Director Financial Planning & Analysis
White Lodging Services, Inc., Merrillville, IN, United States
Summary
The Director of FP&A is a senior leader responsible for driving hotel and corporate profitability across the portfolio. This role partners with the VP of FP&A, Operations, and Ownership to lead financial planning processes, execute value‑creation strategies, and influence key business decisions through data‑driven insights. The Director leads core FP&A functions—including financial planning (budgeting and forecasting), reporting, systems, and team development—supporting a portfolio of hotels generating approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenue and leading a team of 2 FP&A professionals.
Responsibilities Planning & Reporting
Direct the annual budget and monthly long‑range forecast (LRF) processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and meaningful variance analysis; support preopening budgeting, stub budget preparation, and GM/RVP training on related processes.
Own regular and ad‑hoc financial reporting packages for ownership groups and senior leadership; conduct in‑depth financial statement analysis and translate findings into clear operational recommendations.
Develop and maintain financial models, proformas, scenario analyses, and cash‑flow and owner distribution analyses to support owner initiatives and new business development.
Benchmark asset‑level financial performance against internal portfolio standards and external hospitality industry data sets, identifying variances and surfacing actionable insights to ownership groups and above‑property leadership.
Drive actionable insights that improve margin performance and support owner return objectives.
Leadership & Development
Lead, develop, and scale a high‑performing FP&A team of Managers and Analysts, including hiring, coaching and building future leaders.
Lead process improvement initiatives across planning, forecasting, reporting, and systems administration.
Systems & Technology
Lead the development of enterprise financial dashboards and data visualization capabilities using Power BI and/or Tableau; define standards and best practices for self‑service reporting and partner with BI & IT to identify gaps and build scalable solutions.
Serve as the primary administrator of IBM Planning Analytics (TM1), overseeing system configuration, model development, performance optimization, and user access; maintain and enhance TM1 cubes, dimensions, and TurboIntegrator processes, and coordinate issue resolution with IT or vendors as the team’s escalation point.
Manage user training and onboarding for Planning Analytics users across the portfolio.
AI & Innovation
Champion the integration of AI tools into the FP&A function; evaluate, pilot, and implement AI‑powered workflows supporting anomaly detection, automated variance narratives, predictive forecasting, and scenario modeling.
Develop AI workflow documentation and best practices for responsible team use; stay current on emerging AI trends in finance and hospitality and brief the VP of FP&A on tools worth evaluating.
Labor & Workforce Management
Lead the evaluation, implementation, and ongoing administration of the portfolio’s workforce management (WFM) platform, serving as the primary project lead for system configuration, change management, and user adoption across the organization.
Partner with discipline heads to develop and implement labor position standards and staffing strategies; lead monthly performance‑to‑standard analysis and communicate trends, savings opportunities, and corrective actions to RVPs, GMs, and key stakeholders.
Competencies
Creating a Service Reputation
Inspiring Excellence
Guiding Team Success
Building Talent
Driving Execution
Strategic Planning
Skills
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex modeling, Power Query, and VBA.
Hands‑on experience with IBM Planning Analytics v12 (TM1), including model building, TurboIntegrator, and workspace administration.
Proficiency in Power BI and/or Tableau, including dashboard development and data source management.
Demonstrated experience evaluating or implementing AI tools preferred; familiarity with tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, or similar platforms is a plus.
Strong understanding of accounting principles, hotel financial statements (USALI), and hospitality financial operations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present complex information to diverse audiences.
Strong leadership, project management, and problem‑solving abilities.
Ability to design and automate data workflows using industry tools such as Python, SQL, Power Automate, or Alteryx; experience with any of these is a plus.
High attention to detail, integrity, and ability to maintain confidentiality.
Education / Experience Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Hospitality, or a related field.
5+ years of progressive FP&A or finance experience, including leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated experience with IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) or a comparable planning system.
Demonstrated experience building financial dashboards in Power BI and/or Tableau.
Preferred Qualifications:
MBA or CPA preferred.
Experience in hospitality finance, multi‑site management, or similarly distributed operational environments.
Prior experience with workforce management systems and labor planning across a multi‑property portfolio.
Familiarity with AI‑assisted forecasting or automation tools.
Working Conditions
Corporate office‑based role with regular interaction across departments.
Combination of desk‑based analytical work and hands‑on systems administration activity.
Periodic travel may be required to support openings, system deployments, or critical initiatives.
Location Code: A75
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Responsibilities Planning & Reporting
Direct the annual budget and monthly long‑range forecast (LRF) processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and meaningful variance analysis; support preopening budgeting, stub budget preparation, and GM/RVP training on related processes.
Own regular and ad‑hoc financial reporting packages for ownership groups and senior leadership; conduct in‑depth financial statement analysis and translate findings into clear operational recommendations.
Develop and maintain financial models, proformas, scenario analyses, and cash‑flow and owner distribution analyses to support owner initiatives and new business development.
Benchmark asset‑level financial performance against internal portfolio standards and external hospitality industry data sets, identifying variances and surfacing actionable insights to ownership groups and above‑property leadership.
Drive actionable insights that improve margin performance and support owner return objectives.
Leadership & Development
Lead, develop, and scale a high‑performing FP&A team of Managers and Analysts, including hiring, coaching and building future leaders.
Lead process improvement initiatives across planning, forecasting, reporting, and systems administration.
Systems & Technology
Lead the development of enterprise financial dashboards and data visualization capabilities using Power BI and/or Tableau; define standards and best practices for self‑service reporting and partner with BI & IT to identify gaps and build scalable solutions.
Serve as the primary administrator of IBM Planning Analytics (TM1), overseeing system configuration, model development, performance optimization, and user access; maintain and enhance TM1 cubes, dimensions, and TurboIntegrator processes, and coordinate issue resolution with IT or vendors as the team’s escalation point.
Manage user training and onboarding for Planning Analytics users across the portfolio.
AI & Innovation
Champion the integration of AI tools into the FP&A function; evaluate, pilot, and implement AI‑powered workflows supporting anomaly detection, automated variance narratives, predictive forecasting, and scenario modeling.
Develop AI workflow documentation and best practices for responsible team use; stay current on emerging AI trends in finance and hospitality and brief the VP of FP&A on tools worth evaluating.
Labor & Workforce Management
Lead the evaluation, implementation, and ongoing administration of the portfolio’s workforce management (WFM) platform, serving as the primary project lead for system configuration, change management, and user adoption across the organization.
Partner with discipline heads to develop and implement labor position standards and staffing strategies; lead monthly performance‑to‑standard analysis and communicate trends, savings opportunities, and corrective actions to RVPs, GMs, and key stakeholders.
Competencies
Creating a Service Reputation
Inspiring Excellence
Guiding Team Success
Building Talent
Driving Execution
Strategic Planning
Skills
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex modeling, Power Query, and VBA.
Hands‑on experience with IBM Planning Analytics v12 (TM1), including model building, TurboIntegrator, and workspace administration.
Proficiency in Power BI and/or Tableau, including dashboard development and data source management.
Demonstrated experience evaluating or implementing AI tools preferred; familiarity with tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, or similar platforms is a plus.
Strong understanding of accounting principles, hotel financial statements (USALI), and hospitality financial operations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present complex information to diverse audiences.
Strong leadership, project management, and problem‑solving abilities.
Ability to design and automate data workflows using industry tools such as Python, SQL, Power Automate, or Alteryx; experience with any of these is a plus.
High attention to detail, integrity, and ability to maintain confidentiality.
Education / Experience Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Hospitality, or a related field.
5+ years of progressive FP&A or finance experience, including leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated experience with IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) or a comparable planning system.
Demonstrated experience building financial dashboards in Power BI and/or Tableau.
Preferred Qualifications:
MBA or CPA preferred.
Experience in hospitality finance, multi‑site management, or similarly distributed operational environments.
Prior experience with workforce management systems and labor planning across a multi‑property portfolio.
Familiarity with AI‑assisted forecasting or automation tools.
Working Conditions
Corporate office‑based role with regular interaction across departments.
Combination of desk‑based analytical work and hands‑on systems administration activity.
Periodic travel may be required to support openings, system deployments, or critical initiatives.
Location Code: A75
#J-18808-Ljbffr