Financial Planning Analyst

Ithaka Hospitality Partners, LLC; Auburn (AL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Ithaka Hospitality Partners, LLC is seeking a Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst to drive financial planning, forecasting, and investment underwriting across hotels, food halls, and related ventures. You will build multi-entity models, consolidate forecasts, and deliver strategic insights to executive leadership.

The role emphasizes sophisticated modeling, budgeting, and performance management, with exposure to real estate/hospitality investments.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in financial planning analysis or a related analytical role.
• Ability to build sophisticated financial models from scratch and consolidate multiple entities into a unified reporting structure.
• Experience supporting annual budgets, forecasts, month-end reporting, and management presentations.
• Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas, dynamic arrays, pivot tables, Power Query, and sound model architecture.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate data into actionable business insights.
• Excellent communication skills and comfort interacting with senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and stress-test sophisticated multi-driver financial models across corporate entities, operating businesses, development projects, and joint ventures.
• Consolidate multiple business units and ownership structures into integrated financial forecasts and reporting packages.
• Develop five-year and ten-year pro forma models for hotel, resort, and food hall development opportunities.
• Perform sensitivity analyses, scenario planning, and investment return modeling to support strategic decision-making.
• Support acquisition, development, and management contract opportunities through financial underwriting and investment analysis.
• Lead the annual budgeting process and rolling forecast cycles across business units.
• Develop quarterly reforecasts and long-range strategic plans.
• Partner with department leaders to gather assumptions, challenge forecasts, and improve financial accountability.
• Evaluate labor, operating, and capital spending trends and identify opportunities for improved performance.
• Produce monthly management reporting packages and quarterly executive and board presentations.
• Analyze actual performance against budget, forecast, and prior-year results.
• Identify key business drivers and communicate meaningful insights and recommendations to leadership.
• Build and maintain KPI dashboards focused on revenue growth, profitability, labor productivity, cash flow, and operational performance.
• Partner with Accounting throughout the month-end closing process.
• Validate actual results, reconcile financial data to the general ledger, and ensure reporting accuracy.
• Maintain consistency between management reporting and financial statements.
• Serve as a finance partner to operations, development, and executive leadership teams.
• Support resource allocation, headcount planning, capital investment decisions, and strategic initiatives.
• Assist in preparing financial materials for lenders, investors, ownership groups, and joint venture partners.

Skills

Financial modeling

Advanced Excel

Data analysis

Communication

AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting/Economics/Mathematics

CPA/CFA/MBA in progress or completed

Tools

Adaptive Planning

Pigment

Anaplan

Planful

Power BI

Tableau

Looker

Excel

Job description

About the Role

Ithaka Hospitality Partners is seeking an Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst to serve as a core contributor to financial planning, forecasting, business performance analysis, and investment underwriting across the company's growing portfolio of hotels, food halls, and related ventures.

The defining characteristic of this role is financial modeling sophistication. The successful candidate will build, maintain, and consolidate complex multi-driver financial models across multiple entity types, including management companies, subsidiaries, development projects, and joint ventures, into a unified view that supports executive decision-making.

This role will work closely with the CFO, CEO, and Development Team and will have exposure to both corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst and real estate/hospitality investment analysis.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Modeling & Strategic Analysis

• Build, maintain, and stress-test sophisticated multi-driver financial models across corporate entities, operating businesses, development projects, and joint ventures.
• Consolidate multiple business units and ownership structures into integrated financial forecasts and reporting packages.
• Develop five-year and ten-year pro forma models for hotel, resort, and food hall development opportunities.
• Perform sensitivity analyses, scenario planning, and investment return modeling to support strategic decision-making.
• Support acquisition, development, and management contract opportunities through financial underwriting and investment analysis.

Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting

• Lead the annual budgeting process and rolling forecast cycles across business units.
• Develop quarterly reforecasts and long-range strategic plans.
• Partner with department leaders to gather assumptions, challenge forecasts, and improve financial accountability.
• Evaluate labor, operating, and capital spending trends and identify opportunities for improved performance.

Reporting & Performance Management

• Produce monthly management reporting packages and quarterly executive and board presentations.
• Analyze actual performance against budget, forecast, and prior-year results.
• Identify key business drivers and communicate meaningful insights and recommendations to leadership.
• Build and maintain KPI dashboards focused on revenue growth, profitability, labor productivity, cash flow, and operational performance.

Accounting & Close Support

• Partner with Accounting throughout the month-end closing process.
• Validate actual results, reconcile financial data to the general ledger, and ensure reporting accuracy.
• Maintain consistency between management reporting and financial statements.

Business Partnering

• Serve as a finance partner to operations, development, and executive leadership teams.
• Support resource allocation, headcount planning, capital investment decisions, and strategic initiatives.
• Assist in preparing financial materials for lenders, investors, ownership groups, and joint venture partners.

Qualifications

Required

• 3–5 years of experience in financial planning analysis, corporate finance, investment analysis, consulting, or a similarly analytical role.
• Demonstrated ability to build sophisticated financial models from scratch and consolidate multiple entities into a unified reporting structure.
• Experience supporting annual budgets, forecasts, month-end reporting, and management presentations.
• Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas, dynamic arrays, pivot tables, Power Query, and sound model architecture.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate data into actionable business insights.
• Excellent communication skills and comfort interacting with senior leadership.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Experience leveraging AI tools to improve analysis, reporting, and workflow efficiency.

Preferred

• Hospitality, hotel, restaurant, food hall, real estate, or development industry experience.
• Familiarity with USALI reporting standards and hospitality operating metrics.
• Experience with STR reports, hotel performance benchmarking, and hotel owner reporting.
• Experience with planning tools such as Adaptive Planning, Pigment, Anaplan, Planful, or similar platforms.
• Experience with business intelligence tools including Power BI, Tableau, or Looker.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
• CPA, CFA, or MBA in progress or completed.

What Success Looks Like

Within the first year, the Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst will:

• Establish a reliable, scalable forecasting process across all business units.
• Deliver executive-quality monthly reporting and variance analysis.
• Build institutional-grade underwriting models for hotel and food hall opportunities.
• Improve visibility into business performance through enhanced KPI reporting and dashboards.
• Become a trusted analytical partner to executive leadership and operating teams.