Strategic FP&A Lead — Academic Operations & Growth

Unitek Learning; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision

401k with company match

Tuition assistance

Life Insurance

Leadership development

Paid holidays

Job summary

Unitek Learning is seeking a strategic finance leader to serve as the primary FP&A partner to the Academic department across all divisions. You will lead budgeting, forecasting, and planning to support academic quality, student success, and sustainable growth.

The role focuses on faculty utilization, instructional costs, and capacity across campuses, requiring exceptional analytical rigor and strong relationships with academic leaders. Experience with campus-based operations is a major plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field.
• 7–12 years of FP&A or corporate finance experience.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (modeling, nested logic, scenario planning).
• Experience with planning/reporting systems (Anaplan, Adaptive Planning, Prophix).
• Private Equity-backed or multi-site services experience a plus.
• Strong communicator with the ability to present complex information clearly.
• Demonstrated career growth with at least one internal promotion in a prior role.

Responsibilities

• Serve as strategic finance partner to Academic leadership across divisions, guiding resource allocation, operating plans, and investment priorities.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-range financial planning for academic operations, aligning faculty and instructional resources with enrollment projections, program needs, and strategic objectives.
• Become the resident subject matter expert on faculty utilization and instructional workforce planning, partnering with Academic leaders to assess teaching loads, staffing models, full-time and adjunct faculty mix, and hiring needs.
• Develop models that connect enrollment, cohort size, course schedules, and program progression to faculty requirements, instructional costs, and classroom, lab, and clinical capacity, where applicable.
• Partner with Academic leadership to identify opportunities to improve efficiency while supporting educational quality, student outcomes, and accreditation and regulatory requirements.
• Produce precise monthly variance analysis and academic performance reporting, explaining key drivers, identifying risks and opportunities, and recommending actions.
• Establish consistent academic operating KPIs and cost benchmarks across divisions, with appropriate adjustments for differences in program structure, delivery format, and campus requirements.
• Support monthly Private Equity reporting, monthly Operations reviews and quarterly Board presentations with clear analysis and commentary on academic performance, resource needs, and strategic initiatives.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, Human Resources, and enrollment teams to align assumptions, improve data quality, and strengthen accountability for academic financial performance.
• Continuously improve financial models, reporting processes, and planning tools, including Adaptive Planning or comparable systems.

Skills

Strategic finance

Financial modeling

Advanced Excel

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field

Tools

Anaplan

Adaptive Planning

Prophix

Job description

Unitek Learning is seeking a strategic finance leader to serve as the primary FP&A partner to the Academic department across all divisions. You will lead budgeting, forecasting, and planning to support academic quality, student success, and sustainable growth.

The role focuses on faculty utilization, instructional costs, and capacity across campuses, requiring exceptional analytical rigor and strong relationships with academic leaders. Experience with campus-based operations is a major plus.