Sr Director, IT Financial Planning & Analysis

Panera LLC; St. Louis (MO); Hybrid; USD 189,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Pay

Job summary

Panera LLC is seeking to appoint a Senior Director of IT Financial Planning & Analysis to lead enterprise IT project governance, budgeting, forecasting, and contract management from the Saint Louis Support Center. This role reports to executive leadership and collaborates with IT, Finance, and Procurement to optimize technology investments.

The ideal candidate has extensive IT finance leadership experience, strong vendor management skills, and a track record of aligning technology initiatives

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, or related field.
• 20+ years of progressive experience in IT PMO leadership, Finance, IT business operations, technology finance, vendor management, or related disciplines.
• 10+ years of leadership experience managing enterprise portfolios, PMOs, financial management functions, or business operations teams.
• Demonstrated experience managing technology budgets, investment portfolios, and strategic initiatives.
• Experience partnering with Finance, Procurement, and executive business leaders.
• Strong knowledge of portfolio management, budgeting, forecasting, governance frameworks, and vendor management.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise IT project management planning, governance, prioritization, and investment management activities.
• Own IT operating and capital budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and performance reporting processes.
• Serve as the strategic liaison between IT and Finance, translating technology initiatives into business and financial outcomes.
• Develop business cases, ROI analyses, investment recommendations, and long-range technology spending plans.
• Lead strategic vendor management, contract negotiations, supplier governance, and performance management programs.
• Partner with Procurement and Finance to optimize technology spend, manage renewals, and improve vendor performance.
• Provide executive-level reporting on portfolio health, resource utilization, budgets, risks, and value realization.
• Facilitate governance committees and executive reviews that support investment and prioritization decisions.
• Lead enterprise IT capacity planning and resource allocation activities.
• Drive continuous improvement of PMO, governance, financial management, and vendor management practices.

Skills

IT PMO leadership

Budgeting & forecasting

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic advisory

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or related (preferred)

Job description

Sr Director, IT Financial Planning & Analysis Position Summary The Senior Director, IT Project Management Office, IT Finance & Contract Management leads enterprise technology business initiative governance, the Project Management Office, IT financial management, and contract management. This role serves as the primary liaison between IT, Finance, and business leadership, ensuring technology investments align with strategic priorities, financial objectives, and measurable business outcomes. The position provides executive oversight of project management planning, budgeting, forecasting, contract management, resource planning, and investment prioritization while driving transparency, accountability, and operational excellence across the technology organization.

Location: St. Louis, MO (hybrid)

Key Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise IT project management planning, governance, prioritization, and investment management activities.
• Own IT operating and capital budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and performance reporting processes.
• Serve as the strategic liaison between IT and Finance, translating technology initiatives into business and financial outcomes.
• Develop business cases, ROI analyses, investment recommendations, and long-range technology spending plans.
• Lead strategic vendor management, contract negotiations, supplier governance, and performance management programs.
• Partner with Procurement and Finance to optimize technology spend, manage renewals, and improve vendor performance.
• Provide executive-level reporting on portfolio health, resource utilization, budgets, risks, and value realization.
• Facilitate governance committees and executive reviews that support investment and prioritization decisions.
• Lead enterprise IT capacity planning and resource allocation activities.
• Drive continuous improvement of PMO, governance, financial management, and vendor management practices.

Leadership Expectations

Act as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on technology investments and business operations. Drive cross-functional collaboration across IT, Finance, Procurement, Legal, and business teams. Build a culture of accountability, transparency, and data-driven decision making. Develop and mentor high-performing teams while advancing organizational capability.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, or related field.
• 20+ years of progressive experience in IT PMO leadership, Finance, IT business operations, technology finance, vendor management, or related disciplines.
• 10+ years of leadership experience managing enterprise portfolios, PMOs, financial management functions, or business operations teams.
• Demonstrated experience managing technology budgets, investment portfolios, and strategic initiatives.
• Experience partnering with Finance, Procurement, and executive business leaders.
• Strong knowledge of portfolio management, budgeting, forecasting, governance frameworks, and vendor management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree (MBA or related discipline).
• Experience leading IT Business Operations, Technology Finance, or Enterprise Portfolio Management functions.
• Professional certifications such as PMP, PfMP, ITIL, TBM, CPA, CMA, or equivalent.
• Experience negotiating enterprise technology, software, cloud, and managed services agreements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans Competitive Pay $188,838 - $226,606 annually The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

Saint Louis Support Center With more than 2,000 Panera LLC and independent franchise bakery-cafes in the Panera Bread family, and more locations opening all the time, it's no wonder our company has been an excellent source of career and personal growth opportunities for more than 25 years. In neighborhoods across the U.S. and Canada, customers enjoy flavorful, handcrafted meals centered around freshly baked artisan bread. To us, that means serving food like we serve our own families – free of any of the items on our 'No No' List. Along the way, we also like to give back to our community. We enjoy working together, shoulder to shoulder with our customers, to confront a serious problem plaguing communities across this country – Hunger. Through our Panera Cares community cafes, we offer a dignified dining experience in an uplifting environment. In addition, we support our communities through day-end donations at our bakery-cafe locations and partner with local non-profit organizations. It's this warmth that you'll find when you join Panera Bread. From our competitive compensation and benefits packages to our unique cultural values, we're confident you'll find us a rewarding and fun place to work.