Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis

At Earnest, we believe in a world where paying for your education takes less time than earning your degree. Join us on our mission to empower anyone seeking higher education to reduce the total price tag of their degree, supercharge their ability to pay down student debt, and get on the right financial track fast.

A little background on Earnest: We're a remote first FinTech company with an accomplished team who believe consumer lending can be radically improved and are doing something about it. We are disrupting the trillion dollar student loan industry by redefining what it means to be creditworthy. We created a company that combines data science, streamlined design, and technology to:

• Engage with our customers through more human experiences
• Personalize loans to suit the needs of our customers
• Build products that simplify the lending process

What makes an "Earnie" culture:

• Our customers are tired of long wait times and large student loan bills so we constantly seek out ways to deliver faster.
• Earn Happy Customers
• The path to great means getting better every day. We push ourselves, and each other, to remain curious and think differently.
• We maximize our impact when we act as one team.
• Our success comes from anticipating their needs and providing the solutions they're looking for.
• Perseverance and optimism are just the start to take on the inertia of a national trillion-dollar problem.
• Impact is a Team Sport
• Passion for Challenges
• PhD in Moving Fast
• Better is Better

Our Earnies are fun, innovative, and willing to roll up their sleeves to help their team succeed in a fast-paced environment. If this sounds like you, and you want to join us on our mission to radically disrupt a trillion dollar fintech industry, keep reading to find out how. .

The Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) will reporting into our Director of Strategic Finance and is a key position with involvement in FinancialPlanning and Forecasting for Earnest including monthly/quarterly/annual/multi-year forecasts and the annual business planning. The successful candidate will have a high degree of technical skills in using, updating and creating financial models for various areas within FP&A using Excel, SAS and other data tools. The candidate will assist in analyzing new business opportunities and prepare materials for Executive meetings (both Earnest and Navient).

The Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis needs to be a self-starter who is driven to use financial modeling tools to provide high quality analytics to the management team. He/she will need to balance multiple tasks and responsibilities with a focus on building out automated and streamlined business processes. This person will need the ability to work across the organization, interacting with other finance and accounting personnel to identify and resolve accounting and financial reporting-related issues. This person will present complex financial analysis to Senior Management and must be able to effectively communicate the key assumptions, findings and business implications of the analysis. This person will need to be prepared to handle changing priorities and heavy workloads during periods of intense activity.

What you'll do:

Financial Forecasting

• Own the monthly forecasting process and coordinate consolidation of financial statement metrics (revenue, expenses, capitalization, etc.) and maintain detailed level expertise with the ability to summarize into presentation format.
• Lead the FP&A team to integrate all relevant financial models (headcount and opex by department) into a single, consolidated format that will drive monthly analysis and strategic dialogue.
• Focus on business procedure improvements, primarily on the forecasting process, to be more streamlined with the ability to be executed on an as needed basis.
• Partner with business leaders to model salaries, benefits, and other compensation with HR/Recruiting headcount targets; Includes maintenance of external staff augmentation and contractor costs.
• Ensure alignment of forecasting methodology with Navient accounting practices to drive precision based forecasting that accounts for GAAP policies.
• Drive the annual company-wide budget and planning processes. Consolidate and provide financial summaries that can be shared with a variety of stakeholders ranging from internal business leaders up to Navient's Board
• Formulate finance/business action plans to realize opportunities and solutions to mitigate risks. This will ensure achievement against Plan targets.
• Partner with fixed and variable expense cost centers to ensure operational excellence and predictable expenses with managed vendors and headcount needs.

Business Partnership and Relationships

• Partner with relevant engineering teams to identify opportunities to capitalize research and development projects
• Work with business partners to analyze and identify opportunities for operational efficiencies.
• Maintain accountability with business partners for the accuracy of forecasts, communicating financial results and drivers with the ability to challenge and influence key strategic decisions.
• Facilitate purchase order, accrual, and reconciliation processes to ensure constant feedback loop connecting planning and actuals. Ensure alignment with accounting on expense geography within the GL and drive reclasses as needed.
• Implement financial controls and practices alongside several of key business leaders, and lead projects that span across multiple functions.
• Be entrenched and understand business partners operational and strategic project plans as well as associated opportunities and challenges.

Monthly/Quarterly Close and Reporting

• Expand product view reporting to reflect accurate P&L financials across various profit centers. Including but not limited to cost allocation, report automation and product breakout.
• Provide business narrative/summaries; including commentary for headcount and variances between actual/forecast/plan. Business narratives will be tailored to the desired audience; which can range from internal leaders to Navient's Board.
• Monthly Close – Oversee the close requirements to identify significant operating expense entries and accruals.
• Quarterly reporting in accordance with Navient external reporting cadence.
• Own monthly PTNI financials summary with full detailed analysis on specific line item variances. Summary to be prepared for executive level review. Experience working with and presenting to C-suite leaders preferred.
• Partner with the accounting function to ensure expenses and invoices are aligned with operational expectations. Audit monthly GL entries and drive adjustments as needed to ensure accuracy across product, department and account levels.

Special Projects

• Streamline monthly processes through automation by transitioning flat file models to coded scripts (ie Python, R, etc.) and converting current reporting to visualization-based reporting systems (ie Tableau, Looker).
• Continue to provide ad-hoc financial analysis as Earnest integrates with Navient Corporation. Transition processes and workflows to work alongside Workday, Hyperion, and other Navient tools.
• Identify opportunities to improve business and finance processes; make appropriate recommendations and implement accordingly.
• Financial analysis to support strategic projects as Earnest expands its footprint and product offerings. This includes but is not limited to competitive analysis, new product development and industry outlook.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with large data sets to disseminate trend analysis for forecasting / manipulating data to tell a story with supporting evidence
• Ability to lead work initiatives with cross functional coordination with stakeholders
• High proficiency with Excel, Google Sheets, PowerPoint, and Financial ERP systems
• Highly motivated and enthusiastic about their work
• 8+ years of finance/accounting experience
• Experience and/or knowledge of lending industry, amortization tables, loan loss models, securitization structures, warehouse financing facilities and risk-based pricing.
• Experience working with C-suite level leadership (direct reporting, presentations, etc.) and comfortable speaking in large groups
• Ability to build strong relationships of trust & influence
• Ability to disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to details and accuracy

Nice to have:

• Prior experience working in the lending industry is highly valuable.
• Experience rolling out new products/analyzing new product financials
• Big plus if they can write code scripts (Python, R or other equivalent) to automate and streamline reporting and processes.
• Formula auditing
• Very strong Excel and deck/slide creation (PowerPoint) skills.
• SQL or other database coding experience

Earnest believes in enabling our employees to live their best lives. We offer a variety of perks and competitive benefits that include:

• Mac computers + work from home stipend to set up your home office
• Plenty of Earnest swag, optional in person team gatherings, picnics, celebrations, and plenty of fun virtual events
• RSUs
• 401(k) plan to help you save for retirement plus a company match
• Health, Dental, & Vision benefits plus savings plans
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Annual "my day"
• Robust tuition reimbursement program
• Monthly internet and phone reimbursement
• Work anywhere in the U.S.
• $1,000 travel perk on each Earnie-versary to anywhere in the world
• Pet insurance!
• Competitive days of annual PTO
• Competitive parental leave

At Earnest, we are committed to building an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging enables us to move forward with our mission. We are dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team and encourage anyone to apply if your experience is close to what we are looking for.

Earnest provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status disability or genetics. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for the position in a manner consistent with the Fair Chance Ordinance.

A little about our pay philosophy: We take pride in ensuring we are compensating our employees fairly and equitably. We are showcasing a range and actual starting pay may be based on several factors including but not limited to, market rate, the qualified pool of candidates, internal compensation, candidate location, and budgetary constraints. This number does not necessarily reflect your total compensation, but is a range for your base salary.

A little about our pay philosophy: We take pride in ensuring we are compensating our employees fairly and equitably. We are showcasing a range and actual starting pay may be based on several factors including but not limited to, market rate, the qualified pool of candidates, internal compensation, candidate location, and budgetary constraints. This number does not necessarily reflect your total compensation, but is a range for your base salary.

Pay Range

$120,000—$150,000 USD