Business Manager

Prescott Newspapers; Prescott Valley (AZ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Impactful reporting

Leadership collaboration

Community journalism

Job summary

Smith News & Media seeks a Business Manager to translate financial data into budgets, forecasts, and actionable insights for decision making across the organization.

Reporting to the Controller and department leaders, you will provide visibility into revenue, expenses, cash flow, and profitability, strengthening forecasting and accountability. This role shapes reporting and planning within a growing company and supports local journalism.

Qualifications

• Ability to develop and manage budgets, rolling forecasts, and cash-flow projections.
• Strong financial analysis skills, including profitability, job costing, pricing, and ROI evaluation.
• Ability to translate financial information into clear reports, dashboards, and actionable recommendations.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to support department leaders and reinforce financial accountability.
• Disciplined attention to accuracy, confidentiality, follow-through, and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual budgeting, maintain departmental and company forecasts, and manage a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast to identify financial risks early.
• Prepare budget-versus-actual-versus-forecast reports, conduct monthly department financial reviews, and follow up on variances and corrective actions.
• Analyze profitability across advertising, circulation/membership, commercial printing, digital services, publications, and other units, including job costing and margins.
• Evaluate pricing, break-even points, staffing, vendor and capital proposals; provide ROI analysis and opportunities to improve revenue and margins.
• Develop financial dashboards and KPI reporting, provide concise updates to the Publisher, and partner with the Controller on financial information.
• Improve budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and workflows while supporting department leaders’ ownership of results.

Skills

Budgeting

Forecasting

Financial analysis

Cash flow

Reporting

Communication

Collaboration

Job description

Description

The Business Manager turns accurate financial information into budgets, forecasts, and actionable insights that support business decisions across Smith News & Media. Reporting to the Controller, AP/AR Specialist, and department leaders to provide clear visibility into revenue, expenses, cash flow, and profitability. Success is measured by stronger forecasting, meaningful financial analysis, and increased departmental accountability.

Perks:

• Opportunity to shape financial reporting and planning processes across a growing company.
• Collaborative partnerships with company leadership and department managers.
• Meaningful work supporting local journalism and community news.

Requirements

Responsibilities:

Lead annual budgeting, maintain departmental and company forecasts, and manage a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast to identify financial risks early.

• Prepare budget-versus-actual-versus-forecast reports, conduct monthly department financial reviews, and follow up on material variances and corrective actions.
• Analyze profitability across advertising, circulation/membership, commercial printing, digital services, publications, and other business units, including production job costing and margins.
• Evaluate pricing, break-even points, staffing, vendor, equipment, and capital proposals; provide return-on-investment analysis and recommend opportunities to improve revenue and margins.
• Develop financial dashboards and KPI reporting, provide concise weekly and monthly updates to the Publisher, and partner with the Controller to ensure accurate financial information.
• Improve budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and financial workflows while supporting department leaders’ ownership of their results and respecting established accounting and approval authority.

Qualifications:

• Ability to develop and manage budgets, rolling forecasts, and cash-flow projections.
• Strong financial analysis skills, including profitability, job costing, pricing, and return-on-investment evaluation.
• Ability to translate financial information into clear reports, dashboards, and actionable recommendations.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to support department leaders and reinforce financial accountability.
• Disciplined attention to accuracy, confidentiality, follow-through, and process improvement.

Compensation and Benefits:

Full-time, exempt position. Compensation and benefits details will be provided during the hiring process.

About Us

We are a growing, family-owned community newspaper with roots stretching back over 140+ years. We believe local journalism matters — and we’re investing in it. We are growing, stable, and mission-driven. Our properties serve loyal, engaged communities across the Southwest, and we’re looking for a leader to grow our audiences across every channel.