Role: Sr. Finance Analyst (Marketing) - 12 month Contract Assignment 

This position is for a contract engagement through our staffing partner DZConneX (Yoh Services).  The anticipated duration is 12 months.

San Mateo, CA / Hybrid

Role overview:

This role is responsible for the accurate financial planning, reporting and analysis of Global Marketing and Overhead expenditures, providing the link between the Business and Accounting functions. This critical team member will support our monthly/quarterly/annual budget and forecasting processes and coordinate and manage our global month-end accounting and reporting deliverables (teams across UK, US and Japan). Key responsibilities will also include guidance on processes, spend classifications and accounting practices to support consistent and robust reporting. 

Since the range of responsibilities is varied in this contract role, this candidate requires the ability to pick up new responsibilities & deliverables quickly, strong communication skills, a willingness to be flexible with changing priorities, and excellent organisation skills to prioritise workload and keep to tight deadlines at month-end.

The role reports to the Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Reporting (FP&R) – Global Marketing (San Mateo, CA), with the Director for FP&R Global Marketing team based in London, UK 

What you’ll be doing:

• Responsible for the delivery of monthly, quarterly, and annual Global & Territory Marketing budget, forecast, and financial reviews.
• Management of accurate Global Marketing team budget trackers where client team budget and expenses are consistently tracked and reconciled, ensuring data integrity and variance explanations for discrepancies.
• Lead monthly meetings with marketing budget owners to ensure forecasts and actuals are accurate ahead of key submission deadlines.
• Submit accurate rolling forecasts into various planning tool systems within tight deadlines
• Prepare monthly Global Marketing finance reports, including actuals and commitments versus budget/forecast, along with value-add insights and variance analysis and commentary.
• Re-design and optimize FP&R GM workflows and processes to minimize complexities and promote efficient business planning operations.
• Provide clear guidelines and explain accounting policies and principles to non-financial teams to drive the correct recognition of costs across product verticals and GL accounts, support consistent and robust reporting, and ensure budgets are accurately represented.
• Prepare monthly accruals and recharges for Accounting Team journal entry posts.
• Coordinate month-end deliverables and liaise with Accounting, Vendor Management and Accounts Payable Teams on behalf of Global Marketing Financial Planning & Reporting (FP&R) Team.
• Support corporate headcount and operating expense governance/controls policies and procedures.
• Prepare detailed ad hoc expense analysis and reporting for FP&R team, leadership team and key partners for strategic decision-making.
• Data gathering and preparation of financial data for ad hoc expense analysis and reporting to leadership team and key partners
• Provide ongoing support to select Global Marketing Teams to help troubleshoot accounting, vendor management, payment processing, and financial system-related issues.
• Ad hoc set up of internal orders and accounting codes.
• Ad-hoc work and projects as required.

What we’re looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum 5-6 years of work experience in finance/business analytics role
• Flexible working, or San Mateo office as needed (approx. 2 days per week - STC)

Preferred Qualities:

• Previous management accounting / FP&A experience or proven track record of similar roles/tasks in Global/Pan regional company.
• Ability to work flexibly and accommodate global hours as needed – key offices located in the US, UK and Japan.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and other planning / reporting tools (e.g. Anaplan, Adaptive, SAP, Domo, Tableau etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to quickly master new information systems, reporting tools, and applications.
• Continuous process improvement and change mindset, highly adaptable to evolving ways of working and flexible with changing priorities.
• Proactive and resourceful self-starter with drive and ambition that takes ownership to ensure successful outcomes quickly, and be able to hit the ground running with minimal oversight.
• Client-focused with ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with internal cross-functional teams.
• Gravitas, with exceptional verbal, interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Organised with ability to prioritise and multi-task (excellent time-management skills), and thrives under pressure in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and deliver against aggressive timelines (month, quarter, and year-ends).
• Excellent analytical, problem solving and troubleshooting abilities.
• Detail-oriented with experience collecting, organising, and disseminating data and abundant information with accuracy under time pressure.
• Willingness to assist with a variety of tasks and work independently as well as collaboratively on a team.
• Experience in digital media, Internet, technology, or gaming industries a plus