Manager, Strategy and Finance

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and sick days

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

The Athletic seeks a Manager of Strategy and Finance in New York to act as the quantitative engine for commercial initiatives and partnerships. The role combines business development, strategy, deal-making, and operational rigor within a high-visibility team.

Expect hybrid work with 3 days in NYC offices. You will drive analytics, build financial models, assist in negotiations, and own post-close performance tracking and forecasting.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
• Analytically rigorous with experience evaluating deals, ideally including content licensing.
• Understanding of leverage points in negotiations and the impact of clauses on financial outcomes.
• Ownership of numbers from pre-deal valuation to post-deal performance reporting.

Responsibilities

• Commercial planning and analysis: translate financial data into visual narratives for leadership discussions.
• Modeling and evaluation: build financial models for value of complex deals and initiatives.
• Deal construction: analyze and assist in negotiation of MGs, revenue shares, recoupment schedules.
• Post-close performance tracking: own full deal lifecycle and track actuals vs benchmarks.
• Forecasting and variance analysis: integrate live performance into rolling forecasts and explain variances.

Skills

Corporate development

Strategic finance

Consulting or investment banking

Analytical rigor

Deal valuation

FP&A processes

Job description

Manager, Strategy and Finance (New York)

About The Athletic

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, 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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Requirements

• 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.
• Deep understanding of commercial deal terms, negotiations, and deal processes.
• Experience with key FP&A processes (budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis).

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.