What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Financial Analyst position at ZEISS Group?
About Us
How many companies can say they’ve been in business for over 177 years?!
Here at ZEISS, we certainly can! As the pioneers of science, ZEISS handles the everchanging environments in a fast-paced world, meeting it with cutting edge of technologies and continuous advancements. ZEISS believes that innovation and technology are the key to a sustainable future and solutions for global change. We have a diverse range of portfolios throughout the ZEISS family in segments like, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. We are a global company with over 42,000 employees and have over 4,000 in the US and Canada alone! Make a difference, come join the team!
What’s the role?
The Senior Financial Analyst will play a critical role in supporting the team by providing financial planning, analysis, and decision-making support. Reporting to the Head of Controlling, this position acts as a key link between Finance and Operations, ensuring financial performance is optimized and aligned with strategic goals. The role requires a strong background in Financial Planning & Analytics / Operations & Cost Accounting combined with SAP expertise, and the ability to deliver actionable insights through data analysis and business acumen. This fast-paced role involves partnering with multiple departments in our organization to develop budgets, forecasts, and KPIs, optimizing costing, and tracking and driving working capital initiatives. The ideal candidate is highly motivated, results-oriented, and comfortable challenging the status quo to drive improvements.
Sound Interesting?
Here’s What You’ll Do
Financial Planning & Analysis
Your ZEISS Recruiting Team
Clara Cresswell
Zeiss provides Equal Employment Opportunity without unlawful regard to an Applicants race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, marital status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military or veteran status, citizen status, sexual orientation, pregnancy (includes childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical condition), genetic predisposition, carrier status, gender expression or identity, including transgender identity, or any other class or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law of the employee (or the people with whom the employee associates, including relatives and friends).
How many companies can say they’ve been in business for over 177 years?!
Here at ZEISS, we certainly can! As the pioneers of science, ZEISS handles the everchanging environments in a fast-paced world, meeting it with cutting edge of technologies and continuous advancements. ZEISS believes that innovation and technology are the key to a sustainable future and solutions for global change. We have a diverse range of portfolios throughout the ZEISS family in segments like, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. We are a global company with over 42,000 employees and have over 4,000 in the US and Canada alone! Make a difference, come join the team!
What’s the role?
The Senior Financial Analyst will play a critical role in supporting the team by providing financial planning, analysis, and decision-making support. Reporting to the Head of Controlling, this position acts as a key link between Finance and Operations, ensuring financial performance is optimized and aligned with strategic goals. The role requires a strong background in Financial Planning & Analytics / Operations & Cost Accounting combined with SAP expertise, and the ability to deliver actionable insights through data analysis and business acumen. This fast-paced role involves partnering with multiple departments in our organization to develop budgets, forecasts, and KPIs, optimizing costing, and tracking and driving working capital initiatives. The ideal candidate is highly motivated, results-oriented, and comfortable challenging the status quo to drive improvements.
Sound Interesting?
Here’s What You’ll Do
Financial Planning & Analysis
- Lead financial reviews for supported functional areas & projects, presenting overviews and actionable insights to management.
- Develop and maintain financial reports, KPIs, models, and variance analyses to monitor performance, including the creation of new reports to address changes in accounting system.
- Support annual budget and forecast cycles, including standard cost development and maintenance.
- Perform ad hoc financial analysis, including "what-if" scenarios, to drive data-informed decision-making.
- Collaborate with leadership to provide actionable insights and recommendations on financial performance.
- Ensure timely and accurate financial closing processes, including reporting to ZEISS corporate headquarters.
- Establish and monitor compliance with corporate policies for budgeting, reporting, and actuals.
- Support external and internal financial audits, ensuring timely responses to requests and adherence to audit requirements.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure data accuracy and integrity during financial close activities.
- Create monthly reporting packages, including key performance indicators, for leadership and corporate headquarters.
- Ensure compliance with corporate policies and procedures, particularly in financial reporting and operational controls.
- Monitor and optimize operations-related KPIs, including utilization, output, overheads, and efficiency.
- Analyze & communicate financial data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, and recommend corrective actions.
- Act as a key partner through providing meaningful insights and recommendations to the different departments & projects throughout the organization.
- Manage and optimize BOM (Bill of Materials) costing, ensuring accurate material overhead and expense optimization.
- Monitor the capital investment budget and ensure alignment with operational goals.
- Analyze and optimize working capital levels, ensuring smooth production with minimal costs.
- Drive visibility and reporting on warranty and CAPA-related investigations for the operations.
- Develop standardized tools and processes to improve operational efficiency and financial reporting.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, or a related field (MBA preferred).
- Experience:
- 8 years of relevant experience in finance, accounting and/or cost accounting, or adjacent areas including IFRS und US GAAP knowledge.
- 5 years of financial planning and analysis experience.
- Public accounting experience preferred.
- Technical Skills:
- Advanced proficiency with ERP systems—specifically SAP—is required. Experience with S/4HANA is preferred.
- Extensive computer skills, particularly advanced level in Excel & PowerPoint, is a must.
- PowerBI knowledge preferred, experience with tableau or similar analytic tools a plus.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data.
- Soft Skills:
- Must possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Must be proactive and able to work independently in a variety of market and financial activities.
- Must be accurate, detailed oriented, professional, and timely in all aspects of job duties
- Excellent communication skills to present financial insights to executives and cross-functional teams.
- Proven ability to master new challenges in untapped areas quickly with a short learning curve to obtain a reasonable understanding of technical, product and solution related elements.
- Capable in setting up new structures and procedures from scratch while interacting with Senior Management from different areas.
- Medical
- Vision
- Dental
- 401k Matching
- Employee Assistance Programs
- Vacation and sick pay
- The list goes on!
Your ZEISS Recruiting Team
Clara Cresswell
Zeiss provides Equal Employment Opportunity without unlawful regard to an Applicants race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, marital status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military or veteran status, citizen status, sexual orientation, pregnancy (includes childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical condition), genetic predisposition, carrier status, gender expression or identity, including transgender identity, or any other class or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law of the employee (or the people with whom the employee associates, including relatives and friends).
