Lead Analyst

Position: Lead Spend Analyst
The Lead Spend Analyst is the hands-on engine behind data quality, automation, and insight generation for Sourcing & Real Estate. This role is responsible for assembling and maintaining the datasets that fuel budgeting, variance analysis, and accrual accuracy, while simultaneously leading the development of scalable analytics and automation solutions. You will act as a key partner to leadership, translating complex business needs into repeatable analytical frameworks that provide reliable, timely, and actionable visibility into spend and category performance.

This is a full-time, hybrid (3 days on-site) position located at our Northbrook, IL or Chicago, IL office.

What You'll Do

Budget & Variance Management

+ Prepare bottom-up budget inputs, including run rates, pipeline items, commitments, contract terms, and space metrics.

+ Manage templates, versions, and reconciliations while maintaining ongoing forecast updates.

+ Produce monthly actuals vs. budget and forecast vs. actuals packages, investigating drivers and flagging anomalies early.

Data Assembly & Master Data Quality

+ Pull and reconcile data from ERP, PO, contract, GL, and space systems.

+ Ensure coding, definitions, and standards remain consistent, auditable, and business-relevant.

+ Maintain location counts and space/spend KPIs, keeping linkages between space data and financial/sourcing datasets current.

Analytics & Spend Visibility

+ Support the development and day-to-day maintenance of dashboards for spend visibility, category performance, supplier metrics, and value tracking.

+ Translate business needs into scalable analytical and reporting solutions that support category strategy and commercial decision-making.

+ Develop repeatable analytical frameworks and data products to ensure consistent methodology across the organization.

+ Summarize complex results into clear, plain-language insights for stakeholders at all levels.

Automation & Process Improvement

+ Identify and implement automation opportunities for recurring reports, manual data preparation, and repetitive analyses.

+ Drive the adoption of modern tools (e.g., Power BI, Power Query, Power Automate, and SQL) to streamline data workflows.

+ Standardize processes to improve cycle times for analytics requests and reduce manual reporting volume.

Strategic Support

+ Support AI and advanced analytics pilots, specifically focusing on classification and anomaly detection.

+ Tie POs, invoices, contracts, and accruals together to maintain visibility and ensure audit-ready evidence for all reconciliations.

+ Build and maintain comprehensive process documents, desktop procedures, and metric definitions.

What You'll Bring

+

Experience:

3-6 years in spend/procurement analytics, business intelligence, FP&A, or accounting.

+ Technical

Skills:

Strong Power BI and data modeling expertise. Proficiency in Excel and data manipulation (SQL, Power Query, or Power Automate preferred).

+ Domain Knowledge:
Working knowledge of PO, supplier, contract, and space/real estate datasets. Experience supporting procurement is required.

+ Mindset: A "business owner" mindset with a focus on root-cause analysis and high attention to detail.

+ Communication:
Ability to partner effectively with Finance, Sourcing, Real Estate, and IT to explain data-driven insights clearly.

Success Looks Like

+ Operational Excellence:
Accurate, timely, and complete budget inputs and high-trust master space data.

+ Efficiency: A measurable reduction in manual reporting volume through the implementation of automated workflows.

+ Insight Adoption:
High utilization of dashboards and analytical frameworks by procurement and business leadership.

+ Proactive Detection:
Early identification of anomalies, miscoding, and data issues before they impact financial reporting.

+ Standardization: A library of up-to-date process documentation and repeatable data products.

+ Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, or an equivalent professional qualification (e.g., CPA, CMA, or CA), plus approximately eight years of directly related experience in a global, matrixed organization.

+ Superior quantitative and analytical capabilities, with advanced proficiency in…