Fast Facts

Ascend Learning is seeking an FP&A Senior Manager to provide critical financial insights and recommendations, enhance analytical processes, and collaborate with teams to drive strategic decision-making in a flexible, people-first culture.

Responsibilities: Responsibilities include budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, collaborating with cross-functional teams, preparing financial reports, and driving continuous improvement initiatives for FP&A processes.

Skills: Key skills include strong analytical and organizational capabilities, proficiency in financial modeling, advanced Excel skills, and excellent communication skills to present financial concepts clearly.

Qualifications: A Bachelor's degree in finance or related fields is required, alongside 7+ years of FP&A experience, with a preference for those experienced in both corporate and segment FP&A.

Location: This position will work a hybrid schedule from our Burlington, MA or Leawood, KS office location.

Compensation: Not provided by employer. Typical compensation ranges for this position are between $100,000 - $150,000.

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture

Ascend Learning is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning.

Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers.

We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.

Ascend Learning leads the way in innovation and solution creation to improve outcomes and deliver results for students, educators, and healthcare workers in the ever-changing field of healthcare. We offer advanced resources that drive nursing success, empower front-line certified allied health workers, help physicians pass boards and stay current, and provide education management tools for medical education programs.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

As a FP&A Sr Manager you will be responsible for providing business leaders with crucial insights and recommendations to drive financial and operating performance while establishing underlying processes to enable this. Success in this role requires you to:

• Bring outstanding analytical capabilities. You’ll understand business drivers, what is important to analyze, and be able to concisely communicate both verbally and visually critical business insights
• Become an expert on Ascend business process and data flow as it pertains to business drivers; proactively make recommendations for process, tool, or data flow changes to enhance information, while considering end-to-end ramifications.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with finance, sales, marketing and product teams to drive data-driven decisions.
• Interact frequently with senior executives. This role produces important deliverables in support of commercial reviews, senior leadership meetings, and other critical Finance materials.

WHERE YOU’LL WORK

This position will work a hybrid schedule from our Burlington, MA or Leawood, KS office location.

HOW YOU’LL SPEND YOUR TIME

• Key role in budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling to support strategic planning and decision-making.
• Understand the data generated through company operations and activities and where/how that data is stored.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and implement initiatives that align with company goals and objectives.
• Provide detailed financial analysis and insights to senior management, highlighting key trends, risks, and opportunities while meeting expectations for timelines, accuracy, quality, and overall business impact.
• Build models, analyze data, create reports, generate insights, make specific and actionable recommendations, and influence business decisions. You must be comfortable working with imperfect data and have an iterative mentality – start with the 80% solution and improve over time.
• Prepare and present financial reports, including variance analysis, to senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of FP&A processes and tools.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Bachelor’s degree required in finance, business administration, business analytics, or other related fields.
• 7+ years of experience in FP&A (preferably both corporate and segment FP&A). Additional finance experience demonstrating breadth of experience is preferred.
• Ability to perform a variety of financial activities including planning, analysis, budgeting, and reporting
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders.
• Proficiency in financial modeling and advanced Excel skills; experience with financial planning software (e.g., Planful, Great Plains) is a plus.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills along with an ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with frequent tight deadlines while maintaining effective executive presence
• Strong Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office applications essential; database and data visualization tools (e.g. Power BI or Tableau) a plus

 BENEFITS

• Flexible and generous paid time off
• Competitive medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• 401(k) employer matching program
• Parental leave
• Wellness resources
• Charitable matching program
• Hybrid work
• On-site workout facilities (Leawood, Gilbert, Burlington)
• Community outreach groups
• Tuition reimbursement

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued and be their authentic selves. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging.

About Ascend Learning

As a tech-enabled services company, Ascend Learning is a national leader in developing and delivering data-driven online educational content, software, assessments, analytics, and simulations serving institutions, students and employers across healthcare, fitness and wellness, public and workplace safety, skilled trades, insurance, financial services, cybersecurity, and higher education. We're committed to accelerating the learning pathways that can move people into careers where they have the knowledge and skills to have an impact and help change lives in the communities they serve. Headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America's 2023 Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

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