FP&A Manager

About ESS

ESS is one of the nation’s leading education staffing companies, partnering with more than 1,200 school districts to provide substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, clinicians and other K-12 staff. Every school day, ESS fills tens of thousands of assignments that keep classrooms running for millions of students.

About the Role

We’re looking for an FP&A Manager to lead how ESS plans, measures and explains its financial performance as the company grows. You’ll own the budgeting and forecasting process, lead and develop a team of analysts, and serve as a trusted partner to operational leaders and senior management.

This role combines hands-on analysis with leadership. It’s for someone who asks “Why?” when a number moves, turns complex data into a clear story, and builds a team and processes that help leaders make better decisions.

Department: Finance

Reports to: VP of FP&A / VP of Finance / CFO

Direct reports: Senior FP&A Analyst(s) and FP&A Analyst(s)

Location: Remote - Must live on East Coast

Travel: Up to 20%

FLSA status: Exempt, full time

Why This Role

• Direct partnership with senior leadership; your team’s analysis shapes major business decisions.
• End-to-end ownership of the budget, forecast and long-range plan.
• Lead financial work on acquisitions, pricing and growth initiatives.
• The opportunity to build a more sophisticated, data-driven FP&A function.

What You’ll Do

Team Leadership

• Set standards for models, reporting and documentation across the team.
• Plan team capacity and workload around the budget, forecast and monthly reporting calendars.
• Hire and onboard new team members as the function grows.

Planning and Forecasting

• Own the annual budget and long-range planning processes, including timelines, assumptions and leadership reviews.
• Lead monthly, quarterly and annual forecasts, working with business leaders to keep them realistic.
• Oversee driver-based models and scenario analyses that evaluate opportunities and risks.

Analysis and Business Partnering

• Lead analysis of revenue, labor costs, margins and expenses against budget, forecast and prior year.
• Explain significant variances and their business drivers to senior leadership.
• Deliver monthly and quarterly reporting packages and presentations with clear recommendations.
• Act as the main finance partner for regional and operational leaders.

Systems and Process

• Own the Workday Adaptive Planning environment for budgeting, forecasting, reporting and modeling.
• Oversee reporting models and dashboards built from ERP, BI and other data sources.
• Lead efforts to automate manual reporting and improve the accuracy and consistency of financial data.
• Improve planning processes and controls as the company grows.

Strategic Finance

• Lead financial analysis of acquisitions, pricing, investments and other strategic initiatives.
• Identify and quantify opportunities to improve profitability, efficiency and operating performance.
• Support board, investor and executive reporting as needed.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 2–4 years of experience in FP&A, corporate finance, accounting or a related analytical role.
• Experience supporting budgets, forecasts or variance analysis.
• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups and building clear, well-structured models.
• Comfort working with large data sets and checking data for accuracy.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including explaining numbers to non-finance colleagues.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage several deadlines at once.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Workday Adaptive Planning or another planning tool.
• Workday ERP, Power BI, Tableau or other BI tools.
• Experience in a staffing, services or other labor-driven business.
• Interest in growing into a senior FP&A role.

Is This You?

If you enjoy answering questions like “What’s driving this?” and “What happens if we change this?”, and you want to grow your FP&A skills on a team where your work is seen and used, we’d like to hear from you.

ESS Advantages

• Health insurance (medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance)
• PTO (medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance)
• 401(k)

Physical Requirements & Work Environment: Physical requirements may vary by assignment and location and may include sitting, standing, walking, and regular use of hands and arms. Close vision may be required for computer and detail-oriented work. Work is typically performed in a moderate-noise environment, such as an office or school setting.

Equal Opportunity & Employment Eligibility: ESS is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace where all employees can succeed. ESS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and E-Verify employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. ESS does not participate in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) or STEM OPT extension programs and is unable to employ individuals whose work authorization is based solely on OPT or STEM OPT.

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