation.
• Translate complex financial and operational data into concise, practical insights that support planning, resource allocation, pricing, staffing, investment, and strategic decision-making.
• Conduct detailed expense, headcount, compensation, and operating cost analyses to support budget development, forecast updates, variance analysis, and management decision-making.
• Assist with the annual budget, periodic forecast updates, long-range planning, and other recurring FP&A processes, with a focus on modeling, analysis, assumption development, and leadership-facing materials.
• Respond to sensitive ad hoc requests from senior leadership and other internal stakeholders by quickly framing the issue, identifying the required data, developing the analysis, and communicating findings clearly.
• Benchmark firm, practice, office, client, and matter performance against internal trends and external market data, where available, to identify risks, opportunities, and areas requiring further analysis.
• Collaborate effectively in a flat team environment, contributing hands-on analytical capacity and financial perspective without relying on formal people-management authority.

• Bachelor’s degree with a Business, IS, or STEM major required; an MBA preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in a professional services environment, with a focus on financial planning and analysis.
• Strong FP&A foundation, including forecasting, budgeting, variance analysis, profitability analysis, scenario modeling, cash flow analysis, and executive-level financial reporting.
• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to build, maintain, and explain complex models independently.
• Strong PowerPoint and executive presentation skills, including the ability to translate detailed financial…