Finance Business Partner, Strategic Growth

WHYY; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

WHYY is seeking a Finance Business Partner to serve as the primary finance partner for its newly acquired WPSU public media station. The role focuses on integration, long‑range planning, and financial leadership across WHYY and WPSU.

Based at WHYY’s Philadelphia HQ with travel to State College, PA, the position supports strategic growth, reporting, and cross‑functional initiatives, ensuring financial transparency and performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or related field.
• Five+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, accounting, or finance business partnering.
• Experience guiding operational leaders and supporting organizational integrations or strategic initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual operating budget, forecasts, and long-range planning for WPSU and WHYY.
• Provide monthly financial analysis, variance reporting, and recommendations to leadership.
• Develop financial models, scenario analyses, and KPIs to support decisions.
• Coordinate with programming, development, engineering, and operations on financial impacts of initiatives.
• Support grant tracking and restricted funding reporting as needed.

Skills

Financial planning

FP&A

Business partnering

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance or related field

MBA or CPA preferred

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Finance systems/ERP

Job description

Job Details

Job DetailsLevel: ExperiencedJob Location: Hybrid - HQ - Philadelphia, PA 19106Position Type: Full Time

We are seeking a collaborative, analytical, and operationally focused Finance Business Partner to serve as the primary finance partner for WPSU, WHYY's newly acquired public media station. This role is ideal for a finance professional who combines strong financial planning and business partnering skills with a hands‑on approach to supporting operational leaders through integration, transformation, and long‑term growth.

This position will be staffed at WHYY’s headquarters in Philadelphia, with expected travel to State College, PA, especially during the first year. The Finance Business Partner will then be expected to expand their focus to future strategic initiatives, including evaluating, integrating, and supporting additional public media acquisitions and partnerships.

SCOPE OF POSITION

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Finance Business Partner, Strategic Growth serves as the dedicated strategic finance lead for WHYY's newly acquired WPSU public media station. This role works directly with WPSU leadership to provide financial insight, operational decision support, and long‑range planning while helping guide the station through integration and toward long‑term financial success.

WPSU will be the position’s primary responsibility during the integration and transition period, and while this position will be staffed at WHYY’s headquarters in Philadelphia, we expect frequent travel (e.g. up to 50% of the time) to WPSU in State College, PA for hands‑on support during the first year. While WPSU will be the primary focus during its integration and transition, this position is intentionally designed to support WHYY's long‑term growth strategy. As WPSU reaches a steady‑state operating model, the Finance Business Partner will expand their focus to future strategic initiatives, including evaluating, integrating, and supporting additional public media acquisitions and partnerships.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Planning & Business Partnering

• Lead the annual operating budget, forecasts, and long‑range financial planning for WPSU.
• Provide monthly financial analysis, variance reporting, and actionable recommendations to WPSU and WHYY leadership.
• Serve as the primary financial advisor to WPSU leadership.
• Develop financial models, scenario analyses, business cases, KPIs, and performance metrics that support strategic and operational decision making.
• Partner with programming, development, engineering, and operations leaders to evaluate financial impacts of key initiatives.

WPSU Integration & Operational Improvement

• Support the continued financial integration of WPSU into WHYY systems, policies, and reporting.
• Help operational leaders adopt new financial tools, reporting practices, and planning processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, reporting automation, financial transparency and operational efficiency.
• Lead cross‑functional initiatives related to WPSU’s integration and transition.
• Develop standardized financial reporting and planning processes that improve transparency, accountability, and decision support.

Strategic Growth & Future Acquisitions

• Partner with WHYY's finance team, including the Senior Financial Analyst and Senior Project Financial Analyst, to support financial analysis, due diligence, and integration planning for strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
• Develop repeatable financial integration processes that can be leveraged for future public media acquisitions.
• Support post‑acquisition financial planning, performance measurement, and operational stabilization.
• Transition into the primary finance business partner for future acquisitions and strategic growth initiatives as WPSU reaches operational maturity.

Financial Operations, Capital & Compliance

• Monitor WPSU cash flow, working capital, operating performance, and financial outlook.
• Coordinate with WHYY Finance on treasury, investment, and accounting matters impacting WPSU.
• Partner with the Senior Project Financial Analyst to support grant tracking, restricted funding compliance, and financial reporting requirements.
• Partner with the Senior Financial Analyst to support long‑term capital planning for technology, facilities, broadcast infrastructure, and strategic investments.
• Develop financial models to evaluate capital projects, funding alternatives, and their long‑term financial impacts.

QualificationsEducation

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a related field; Advanced degree or certification (e.g. MBA, CPA) preferred.
• Experience: Five or more years of progressive experience in financial planning, FP&A, accounting, or finance business partnering. Experience providing financial guidance and decision support to operational leaders, with experience supporting organizational integrations, strategic initiatives, or change management and working in nonprofit, higher education, media, or other mission‑driven organizations preferred. Ability to translate complex financial information into clear, actionable recommendations for non‑financial leaders. Knowledge of grant accounting and restricted funding is preferred.
• Technical Skills: Advanced use of Microsoft Office products including Excel and PowerPoint. Experience with financial planning and accounting software packages are preferred. Strong financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and analytical skills.