Senior Financial Analyst

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 100,000 - 128,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading biopharmaceutical company in Vancouver is seeking a Senior Financial Analyst to manage accounting tasks for clinical programs. The role involves collaboration with various departments, ensuring accurate financial tracking, and supporting audits. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in project management or cost accounting, strong organizational skills, and proficiency in accounting software.

Benefits

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Short- & long-term disability

Retirement savings program with matching contributions

Tuition Assistance program

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years of project management or cost accounting experience required.
• Ability to handle high transaction volumes while adhering to internal controls.

Responsibilities

• Perform program and corporate accounting duties including invoice processing.
• Support month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes.

Skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Education

Relevant post-secondary degree or diploma

Tools

Great Plains accounting software

MS Office Suite

Job description

Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 10:00 AM

Who We Are:

Xenon Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ:XENE ) is a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of people living with neurological and psychiatric disorders. We are looking for great people who thrive in a respectful, collaborative, inclusive, and productive culture to join the Xenon team.

What We Do:

We are advancing an exciting product pipeline to address indications with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy and depression. Our flagship azetukalner program represents the most advanced potassium channel modulator in clinical development for multiple indications. Building upon the positive results and compelling data from our Phase 2b “X-TOLE” study in adult patients with focal epilepsy, our Phase 3 epilepsy program includes multiple clinical trials evaluating azetukalner in patients with focal onset seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In 2024, we are planning to initiate a Phase 3 azetukalner program in major depressive disorder, based on topline data from our Phase 2 “X-NOVA” clinical trial. In addition, we are proud of the leading-edge science coming out of our discovery labs, including early-stage research programs that leverage our extensive ion channel expertise and drug discovery capabilities to identify validated drug targets and develop new product candidates. Backed by a strong balance sheet to support our growth plans, we continue to build a fully integrated, premier neuroscience company with strong discovery, clinical development, corporate, and commercial operations.

About the Role:

We are seeking a Senior Financial Analyst to join our team. This position will be responsible for accounting tasks related to our clinical programs, including contract purchase order and invoice processing, supporting financial analysis and accrual processes, and other duties as directed.

This position reports to the Associate Director, Finance and will be based out of Vancouver, BC, Canada office. We will consider other jurisdictions for exceptional candidates. The level of the position will be commensurate with the candidate’s education and industry experience. This role is a hybrid position, requiring a minimum of 2 days per week in the office.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Perform program and corporate accounting duties for various programs/projects, including processing and tracking invoices, purchase orders, and change orders, as well as preparing account reconciliations and journal entries.
• Collaborate closely with department managers and the Accounts Payable team to track the cost spent on R&D vendor contracts, ensure the billing is aligned with the contract terms as well as invoice milestones, and review vendor workbooks to ensure accuracy.
• Manage the quarterly R&D accrual process by coordinating with vendors and internal project managers to gather necessary information, calculate accurate accrual amounts, and resolve any issues or queries in a timely manner.
• Review, interpret and analyze R&D contracts to assess financial implications and ensure accurate accounting treatment. Maintain and update supporting workbooks used for accruals, forecasting, and audit documentation.
• Support the Accounting, Financial Planning & Analysis, Program Management, and other departments with program/project reporting, including budget tracking, cost analysis, accruals, and variance explanations.
• Support the month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes, SOX and financial audits, including financial analysis on R&D and G&A expenses variances, reconciliation of account balances and preparation of financial statement notes disclosures.
• Maintain accurate equity awards records in Shareworks, in close collaboration with the Senior Manager, Payroll & Benefits.
• Assist in the creation and maintenance of financial templates for plans, budgets, forecasts, and projections to enhance reporting accuracy and efficiency.
• Assist in the preparation of tax provisions, corporate and state tax returns and other tax compliance requirements, including analysis of qualifying R&D expenditures for tax credits.
• Assist in updating our internal and external financial reporting processes and disclosures as needed.
• Perform ad-hoc investigations and deliver tailored analyses and reports to address emerging business challenges and opportunities.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of new processes and procedures that increase accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness in the accounting function.
• Ensure adherence to internal controls over the accounting process.
• Act in accordance with Company policies, including, for example, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and ensure policies are understood and followed by direct reports, if any.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum 6 years of project management or cost accounting work experience in a high-volume environment required; relevant post-secondary degree or diploma required
• Highly proficient in accurate data entry and diligent in reviewing own work
• Excellent organizational skills, multitasking and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and manage time effectively
• Working knowledge of MS Office Suite and ability to learn new systems quickly
• Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written), maintaining a courteous, businesslike manner when interfacing with outside contacts and other employees
• Ability to handle a high volume of transactions while adhering to internal control policies
• Experience with Great Plains accounting software an asset

The base salary range for this role is $100,870 to $127,570 CAD; we will consider above this range for exceptional candidates. Base salary is determined by a combination of factors including, but not limited to, education and other qualifications, years of relevant experience, and internal equity.

Our Total Rewards program includes base salary, target bonus, and stock options, as well as a full range of benefits including medical, dental, vision, short-& long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, and life insurance programs, Employee Assistance Program, travel insurance, and retirement savings programs with company matching contributions.
Xenon encourages time to rest and re-charge through vacation, personal days, sick days, and an end-of-year company shutdown. Xenon highly values employee development and has an expanding Training, Learning & Development program, including a Tuition Assistance program for advanced degrees.
As part of our hiring process, Xenon conducts background checks for finalist candidates. The types of checks conducted will vary depending on the relevance to the position.
US positions only: Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. participates in the E-Verify program in all states in which we hire. Learn more about the E-Verify program here .
To apply for this position, click Apply Now to complete the application. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, due to the volume of applicants, only those chosen for interview will be contacted.