SENIOR FINANCIAL PLANNING & ANALYSIS ANALYST

Milwaukee County Transit System; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 78,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

The Senior FP&A Analyst at Milwaukee County Transit System partners with the CFO and the Finance team in Milwaukee to translate complex financial and operating data into actionable insights, build budgets and forecasts, and support strategic decision-making.

This role requires strong financial modeling, advanced Excel skills, and the ability to partner with operational leaders to monitor performance, identify risks, and recommend actions that improve financial sustainability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or related field.
• 2+ years of FP&A, corporate finance, budgeting, financial analysis, or a related discipline.
• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and analytical skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience working with large datasets.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate financial information into clear business insights.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with operational leadership.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leadership to set financial and operational targets, monitor performance, and drive corrective actions as needed to remain within plan.
• Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-range financial planning.
• Prepare and present monthly actuals, forecasts, and variance analyses with clear insights, risks, opportunities, and recommendations.
• Build and continuously update and refine financial models and scenario analyses to support executive decision-making.
• Analyze labor, overtime, vehicle service level, maintenance, fuel, accidents, ridership, OTP, productivity, and other major operational and cost drivers.
• Partner with department leaders to understand spending trends, risks, and savings opportunities.
• Monitor and improve the Power BI financial and operational KPIs and management dashboards.
• Support capital planning, grant-funded initiatives, and financial sustainability analysis.
• Prepare executive-level financial presentations and recommendations for senior leadership
• Identify opportunities to improve financial performance, processes, reporting, and resource allocation.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve long term financial processes related to forecasting, budgeting, capital tracking, and cost management.
• Help strengthen MCTS’s FP&A capabilities and promote a culture of data-driven decision-making.

Job description

Job Title: Senior Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst

Department: Finance

FLSA Status: Exempt, Non-Represented

Annual Salary Range: $77,600 – $97,033

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is seeking a talented Senior Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Analyst to join our Finance team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

WHY MCTS?

At MCTS, Finance is more than accounting and reporting. We are building a stronger FP&A and performance-management capability that connects financial information with operational decision-making.

This position will have meaningful exposure to senior leadership and the opportunity to influence how the Wisconsin’s largest transit systems plans, measures performance, allocates resources, and serves the Milwaukee community.

If you are an analytical finance professional who wants to make an impact, we would like to hear from you.

Job Summary

The Senior FP&A Analyst plays a key role in supporting the financial planning, forecasting, performance management, and strategic decision-making of the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), the largest transit agency in the State of Wisconsin. Working closely with the CFO, Finance team, and operational departments, this position transforms complex financial and operational data into actionable business insights, develops budgets and financial forecasts, analyzes performance and key cost drivers, and identifies opportunities to improve financial sustainability. The ideal candidate combines strong financial modeling and analytical capabilities with excellent communication, business-partnering skills and can effectively translate financial information into recommendations that support executive decision-making and organizational performance.

Essential Functions

• Partner with leadership to set financial and operational targets, monitor performance, and drive corrective actions as needed to remain within plan.
• Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-range financial planning.
• Prepare and present monthly actuals, forecasts, and variance analyses with clear insights, risks, opportunities, and recommendations.
• Build and continuously update and refine financial models and scenario analyses to support executive decision-making.
• Analize and present monthly actuals, forecasts, and variance analyses with clear insights, risks, opportunities, and recommendations.
• Analyze labor, overtime, vehicle service level, maintenance, fuel, accidents, ridership, OTP, productivity, and other major operational and cost drivers.
• Partner with department leaders to understand spending trends, risks, and savings opportunities.
• Monitor and improve the Power BI financial and operational KPIs and management dashboards.
• Support capital planning, grant-funded initiatives, and financial sustainability analysis.
• Prepare executive-level financial presentations and recommendations for senior leadership
• Identify opportunities to improve financial performance, processes, reporting, and resource allocation.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve long term financial processes related to forecasting, budgeting, capital tracking, and cost management.
• Help strengthen MCTS’s FP&A capabilities and promote a culture of data-driven decision-making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or related field.
• 2+ years of relevant experience in FP&A, corporate finance, budgeting, financial analysis, or a related discipline.
• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, and analytical skills.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience working with large datasets.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate financial information into clear business insights.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with operational leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• FP&A certification, CPA, CMA, relevant professional credential, or/and MBA with proven FP&A experience.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power BI, or similar ERP/analytics platforms a plus.
• Intermediate to advance Power BI report building skills specifically in SQL and semantic modeling.
• Experience in transportation, government, infrastructure, manufacturing, or another operationally complex organization a plus.
• Experience developing KPIs, dashboards, and executive management reporting.

Physical Requirements And Environmental Factors

• Work is frequently conducted in office or sometimes may be in shop environment.
• Incumbent is sometimes exposed to hostile or irate individuals or moving mechanical parts.
• Physical requirements are those described light work exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or negligible amount of force constantly having to move objects.

Disclaimer Statement

The above are general requirements that must be met for consideration. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of job qualifications or job duties.

Milwaukee Transport Services Inc. (Milwaukee County Transit System) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age; military status, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law.