Financial Analyst

*This position is fully remote/home based. Applications will be accepted from candidates based in the UK and the following US states: FL, IL, MA, MD, NY, PA, TX, VA.

Role Summary

PLOS is a nonprofit, Open Access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication.

The Senior Financial Analyst plays a critical role in interpreting, translating, and communicating complex financial data to internal stakeholders. The role will drive annual budgets and financial forecasts, monitor key financial metrics, provide variance analysis, identify cost savings and efficiency opportunities, while functioning as a key business partner to teams across the organization. The role will work closely with stakeholders across the organization to gather information needed for budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting. FP&A leadership will provide oversight and support in validating analyses, reporting, and business commentary to ensure alignment with organizational activities and priorities.

This role requires a self-starter who can shift seamlessly back and forth from their regular workload and ad hoc requests, without sacrificing analytical accuracy. The role also supports a period of significant organizational transformation and requires flexibility in balancing recurring responsibilities with evolving business needs.

Supervisor Responsibilities

• Not applicable

Responsibilities

• Perform actual to budget variance analysis while highlighting risks & opportunities to plan.
• Lead and collaborate with key stakeholders in the annual budgeting process and quarterly forecasts
• Prepare and present clear, concise financial dashboards and commentary for executive leadership and stakeholders
• Drive process improvements
• Build and maintain financial models and support scenario planning
• Ensure the highest level of accuracy and data integrity in all reports, dashboards, and commentaries.
• Partner with stakeholders across the organization to gather and validate financial and operational information supporting budgets, forecasts, and management reporting.
• Support ad hoc financial analysis and reporting requests as needed.

Knowledge and Skills

• FP&A Principles – understanding of financial planning, rolling forecasts, budgets, and variance analysis.
• Accounting Literacy – understanding of GAAP, general ledger structures, and how debits and credits become financial statements
• Expert level proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Experience with budgeting systems (Netsuite Planning and Budgeting, Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning, etc)
• Judgment and Prioritization – proven abilities to exercise sound business judgment, prioritize competing responsibilities, and discernment when handling confidential data.