Junior Research Analyst

Blue Oak Consulting; Napoli; On-site; EUR 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Permanent role

Remote work

Mentorship

Competitive salary

Benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

Blue Oak Consulting is seeking a Junior Research Analyst to support a detailed investigation into a major Italian partner's commercial operations. The role focuses on precision and evidence over presentation, with data gathering from financial reports, market data, and internal spreadsheets.

You will work remotely, collaborating with senior principals to verify financial assumptions behind capital decisions and portfolio adjustments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, or related field.
• Strong Excel skills with large data sets.
• Excellent written communication in plain English.
• Ability to work remotely and manage time effectively.
• Detail-oriented with a skeptical, evidence-based mindset.
• Familiarity with auditing commercial decisions is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Gather and organize financial data from multiple sources.
• Build and maintain basic spreadsheets to track pricing trends.
• Identify discrepancies in financial reports and flag them.
• Assist in preparing research memos summarizing findings in plain English.
• Verify assumptions used in growth projections and models.
• Conduct market research to establish benchmarks for costs and revenue.
• Participate in team discussions testing financial hypotheses.
• Monitor execution of changes against initial models.

Skills

Excel proficiency

Remote work

Analytical thinking

Written communication

Time management

Attention to detail

Auditing commercial decisions

Education

Finance/Economics degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

We are seeking a Junior Research Analyst to join our team and assist with a detailed investigation into the commercial operations of a major Italian partner. This position is central to our efforts to verify the financial assumptions that underpin large scale capital decisions and portfolio adjustments.

About Blue Oak Consulting

Blue Oak Consulting provides independent advisory on pricing, portfolio economics, capital allocation, and acquisition assumptions. We are not a traditional consulting firm focused on broad transformation programs or high level strategy decks. Instead, we interrogate specific commercial decisions where the financial stakes are high and the existing narrative is not sufficient. Our team looks past corporate language and P&L complexity to identify where value is leaking or capital is trapped. We work across sectors like software, manufacturing, and healthcare to test whether the assumptions behind a growth plan or an acquisition actually hold under pressure. We are a small, principal led firm where the people who do the work are the ones accountable for the results. We do not take transaction contingent fees, which allows us to be completely honest about whether the economics of a decision make sense. Our goal is to provide clarity through financial discipline and a healthy amount of skepticism. We stay through the execution phase because decisions that look sound in theory often fail when they meet real world friction.

The Role

This is a full time, permanent position that is conducted entirely in a remote capacity. You will work closely with senior principals to gather and analyze data related to our engagement with a major Italian partner. The work is focused on precision and factual accuracy rather than presentation style. You will be expected to sort through financial reports, market data, and internal spreadsheets to find the evidence needed to support or challenge a business case. Since we operate as a small team, your findings will directly influence the advice we give to our clients. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys investigative work and wants to understand the mechanics of corporate finance and commercial decision making without the distraction of office politics or excessive meetings.

What You Will Be Doing

• Gathering and organizing financial data from various sources to support our analysis for a major Italian partner.
• Building and maintaining basic spreadsheets to track pricing trends and portfolio performance.
• Identifying discrepancies in financial reports and flagging them for senior team members.
• Assisting in the preparation of research memos that summarize our findings in plain, direct English.
• Verifying the accuracy of assumptions used in growth projections and acquisition models.
• Conducting market research to establish benchmarks for operational costs and revenue expectations.
• Participating in internal team discussions to test different financial hypotheses.
• Monitoring the execution of recommended changes to see how they perform against initial models.

What You Bring

• A degree in finance, economics, accounting, or a similar field that requires analytical thinking.
• Strong proficiency with Excel, specifically the ability to organize large datasets and use basic formulas.
• A curious and skeptical mindset that naturally questions why a number is the way it is.
• Excellent written communication skills with an ability to explain complex findings simply.
• The ability to manage your own time and stay productive in a fully remote work environment.
• High attention to detail and a commitment to verifying your work before presenting it.
• A willingness to learn our specific methods for auditing commercial decisions and pricing logic.
• Comfort working in a small, principal led environment where your work is highly visible.

What We Offer

• A permanent, full time role with a focus on long term professional growth.
• A competitive salary that is attractive for an entry level position in the consulting market.
• The flexibility of working from home in a 100 percent remote setup.
• Direct mentorship and training from experienced principals who have led major corporate engagements.
• Exposure to complex, high stakes financial problems across multiple industries.
• A work culture that values honesty, skepticism, and clear results over corporate jargon.
• Paid time off and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support remote employees.

Working at Blue Oak Consulting means focusing on the reality of a business case rather than the marketing behind it. We believe that financial discipline is the only way to ensure a company remains healthy and profitable in the long run. By joining us, you will learn how to look past the surface of a financial statement to find the actual drivers of value. This role provides a foundation in commercial analysis that is grounded in logic and evidence. We prioritize clarity and accountability in everything we do, and we expect our team members to share that commitment to finding the truth in the numbers.