Director, Business Planning & Analytics

at  The Nature Conservancy of Canada

Taking care of our environment has never been more important than it is today. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is looking for a Director, Business Planning & Analytics to join a team committed to protecting our most important natural areas and the plants and animals they sustain.
NCC is the nation’s leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, we have brought people together to conserve and restore more than 15 million hectares across Canada. NCC takes a collaborative, evidence-based approach to achieve conservation success for the sake of nature and Canadians. With a national office in Toronto and seven regional offices across the country, NCC delivers results you can walk on.
NCC recognizes that we work on lands that have long been cared for by Indigenous Peoples under their own laws and knowledge systems. We are committed to transforming how we do our work, advancing Reconciliation through conservation, and working with Indigenous Peoples in meaningful, respectful, and supportive ways.

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer and also providing direct support to the Vice President, Corporate Services, the Director, Business Planning & Analytics will be accountable for leading the NCC-wide business planning process and provide key decision support to senior leaders in the organization. The role will be responsible for facilitating strong engagement and communication with all stakeholders to ensure business plans, budgets, forecasts and financial reporting & analysis are developed in line with agreed milestones. The incumbent will also coordinate and collaborate with other subject matter experts across the organization to delivery high quality business analytics, scalable process improvements in various functions within Corporate Services, and be a collaborative partner with other operating units to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of NCC’s strategic priorities.
The role is highly collaborative and requires the ability to critically analyze complex issues from both a financial and operational perspective.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• A genuine passion and connection to nature, with a strong commitment to the cause and mission of NCC.
• University degree in a related field plus CPA designation or equivalent is required.
• MBA an asset
• 5-7 years experience with at least 3 years in the non-profit sector.
• Strong technical skills in Microsoft Office (advanced Excel), Power BI or similar business intelligence tools.
• Bilingual (French/English) strongly preferred
• Experience with medium to large enterprise financial systems.
• Superior presentation and communication skills
• Strong analytical skills to support data driven decision-making.
• Experience in a national organization with a decentralized business model would be an asset.

• In collaboration with VP Corporate Services and CFO provide leadership and oversight to the business planning, budgeting, forecasting processes including:
• Establishing and effectively rolling out timelines, templates, and processes with all stakeholders for the annual refresh of the 3-year plan.
• Facilitation with Executive and Senior Leadership on the review and update of business plan goals and priorities.
• Development of presentations and materials for the Executive and Board.
• Decision support to Executive to support finalization of consolidated plans.
• Leading technology development and deployment to optimize and continuously improve the business plan process.
• Collaborating with other finance leaders to ensure integration with budget activities undertaken directly in their areas of responsibility.
• Providing recommendations to ensure budgets are realistic, accurate and aligned with the strategic plan and framework.
• In conjunction with the CFO, provide coaching and guidance to Regional Controllers to ensure recurring financial reporting and analysis is timely, relevant and appropriately supports day to day financial and operational decision making.
• Support and actively participate in forecasting and quarterly reviews as the business plan SME (subject matter expert) including providing points of view, recommendations and identifying opportunities and risks.
• Develop financial models, scenario analysis, business cases and recommendations to identify opportunities for improvement and to support strategic decision making by the Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team using a combination of financial and non-financial data.
• Support the development of dashboards using Power BI or similar tools
• Provide support and leadership for the optimization and roll out of revised processes, policies, and procedures across Corporate Services. Includes project management, leading cross functional teams and developing and implementing policy change recommendations.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices in business planning, financial reporting & analysis, as well as changes and evolution in the non-profit sector to identify opportunities to leverage new tools and techniques to drive organizational value.
• Develop and facilitate training and onboarding supports for non-financial managers in financial and risk management areas to improve the level of understanding and acumen across the organization.
• May support or lead other projects inside or outside Corporate Services as assigned.