Planning, Performance and Insights (Manager)

Accenture PLC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Accenture PLC is seeking a planning transformation manager to own a substantial client workstream and translate finance and business needs into an implementable future process and technology solution.

You will lead diagnostics and workshops, design planning processes and functional solutions, and coordinate build, data, integration, testing and adoption activities. You will be accountable for delivery quality and client relationships.

Qualifications

• Planning and finance process knowledge required.
• Future-state process design experience.
• Functional planning solution design capability.
• Planning-platform implementation experience.
• Predictive planning and AI awareness.

Responsibilities

• Assess current planning, budgeting, forecasting and performance-management processes and identify improvements.
• Lead workshops with finance, business, operational and technology stakeholders to define needs and future ways of working.
• Design future-state planning processes, governance, roles, controls and performance routines.
• Translate requirements into functional solution designs for models, dimensions and reporting.
• Lead the planning-platform workstream through design, configuration/build, data, integration and testing.
• Connect financial planning with operational and capital drivers and define data and analytics needs.
• Shape predictive forecasting and AI-enabled planning use cases with responsible controls.
• Manage workstream scope, plans, risks and client communications; support adoption and value tracking.

Skills

Planning knowledge

Finance process

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Requirements gathering

Data & AI awareness

Tools

SAP Analytics Cloud

Anaplan

OneStream

Oracle EPM

Pigment

Job description

About Finance Reinvention Partner

Accenture's Finance Reinvention Partner helps CFOs and finance leaders reinvent how finance creates and protects enterprise value - bringing together strategy, operating model, data, AI and technology to improve performance, insight, control and execution. In the UK and Ireland, the practice combines finance strategy and transformation capabilities with the enterprise platforms that enable them, including SAP, Oracle, Workday and enterprise performance management solutions.

Our Planning, Performance & Insights team helps clients transform how they plan, forecast, allocate resources, manage performance and make decisions. We connect strategic, financial and operational planning with data, analytics and modern planning technologies to create more integrated, agile and insight-led performance management capabilities. We support the full transformation journey - from planning strategy, process and operating model design through solution architecture, implementation, adoption and value realisation - embedding predictive analytics, machine learning and AI to improve forecast quality, scenario modelling and management insight.

Why this role

This role is for a planning transformation manager who can own a substantial client workstream and translate finance and business needs into an implementable future process and technology solution.

You will lead diagnostics and workshops, design the planning process and functional solution, and coordinate build, data, integration, testing and adoption activities. You will be accountable for delivery quality, day-to-day client relationships and the performance of the team working with you.

The expertise you'll bring

Planning and Finance process knowledge. Strong experience running, managing or redesigning planning cycles such as annual planning, budgeting, rolling forecasting, long-range planning, scenario modelling and performance review and modern EPM platform understanding and experience for at least 6 years.

Future-state process. The ability to assess current ways of working and design practical future processes, governance, roles, decision rights, controls, performance routines and interfaces across corporate finance, business units and operational teams.

Functional planning solution design. The capability to translate business needs into clear requirements and designs for planning models, dimensions, hierarchies, drivers, assumptions, calculations, allocations, scenarios, workflow, security and reporting.

Planning-platform implementation. Functional and/or technical expertise in at least one modern planning platform - such as SAP Analytics Cloud, Anaplan, Pigment, CCH Tagetik, Oracle EPM or OneStream - and experience leading a workstream through design, build, integration, testing, deployment and stabilisation.

Predictive planning and machine-learning awareness. An understanding of how predictive forecasting, trend analysis, anomaly detection and machine learning can support planning, together with the curiosity to test outputs, question assumptions and explain how insights should be used.

Products and Resources or similar industry understanding. Experience in capital-intensive organisations or life science/products like organisations running monthly cycles. Ability to connect financial plans with operational drivers such as demand, production, capacity, assets, projects, workforce, capital expenditure, working capital and cash.

Data, performance insight and AI. A practical understanding of planning data requirements, data quality, integration, forecast accuracy and bias, predictive forecasting and machine-learning use cases. You can translate opportunities into business and solution requirements and work effectively with data, architecture and engineering specialists.

Workstream, stakeholder and team leadership. Confidence facilitating senior workshops, making clear recommendations, managing scope, plans, quality, risks and dependencies, and leading onshore and offshore team members. You also contribute to proposals, estimates, demonstrations, reusable assets and the development of junior colleagues.

What you'll be accountable for

• Assess current planning, budgeting, forecasting and performance-management processes, identifying root causes, improvement opportunities and priority requirements.
• Lead workshops with finance, business, operational and technology stakeholders to define decision needs, planning drivers, data requirements and future ways of working.
• Design future-state planning processes, governance, roles, controls, performance frameworks and management routines, ensuring the design is practical for users and aligned to business outcomes.
• Translate requirements into functional solution designs covering models, dimensions, hierarchies, assumptions, calculations, allocations, scenarios, workflow, security, reporting and auditability.
• Lead the planning-platform workstream through design, configuration or build, data and integration, testing, deployment and early-life stabilisation, maintaining traceability from requirement to solution.
• Connect financial planning with relevant operational and capital drivers and define the data, integration, reporting and analytics requirements needed to support them.
• Shape predictive forecasting and AI-enabled planning use cases, working with specialists to validate outputs and embed appropriate controls, transparency and human challenge.
• Manage workstream scope, plan, quality, risks, dependencies, client communications and team performance; support business readiness, training, adoption and value tracking.
• Contribute to proposals, solution demonstrations, estimates, account development and reusable Planning, Performance & Insights methods and assets.