Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

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 ResponsibilitiesPlanning, 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.