Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Location: New York

Job-:
Finance and Accounting

Location:

New York, NY, United States

Schedule:

Full time Posted:
Position Summary 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.

Key Responsibilities 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…