Financial Planning and Analysis Manager - Clean Power Alliance

Who We Are 

Clean Power Alliance (CPA) is Southern California’s locally operated not-for-profit default electricity provider for 35 communities within Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the 4th largest electricity provider in the State of California. We provide clean renewable energy at competitive rates to over three million residents and businesses through approximately one million customer accounts. 

What You’ll Do 

CPA is seeking an experienced, detail-oriented, and enthusiastic professional to join our growing team as Financial Planning and Analysis Manager (FP&A Manager). This position will be responsible for managing agency budgeting, financial planning and analysis, evaluating and recommending modifications to projections and budgets, assisting in the agency’s financial reporting, supporting credit risk management, and providing insight into CPA’s financial risk and performance.  The Financial Planning and Analysis Manager will supervise, assign, and review the work of a Financial Analyst. 

Who You’ll Work With 

Reporting to the Senior Director, Finance and Accounting, the Financial Planning and Analysis Manager will work closely with senior management as well as with staff members responsible for front, middle, and back-office functions, non-energy contract management, and information systems and technology to ensure the financial and analytical needs of the organization are met. The Financial Planning and Analysis Manager will also work with board committees and key external vendors and partners, including CPA’s data manager, scheduling coordinator, and our operational business partner, Southern California Edison (SCE).   

Commitment to Diversity 

At CPA, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We represent a diverse customer base and intend to hire employees that reflect our communities. Clean Power Alliance provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. 

Culture 

CPA fosters a culture of open communication, responsibility, intellectual curiosity, and exceptional judgment. As a small team that has quickly built the largest Community Choice Aggregation program in the country, high levels of trust, collaboration, and mission alignment are key factors in success. We value fact-based creativity in our work, accountability with our stakeholders, and promote ethical engagement and diversity with our brand. 

Requirements

Required Skills  

• Excellent Microsoft Excel and analytical skills.
• Knowledge and experience with commercial credit analysis and management, ideally in the energy sector
• In-depth experience with financial planning, financial analysis, budgeting, and financial reporting.
• Deep understanding of the interactions between systems and how business processes are enabled and impacted by those systems.
• Experience in developing financial systems and performing analytics for an energy-related market participant is required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Working knowledge of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) is preferred.

Duties and Responsibilities

Budgeting:

• Develop, maintain, and oversee the implementation of annual budgeting and budget amendment processes.
• Collaborate with budget owners to develop cost center budgets and financial forecasts. Maintain and update cost center and consolidated budget reports and compile cost center budgets into the annual budget workbook.
• Manage the integration of the approved annual budget data with the accounting system and generate and distribute the monthly actual vs budget report for each cost center.
• Develop and present budgets and supporting analyses and reports to senior management and board committees.

Budget and Expense Tracking and Analysis:

• Develop and maintain systems to reconcile financial forecasts (including budgets) to actual financial results.  Collaborate with cost center managers and subject matter experts to explain deviations between actuals and forecasts.
• Collaborate with cost center managers to develop and maintain systems for reporting cost center budget to actual variances and provide updated cost estimates.
• Collaborate with Non-energy Contract Manager to develop and maintain systems to capture contract data, report contract spending, and facilitate spending estimation for the balance of the contract term.
• Evaluate and recommend modifications to projections and preliminary actual financial results generated by analyses.

Data and Systems

• Collaborate with the Data and Systems and Customer Care Teams to identify data needed in our data warehouse to support variances and other analyses.
• Support the evaluation and selection of a new budgeting system. Manage aspects of the new budget system implementation project and provide training to other system users.

Invoice Validation, Compliance Filings, and Month End Close:

• Perform analysis and shadow calculation for non-energy service invoices from SCE using customer billing data.
• Assist in the month-end close process, prepare journal entries and perform monthly account reconciliations as assigned.
• Reconcile the monthly cost of energy expenses to budget and to forecasts; research the variances and provide explanations to the senior management.
• Manage compilation of financial data for the Agency’s compliance filings and audits and perform compliance filings as assigned.
• Assist in financial statement preparation and any internal and external financial reporting needs.

 Accounts Receivables Reconciliations and Write-off Validation:

• Manage monthly AR aging analysis, bad debt expenses analysis, and roll-forward schedules.
• Manage reconciliation of monthly data manager reports with lockbox deposit records and general ledger accounts and research variances as needed.   Analyze customer billing data to support accounting and financial control functions.
• Perform due diligence and reasonableness checks on the customer account write-off list provided by SCE.
• Perform cash cycle analysis, identify process improvement opportunities, and provide analytic reports for management as requested. Research, resolve, and document any variances and report discrepancies.

Credit Management Oversight and Exception Processing:

• Implement, manage, and make recommendations for continuous performance improvement of third-party collection agent(s) in the customer accounts receivable collection process.
• Evaluate and propose energy supplier credit terms and conditions in consultation with legal counsel and CPA’s outsourced credit manager.
• Manage the periodic review process for credit policies and practices and make recommendations for improvement.

Ad-hoc Analyses and Research Projects:

• Perform ad-hoc analyses and projects as assigned.

Successful Candidates Must Demonstrate the Following Abilities:

• Effectively engage with internal and external stakeholders.
• Be able to organize and carry out projects with minimal instruction and supervision.
• Be a strong communicator who can write compellingly and clearly and deliver well-drafted and effective presentations.
• Undertake financial planning, analysis, and reporting or perform similar financial functions.
• Demonstrate good knowledge of financial statements and working knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Exhibit strong interest and aptitude to develop and manage a direct report.
• Exhibit strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Have a strong understanding of and experience with the analysis of large data sets, including experience extracting and analyzing data from databases.
• Have a high tolerance for uncertainty and know how and when to bring things to resolution.
• Have a strong work ethic and be comfortable taking initiative in a fast-paced environment.
• Work well on diverse teams.
• Be able to translate complex technical information into non-technical messages for business users.
• Compose correspondence independently based on policy and guidelines and maintain complex records.
• Must be able to sit or stand at a desk and work on a computer for prolonged periods.

Qualifications

• Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree & 5 years of financial, credit, and/or data analysis and modeling experience.
• Experience with California electricity or related energy markets is required .

Work Location 

This position is eligible for either Hybrid or Remote options. The Hybrid option requires 2-3 assigned days in the Downtown Los Angeles office and includes a transportation allowance. The Remote & Hybrid options require in-person attendance at organization or team-wide events 3 times per year for 3-5 days per event. Full-time staff are required to work during CPA’s office hours Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm PST.    

Benefits

The salary range for this position is $133,813.73-$192,690.38, with exact compensation to be determined by Clean Power Alliance, dependent on experience. Benefits include health care, a 401(k)-like match program, paid vacation, and sick leave. This is not a civil service position; however, all CPA employees are required to submit a Statement of Economic Interests form, also known as Form 700. 

How to Apply 

Candidates should apply on CPA’s Career Page. The start date for the position is as soon as possible and will remain open until filled.