Manager, Commercial Strategy and Finance (New York)

Theathletic; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision benefits

FSAs

401(k) matching

Paid vacation

Paid sick days

Paid parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Professional development programs

Job summary

The Athletic is seeking a Manager, Commercial Strategy and Finance to lead complex commercial initiatives and partnerships in a hybrid NYC role. You will architect finance-driven strategies, build robust models, and guide deal economics from drafting through post-close performance, reporting to the VP Advertising Finance.

Required are 5+ years in corporate development or related fields, expert modeling, and strong presentation skills to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
• Analytically rigorous with experience evaluating high-stakes deals, ideally including content licensing.
• Understanding of leverage points in negotiations and impact of legal clauses on finance.
• Own numbers from start to finish and deliver accurate, actionable insights.
• Motivated by premium sports journalism and the evolving media landscape.
• Expert-level financial modeling and strong executive presentation skills.
• Experience with FP&A processes (budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis).
• BS in Finance or Economics; MBA a plus.

Responsibilities

• Commercial planning and analysis: translate financial data into high-impact visual narratives.
• Modeling and evaluation: build flex models to value complex deals and initiatives.
• Deal construction: analyze and negotiate MGs, revenue shares and recoupment schedules.
• Post-close performance tracking: own full deal lifecycle and track actuals vs benchmarks.
• Forecasting and variance analysis: integrate deal performance into rolling forecasts.

Skills

Financial modeling

Deal negotiation

Executive presentation

FP&A processes

Analytical rigor

Strategic thinking

Education

BS in Finance/Economics

MBA

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

About Us

Powered by one of the largest global newsrooms in sports media, The Athletic brings sports fans the most comprehensive stories about the teams, sports and athletes they love. The Athletic’s newsroom of 500+ full-time staff delivers in-depth coverage of hundreds of professional and college teams across more than 47 North American markets and all 20 football clubs in the English Premier League, as well as many Championship clubs.

About the Role

The Athletic is looking for a Manager, Commercial Strategy and Finance to serve as the primary architect and steward of our most complex and high-value commercial initiatives and partnerships. This is a high-visibility role that sits at the intersection of business development, strategy, deal-making, and operational rigor; it is a hybrid role based in New York City, reporting into a Vice President of Advertising Finance.

We are looking for a "dual-threat" professional: someone who has a deep reverence for analytical rigor, paired with a commercially‑minded approach that helps guide projects and deals to success. You will be the quantitative engine driving our commercial strategy; not just evaluating ideas before launch and deals before they are signed; but rigorously tracking performance once they are live.

This is a hybrid role and will require 3 days / week in office for candidates in the greater New York City Metropolitan area.

• Commercial planning and analysis: You will translate dense financial data and analysis into high-impact visual narratives for discussions with The Athletic’s leadership team. You'll articulate the "why" behind every major investment.
• Modeling and evaluation: Build clean, flexible financial models to value complex and integrated deals and commercial initiatives across licensing and advertising, as well as other revenue streams.
• Deal construction: Analyze and aid in negotiation of deal mechanics, focusing on minimum guarantees (MGs), revenue shares, and recoupment schedules. You will partner closely with Legal and Accounting to ensure term sheets translate into sound financial realities.
• Post-close performance tracking: Own the "full-lifecycle" of the deal. Once a partnership is live, you are on the hook for tracking actuals vs. benchmarks, managing P&L impact, and providing the FP&A oversight needed to course-correct or double-down.
• Forecasting and variance analysis: Integrate live deal performance into our broader rolling forecasts, explaining variances to leadership and identifying trends in audience monetization and rights costs.

• 5+ years of experience in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
• Analytically rigorous individual with experience performing high stakes evaluation of potential deals, ideally including content licensing.
• Deep understanding of the leverage points in a negotiation; can anticipate how a legal clause might impact a financial outcome.
• Someone who understands the value of accuracy; whether it's a pre‑deal valuation or a post‑deal performance report, you own the numbers from start to finish.
• Genuinely motivated by The Athletic’s mission; you understand the value of premium sports journalism and the gravity of the shifting media landscape.
• Expert-level financial modeling.
• Strong executive presentation development skills.
• Deep understanding of commercial deal terms, negotiations, and deal processes.
• Experience with key FP&A processes (budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis).
• BS in Finance/Economics, MBA a plus.

The annual base salary range for this role is $130,000.00 - $140,000.00 USD. The total compensation offered for this position may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, and location. It may also include non-cash rewards and benefits. The base salary range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

The Athletic Media Company is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. The Athletic will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.