Financial Planning & Analysis Specialist (Data Analytics)

Job Description

About the Role

The FP&A Specialist (Data Analytics) sits within the Regional FP&A Centre of Excellence (MEDEBA) and supports 19 markets across Mediterranean Europe and Baltics. Reporting to the Regional FP&A Lead, this role combines financial planning expertise with strong technical and analytical capabilities to support forecasting, planning systems, management reporting, and continuous process improvement.

Unlike a traditional FP&A business partnering role, this position has a strong focus on data management, financial systems, reporting automation, and planning processes. The successful candidate will work closely with local finance teams and regional FP&A colleagues to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and efficient flow of financial data across forecasting and reporting cycles.

This role offers an excellent opportunity for finance professionals, FP&A analysts, controllers, or data analysts with an interest in finance who are looking to develop broader FP&A expertise in a multinational environment.

Primary Responsibilities

Financial Planning, Analysis & Reporting

• Partner with finance teams and business stakeholders across multiple markets to support annual budgets, periodic forecasts, and business planning activities.
• Coordinate, consolidate, and validate planning inputs, ensuring accuracy and consistency of key assumptions, including sales, pricing, expenses, headcount, and profitability drivers.
• Load, maintain, reconcile, and troubleshoot planning and reporting data within financial systems.
• Perform variance, trend, profitability, and driver-based analyses to evaluate business performance and identify risks and opportunities.
• Prepare and distribute recurring and ad hoc financial reports, translating complex datasets into actionable insights that support decision-making.
• Support monthly reporting cycles, forecast submissions, performance reviews, and peak planning periods through timely analysis and business support.

Data Management & Systems Administration

• Maintain financial planning and management reporting systems, master data structures, and planning hierarchies.
• Support data uploads, system validations, and integrity checks across planning and reporting platforms.
• Serve as a key point of contact for finance users on data-related and system-related queries.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of planning dashboards, reporting solutions, and Power BI visualizations.
• Collaborate with regional teams to enhance reporting tools and improve system efficiency.

Continuous Improvement, AI & Automation

• Foster a continuous improvement mindset by identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve data quality, and reduce manual activities across FP&A operations.
• Leverage AI-powered tools, automation, and advanced analytics in day-to-day work to enhance productivity, strengthen financial insights, and improve the quality of planning, reporting, and analysis.
• Support the adoption and implementation of digital, automation, and AI-enabled solutions that drive efficiency and innovation across FP&A processes.
• Share best practices and contribute to the standardization and continuous evolution of FP&A processes, tools, and ways of working.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Analytics, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 2-5 years of relevant experience in FP&A, Controlling, Financial Analysis, Accounting, Business Analytics, or Data Analytics.
• Strong Excel skills, including advanced formulas, data manipulation, and analytical modelling.
• Solid understanding of financial statements, P&L structures, and basic accounting principles.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to work with large datasets and identify key business drivers.
• Experience working in multinational or matrix organizations.
• Excellent problem-solving, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Fluent English communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with financial planning and reporting tools such as SAP, BPC, Power BI, planning dashboards, or similar systems.
• Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting, or management reporting processes.
• Background in FP&A, controlling, management accounting, data analytics, or business intelligence.
• Familiarity with AI, automation, or process improvement initiatives.
• Experience working with Power BI or other reporting and visualization tools.

Success in This Role

Successful candidates will:

• Enjoy working with data and analytical problem-solving.
• Be comfortable navigating financial systems and large datasets.
• Thrive in a dynamic environment with periodic forecasting and reporting peaks.
• Demonstrate a strong learning mindset and willingness to build expertise in FP&A processes and planning systems.
• Be motivated to develop into broader FP&A and senior specialist roles over time.

What we offer

• Exciting work in a great team, global projects, international environment
• Opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the company globally
• Hybrid working model, flexible role pattern
• Competitive salary & incentive pay
• Pension and health insurance contributions
• Internal reward system and referral scheme
• 5 weeks annual leave, 5 sick days, 15 days of certified sick leave paid above statutory requirements annually, 40 paid hours annually for volunteering activities, 12 weeks of parental contribution
• Cafeteria for tax free benefits according to your choice (meal vouchers, sport, culture, health, travel, etc.), Multisport Card
• Vodafone, Raiffeisen Bank, Foodora, and discount programmes
• Up-to-date laptop and iPhone
• Parking in the garage, showers, refreshments, massage chairs, library, music corner

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

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