Finance & Strategy Associate

Job description

**About the Role** Lola Blankets is a fast-growing comfort and lifestyle brand on a mission to make the world a cozier place. We are seeking a Finance & Strategy Associate to apply strong financial modeling and analytical skills to drive business growth and profitability. This person will assist with financial analysis, forecasting, and business case development, with a particular focus on our Commercial (Wholesale, Retail) side of the business. They will also collaborate cross-functionally with the Accounting, BizOps, Product, Inventory Planning and Marketing teams to support accurate reporting and forecasting of financial metrics and results. **Core Responsibilities** **Financial Modeling and Reporting (Commercial & International Focus)** - Own the financial model for Lola's Commercial (wholesale, retail) and International businesses, partnering with the Commercial team, Growth team, and BizOps Associate to keep forecasts current and grounded in the latest account-level data - Lead the monthly actuals process for Commercial & International: update the model for actuals, perform variance analysis against budget and forecast, and partner with Accounting to investigate and resolve issues - Build and maintain channel and account-level profitability reporting, including gross margin, trade spend, chargebacks and deductions, and contribution margin by partner - Partner cross-functionally to set, track, and manage budgets, flagging overages and reallocation opportunities - Support additional company models as needed, including the core company model and Long Range Plan - Translate analysis into clear, polished presentations for the Finance team, Leadership Team, and credit facility partners **New Opportunity Analysis** - Build business cases to evaluate and prioritize new channel, retail partner, geographic, and product opportunities, including market sizing, margin analysis, and breakeven modeling - Evaluate the economics of new and renewing partner agreements to inform negotiations - Track post-launch performance of new channels and partners against their original business cases and recommend whether to scale, adjust, or exit - Proactively identify topline growth and cost-saving opportunities across the Commercial & International businesses and bring recommendations to the team **Cash Flow and Inventory Management** - Support cash flow and working capital forecasting to ensure the company has the resources to fund operations and growth - Improve the 13-week cash flow forecast, with a focus on forecast accuracy and incorporating new Commercial channels and their payment terms - Monitor Commercial receivables, customer payment terms, and deductions, partnering with Accounting on collections and disputes - Partner with the Inventory Planning team on Commercial inventory projections and their impact on purchasing, margin, and cash flow *This role will report to the Finance Manager. Applicants must be in California or willing to be hybrid based out of our NYC office 3 days per week.* **Qualifications** - 2+ years of experience in investment banking, private equity, or consulting, and/or corporate finance at an eCommerce, CPG, retail, or direct-to-consumer brand - Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or a related field - Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills, including building driver-based models from scratch and turning analysis into clear, executive-ready slides - Hands-on experience with financial modeling, budgeting and forecasting, and FP&A processes - Solid understanding of accounting fundamentals and how the three financial statements connect - Ability to communicate insights clearly and turn analysis into concrete recommendations for business stakeholders - Experience partnering with cross-functional teams and using financial analysis to influence decisions - Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to break down ambiguous business questions into a structured approach - High attention to detail and ownership of accuracy, with comfort managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-growth environment - Preferred Qualifications - Financial modeling experience on the wholesale and retail side of a business - Exposure to inventory planning and its impact on cash flow and working capital - Experience with SQL or BI tools (e.g., Snowflake, Looker, Lightdash) - Comfort using AI tools to automate reporting and speed up analysis **What We Offer** - Competitive base salary and annual bonus based on company and individual performance - 21 days paid vacation + all federal holidays - Full health benefits (health, dental, vision, mental) - 16 weeks paid birth parent leave; 8 weeks non-birth parent leave - 55% off Lola Blankets for friends and family - Opportunities for career growth within Lola Blankets