Financial Planning and Analysis Manager

Opencast; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital consultancy in the UK is seeking an FP&A Manager to manage the planning and analysis of sales, revenue, and gross margin. The position involves collaboration across various teams to provide insightful reporting and drive performance. Ideal candidates should have strong experience in financial analysis and the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly. The role offers a salary range of £45,000 - £64,000 and a flexible working environment, including remote options.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in FP&A within a consultancy or professional services environment.
• Hands-on ownership of budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Strong ability to translate financial data into actionable recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Own the forecasting process for sales and revenue.
• Manage annual and quarterly planning cycles.
• Develop and maintain dashboards for reporting insights.

Skills

Financial Planning & Analysis

Advanced financial modelling

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Education

Professional qualification (CIMA, ACCA, ACA)

Tools

Workday

Adaptive Planning

Job description

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Ready for a new challenge?

Are you looking for work that makes a difference? Do you want to work with people who learn and grow together?

If so, Opencast could be the place for you. Opencast is a purpose-driven digital and technology consultancy, making life better through the power of people and technology. We're ambitious, inclusive, and growing fast. We're proud of our collaborative culture and our mission to deliver better work for our clients, making a bigger impact on society. We value trust, empowerment, and doing the right thing for our people and clients.

The Role

We're looking for a FP&A Manager to join our Planning & Insight team. Reporting to the Head of Planning & Insight, you will manage the planning, forecasting and analysis of sales, revenue, cost of sales and gross margin across our consultancy practice. You'll partner closely with Client & Commercial, Capability, Allocation, Talent Engagement and Finance teams to turn data into actionable insight that drives performance and informs decision-making.

Skills and Experience

• Proven experience in Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) within a consultancy, professional services, or project-based environment.
• Hands on ownership of budgeting and forecasting cycles, including building and maintaining driver-based models for sales, revenue, cost of sales and gross margin.
• Advanced financial modelling and analysis skills, with the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to a range of stakeholders.
• Track record of translating financial and operational data into actionable recommendations to improve performance and achieve strategic goals.
• Experience partnering with cross-functional teams to align plans, challenge assumptions, and manage risks/opportunities.

You’ll need a good understanding of

• Revenue recognition and project profitability for time-and-materials and fixed-price engagements.
• Sales pipeline dynamics (e.g. win rates, contract value conversion, ramp up and cycle time) and their translation into revenue forecasts.
• Cost of sales drivers, resource mix, utilisation, and costs, and how they impact gross margin.
• Scenario planning and sensitivity analysis to evaluate the impact of changes in volume, price, mix, and capacity.
• Performance measurement frameworks, including KPIs and dashboards for contracts, opportunities, billing, utilisation, and margin.
• Financial controls and governance across planning cycles, including change control and version management.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the forecasting process for sales, revenue, cost of sales and gross margin; produce clear variance analyses and commentary.
• Manage the annual and quarterly planning cycles; build driver-based models and consolidate plans across practice areas.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting packs that provide timely, accurate insight for leadership.
• Partner with Client & Commercial teams to validate assumptions and improve pipeline predictability.
• Identify risks and opportunities, recommend corrective actions, and track outcomes to closure.
• Continuously improve planning data, processes and tooling, champion data quality and standardisation.

Other Essential Skills

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to distil complex analysis into clear, concise narratives for non-financial audiences.
• Collaborative mindset and stakeholder management skills across cross-functional teams.
• High attention to detail balanced with pragmatism and delivery focus.

Desirable Experience

• Professional qualification (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) or working towards is preferred
• Experience with professional services environment - utilisation, pipeline forecasting and project accounting.
• Experience with Workday and Adaptive Planning or similar ERP & Financial planning systems.

Salary

Salary range: £45,000 - £64,000

Where you'll work

Your working time at Opencast will be split between multiple locations, including from our HQ and hub locations, client site or home. Travel is part of life at Opencast, and takes in account requirements of your work, our clients and your team.

We include you

We welcome candidates from all identities, attributes, ways of thinking and backgrounds to thrive in a career at Opencast. Our aim is for the diversity of our people to be reflected in the solutions we deliver, to help create a fairer society for all.

Interview

Job interviews are on Microsoft Teams. We'll make any adjustments to help you.

Want to know more?

Visit our website or email [email protected]

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.