Job Description
Description
Crain Communications seeks a highly analytical and business-focused Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) to join its Financial Services team.
The Manager, FP&A serves as the architect and owner of Crain Communications’ financial planning and forecasting framework. This role is responsible for developing and maintaining the financial models, reporting processes, and analytical insights that guide strategic decision-making across the organization.
As the primary steward of the company’s financial outlook, the Manager, FP&A serves as the single source of truth for budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting. The role translates operational performance and strategic initiatives into actionable financial insights, helping executive leadership understand current performance while anticipating future risks and opportunities.
Working closely with the Senior Vice President of Finance, business leaders, publishers, and executive management, this position enables informed decision-making through advanced financial modeling, long-range planning, scenario analysis, and strategic business partnership.
Strategic Financial Planning & Forecasting
- Design, implement, and continuously improve the company’s annual budget, quarterly forecast, monthly outlook, and long-range planning (3–5 year) processes.
- Own the financial forecasting framework for revenue, operating expenses, profitability, cash flow, and key business drivers.
- Develop scalable, driver-based forecasting models that support business planning across publications, events, subscriptions, digital products, and shared services.
- Translate strategic initiatives and operational plans into quantified financial outcomes and performance expectations.
- Perform scenario planning and sensitivity analysis to evaluate business risks, opportunities, and strategic alternatives.
Executive Reporting & Financial Leadership
- Serve as the organization’s primary source of financial planning and performance insights.
- Partner with the Senior Vice President of Finance to develop executive-level financial updates, dashboards, forecasts, and presentations.
- Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual management reporting packages that communicate financial performance, trends, risks, opportunities, and key business drivers.
- Translate complex financial and operational data into clear, actionable narratives for executive leadership.
Business Partnership & Decision Support
- Act as a strategic finance partner to publishers, sales leaders, department heads, and business leaders.
- Evaluate investments, new business initiatives, pricing strategies, staffing decisions, and capital expenditures through ROI analysis and business case development.
- Assess the financial implications of new products, market opportunities, acquisitions, and growth initiatives.
Performance Management & Risk Identification
- Partner with Accounting to lead monthly actual-versus-plan reviews and identify key drivers of performance variances.
- Establish processes to proactively identify financial risks, emerging trends, and performance gaps.
- Serve as an early warning system for leadership by highlighting issues before they materially impact business results.
- Develop KPIs and operational metrics that improve visibility into business performance and forecast accuracy.
Reporting Innovation, Automation & Analytics
- Partner with the Director of Data & Analytics to modernize FP&A reporting and analytics capabilities.
- Identify opportunities to leverage AI-enabled tools and automation to streamline financial data collection, forecasting, reporting, and analysis.
Leadership & Team Development
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Financial Analysts, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and analytical excellence.
- Manage team priorities, workload, and performance to ensure the timely and accurate delivery of budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and strategic analysis activities.
- Provide ongoing coaching, training, and career development opportunities while conducting performance evaluations and supporting the growth of future finance leaders.
Special Projects
- Lead and support strategic initiatives, operational improvement projects, and executive-level analyses.
- Perform ad hoc financial modeling and business analysis as requested by senior leadership.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or related field.
- Minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, business analysis, or related disciplines.
- Advanced financial modeling capabilities, including integrated P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow forecasting.
- Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel and financial modeling.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- MBA, CPA, CMA, or other relevant professional certification.
- Experience with Workday Financials, Adaptive Planning, Power BI, Tableau, or similar reporting and planning platforms.
- Experience leveraging AI and automation tools to improve financial reporting, forecasting, and decision support.
Location: Detroit preferred with Chicago or Manhattan offices also possible. In office 3 days per week.
This position is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime pay.
Pay Transparency Disclosure:
The estimated salary range for this position is $120,000 to $140,000.
The final salary offering will take into account a wide range of factors, including experience, accomplishments and location. The salary range provided should not be considered as a salary limit or cap. In addition to base salary, Crain also offers competitive benefits including retirement plan savings contributions and bonus opportunities based on individual and company performance.
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About Crain Communications:
Crain Communications is a leading business news and information company with a portfolio of 24 media brands that provide indispensable coverage and data for professionals globally and across sectors, including advertising, automotive, finance, healthcare, staffing, and workforce solutions. Many of Crain’s brands are the most influential media properties in the industries and communities they serve, including Ad Age, Automotive News, Pensions & Investments, Modern Healthcare, Staffing Industry Analysts, as well as Crain’s regional business brands. For more than a century, our dedication to deep sector expertise and journalistic integrity has enabled us to provide trusted insights across all our platforms, empowering today’s business leaders to make industry-shaping decisions. To learn more about Crain Communications, visit crain.com.
Environmental Demands
Where you work matters. The job posting will provide specific information on where and when your amazing work would be performed. Employee work location is determined by the needs of the specific team and may include on-site, hybrid or remote. Employee work location is subject to change.
- An “in-office” role would require the employee to come into the office most days with occasional flexibility to work remotely if tasks can be performed elsewhere and if the manager approves.
- A “remote” role would allow an employee to work from a home office that is in one of the states Crain does business in. We can only employ a remote / "work from home" employee if they reside in one of these states: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, and Washington, DC.
- A “hybrid” role would be a mix of in-office and remote work. There may be a specified schedule for coming into the office or it could be at the discretion of the employee with the manager’s approval, subject to change.
- Employees who live within a reasonable commute distance from a Crain office are expected to work on-site 3 days per week.
Many positions will also include work done in “the field.” Depending on the role, this may include conducting in-person interviews, attending work-related events, meeting with sources or clients. Specifics will be noted in the job posting but are subject to change as a role evolves. Employees may be exposed to adverse environmental conditions, specifically during field work. Other typical job functions are performed under conditions such as those found in general office work.
Travel to cover news stories/events, meetings with clients, and to our geographically separated offices may be required. It is the nature of many positions to experience non-standard working hours and be on-call when needed for responding to email, meeting with clients, attending work-related events, story development or breaking news. Most employees perform work Monday through Friday, although early-morning, evening or weekend shifts may be required. Work schedule and travel requirements are subject to change as a role and needs evolve over time.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of many Crain jobs and are subject to change.
Physical activities will include frequent in-person or virtual interactions. For most positions, it is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods, perform computer-related tasks, and create/maintain documents within filing systems. Must have close visual acuity to perform an activity, such as preparing and analyzing reports and information, transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, or extensive reading. The typical physical requirements are light work—exerting up to 25lbs of force occasionally and/or up to 10lbs of force frequently and may include climbing, pushing, standing, hearing, walking, reaching, grasping, kneeling, stooping, and repetitive motion. Some positions will have additional physical requirements, including exerting up to 50lbs of force to move and/or carry equipment, supplies, files, or other materials as the role requires.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions and meet the environmental and physical demands of the role.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)