Financial Analyst - Category Controlling

Ready to help shape the future of premium audio? Join the Sound United Business Unit at HARMAN and work with some of the world's most recognized audio brands.

As part of our team, you'll contribute to the success of iconic brands including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, and Boston Acoustics. Operating in a fast-paced and innovative environment, you'll collaborate with colleagues across Finance, Product, Engineering, and Commercial teams around the globe, helping drive business performance and support strategic decision-making.

If you enjoy working in a collaborative international environment, partnering with a variety of stakeholders, and turning insights into action, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact while growing your career within a global leader in consumer audio.

You will join our Sound United Business Unit in Southwater, UK, in the position of:

Financial Analyst, Category Controlling

A Career at HARMAN Lifestyle:

We’re a global, multi-disciplinary team that’s putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. As a member of HARMAN Lifestyle, you connect consumers with the power of superior sound.

• Contribute your talents to high-end, esteemed brands like Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz and Polk.

• Unite your passion for audio innovation with high-tech product development.

• Create pitch-perfect, cutting-edge technology that elevates the listening experience.

What You’ll Be Part Of
If you enjoy turning data into meaningful business insights and partnering with teams to influence strategic decisions, this role offers the opportunity to make a real impact across a global product portfolio.

In this role you'll be a key finance partner to Product Category, Engineering, and cross-functional teams, helping connect financial performance with business decision-making. As part of the Sound United SBU Finance team, you'll support the analysis of product portfolio performance, evaluate investment opportunities, and provide insights that drive profitable growth.

This is a great opportunity to join a growing function where you'll work across multiple teams, build strong business partnerships, and help improve financial visibility, accountability, and governance across the organization. You'll play an important role in translating complex data into clear recommendations that support both strategic and day-to-day decisions.

How You'll Make An Impact

• Analyze product category performance, including revenue, gross margin, pricing, product mix, profitability, and key business drivers, providing actionable insights to support decision-making.

• Perform financial analysis and scenario modeling to support product category evaluation, prioritization, and investment decisions.

• Partner with Product Category and Engineering teams to develop and evaluate business cases, validate financial assumptions, and assess investment opportunities.

• Evaluate post-launch product performance against business case assumptions, profitability targets, and return expectations.

• Compile, analyze, and reconcile actual results versus budget and forecast, identifying key variances, risks, and opportunities.

• Develop and maintain financial models, category performance reporting, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to improve business visibility.

• Support the development of the annual Global R&D budget across shared engineering resources and product categories.

• Ensure financial data integrity across ERP and reporting systems.

• Identify opportunities to improve reporting efficiency and enhance data visibility through automation and process improvements.

• Support special projects, strategic initiatives, and ad hoc analysis as needed.

What Makes You A Strong Fit

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.

• At least 5 years of experience in financial analysis, FP&A, commercial finance, business partnering, category finance, or a similar role.

• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, budgeting, variance analysis, and business case development skills.

• Experience partnering with non-finance stakeholders and influencing decisions through data-driven insights.

• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations.

• Comfortable working independently, managing multiple priorities, and operating effectively in a dynamic environment.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.

• Experience working with SAP or other ERP systems and large datasets.

• Flexibility to collaborate with global teams across different time zones when required.

Bonus Points If You Have

• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other business intelligence tools.

• Experience building profitability models, business cases, and KPI dashboards.

• Ability to leverage AI tools to support analysis, improve efficiency, and enhance decision-making while applying sound business judgment.

What Makes You Eligible:

• Ability to work onsite at our Southwater location.

• Eligibility to work in the UK.

What You Can Expect:

• A hybrid work environment that balances flexibility with in-person collaboration, with most office-based roles onsite three days a week.

• Access to employee discounts on HARMAN products (including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon and others)

• Learning and development opportunities through our award-winning HARMAN University programs

• An inclusive and diverse work environment that supports both your professional and personal development

• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program.

• A unique opportunity to contribute to drive revenue growth and nurture strategic trust-based relationships.

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