IT FP&A Sr. Financial Specialist (Hybrid)

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness.

Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2024 and certification as a Great Place to Work in 2024 for the fifth consecutive year.

Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs.

Our IT Finance and Planning team is looking for a Senior Financial Analyst to lead all aspects of the key IT Financial Planning & Accounting processes: planning, budgeting, forecasting, tracking actuals, and variance analysis. Acts as the day-to-day IT point of contact for key stakeholders (i.e., IT department leads, cost center owners, Financial Planning, and Accounting). Consults with IT senior management team and works with key stakeholders to ensure the key processes are efficient, effective, and follow best practices.

This position reports to the manager of the IT Finance and Planning team. This team is aligned to a newly formed function called the Transformation Office, which has accountability for standing up a product and customer centric model at Selective. This role will play a part in shifting our financial process from a project model to a portfolio model. We are looking for someone who can run and own the current state processes, and then be a part of transformation our financial practices, processes, and systems.

• Develops and leads the annual IT budget process, including the establishment of the milestone plan and key dates, meets with key budget stakeholders, monitors progress, and prepares the submission for approval. Coordinates with external stakeholders as appropriate, including Financial Planning, Accounting, EPMO and BSU. Works with internal Resource Managers, Cost Center Owners, and IT Senior Leadership team. Includes contract review for CPI, annual increases and other budget related impacts. Support of non-labor budget to ensure appropriate allocations relative to accounting principles.
• Develops and leads the monthly budget review processes (variance, accrual, and forecasting). Monitors the overall IT spend and participates with key stakeholders in analyzing actual to budget performance and forecast implications. Provides reports to IT Senior Leadership and recommends accruals as appropriate. Manages the repository for budget forecast and variance review documents, as required. Coordinates activity of Resource Managers in forecasting of labor. Tracks amortization and depreciation; prepares trending and confirms accuracy of category, schedule.
• Contributes to the creation and management of a rolling three-year IT financial planning forecast and integrates the three-year forecast with the EPMO as appropriate.
• Provides oversight for the management and maintenance of the IT-specific vendor invoicing process. Supervises inquiries, including investigation, escalation, and resolutions of any invoice discrepancies. Ensures IT-specific invoicing is aligned to established contracts and contract terms and conditions and that effective processes and procedures are being utilized. Manages escalations with Financial Accounting as appropriate. Manages the validation of GL coding as necessary and works with Financial Accounting to reclass if appropriate. Include vendor consolidation, name change updates for consistency. Recommend opportunities for vendor rate negotiations or co-terminus arrangements; work with the contract owner as appropriate to initiate. Support true-ups for licensing subscriptions.
• Defines, assesses for optimization, ensures awareness, and escalates deficiencies related to IT-specific budget planning, budget management, variance analysis, accrual management, and forecasting processes.
• Assesses the use of technologies in support key IT Financial Management processes and makes recommendations to optimize the use of technology in existing processes and automation of manual processes.
• Ensures the provision of relevant financial data required to support IT reporting and metrics and to lead or assist in any applicable audit processes.
• Provides performance and development feedback for cross-departmental and cross-organization team members working within the IT financial management processes.
• Interfaces with external industrial and academic organizations to maintain current best practices knowledge across all areas of accountability.
• Provide leadership, daily oversight, and guidance for junior team members for all applicable department work.

Knowledge and Requirements

• Strong knowledge of all aspects of financial management, budget planning and management, and action planning are required for successful performance.
• Very strong conceptual, analytical, judgment, communication, collaboration, and leadership abilities are critical.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, proven leadership, and excellent time management abilities are required.
• Must demonstrate initiative, exercise good judgment, strong profit orientation, and have the ability to achieve results through others.

Education and Experience

• Very strong conceptual, analytical, judgment, communication, collaboration, and leadership abilities are critical.
• At least 7 years in finance, preferably with a focus on IT finance, budget management, or other applicable area.
• Experience leading small cross-functional team required. Industry experience preferred.
• Apptio experience is a plus

Selective Insurance offers a total rewards package that includes a competitive base salary, incentive plan eligibility at all levels, and a wide array of benefits designed to help you and your family stay healthy, achieve your financial goals, and balance the demands of your work and personal life. These benefits include comprehensive health care plans, retirement savings plan with company match, discounted Employee Stock Purchase Program, tuition assistance and reimbursement programs, and paid time off plans. Additional details about our total rewards package will be provided during the recruiting process.

The actual base salary is based on geographic location, and the range is representative of salaries for this role throughout Selective's footprint. Additional considerations include relevant education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and business needs.

Selective is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. That means we respect and value every individual's unique opinions, beliefs, abilities, and perspectives. We are committed to promoting a welcoming culture that celebrates diverse talent, individual identity, different points of view and experiences - and empowers employees to contribute new ideas that support our continued and growing success. Building a highly engaged team is one of our core strategic imperatives, which we believe is enhanced by diversity, equity, and inclusion. We expect and encourage all employees and all of our business partners to embrace, practice, and monitor the attitudes, values, and goals of acceptance; address biases; and foster diversity of viewpoints and opinions.