Corporate Planning Analyst (Bi-lingual Japanese/English) - Zobility

POSITION SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1. General: The Corporate Planning Specialist works closely with the Planning Manager, crucial in driving strategic initiatives, enhancing operational efficiency and profitability, and supporting departmental goals. This role demands analytical skills, strategic insight, and effective communication. Proficiency in mathematical concepts and bilingual skills (English and Japanese) are highly valued.

2. Strategic Planning: To assist in developing and consolidating mid-term business and profit plans for the automotive industry, ensuring they align with the company's long-term goals. Under moderate direction, analyze and predict financial, economic, and other data to offer timely and accurate information for strategic and operational decisions. Interpret financial information related to costs, prices, expenses, and revenues and provide recommendations to management.

3. Leading Internal Activities to Achieve Profit Targets: To support internal projects and initiatives to improve operational efficiency and profitability within the organization, coordinating each function through company-wide and corporate-wide meetings involving internal and external parties. This coordination ensures alignment between objectives, requirements, and business plans. Additionally, this will include facilitating company Hoshin-planning activities, planning and tracking cost control, and reporting results at multiple levels.

4. Performance Monitoring and Analysis: To track and analyze the company's performance to provide insights for continuous improvement. It includes providing summary and detailed information to management for decision-making purposes, such as follow-up reports, presentations, status of target achievements, and necessary corrective actions.

5. Departmental Support and Improvement: To provide strategic and operational support to different departments to ensure ongoing improvement and the achievement of corporate goals. The role also involves facilitating communication between the company and corporate entities to ensure alignment and clear communication of the plan details and ongoing status. This includes but is not limited to: board meetings, working groups, Hoshin reviews, and management/employee communication meetings.

6. Special Projects: Lead or support projects to support the company direction (as assigned).

KEY JOB DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Planning and Consolidation of Mid-term Business and Profit Plans:

1. Assist in developing and consolidating strategic business and profit plans.
2. Conduct market research and analysis to identify industry trends, opportunities, and threats.
3. Collaborate with the Manager to define strategic goals and initiatives.
4. Prepare comprehensive reports and presentations to communicate strategic plans to the Manager.

Profitability Analysis and Reporting:

1. Monitor KPIs to assess the company's performance and profitability, focusing on revenue, expenses, and manufacturing costs.
2. Create performance reports for managers, summarizing key insights and trends.
3. Analyze data to find performance gaps and recommend actions to improve profitability.
4. Compare actual performance with planned targets, especially in manufacturing costs, and suggest adjustments to improve financial outcomes.

Promotion of Internal Projects:

1. Assist the manager to improve operational efficiency and profitability.
2. Coordinate with various departments to ensure alignment with profit targets.
3. Identify and implement cost-saving measures and revenue-enhancing strategies.
4. Monitor and report on the progress of profit improvement activities.

Establish a System to Evaluate Business:

1. Provide strategic and operational support to various departments.
2. Assist in establishing systems to evaluate business performance.
3. Identify areas for improvement and implement best practices.
4. Support inter-departmental collaboration to achieve corporate goals.
5. Support the development and implementation of departmental initiatives and projects.

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in business, Operations, or Related Field.

EXPERIENCE

• 3+ years of relevant experience in a corporate environment involved in some combination of the following activities: planning, financial analysis, tracking and reporting, and project coordination.
• Minimum Work experience dealing with business objectives/KPI goal setting, (policy deployment) and project coordination
• Solid verbal and written communication skills
• Fluent in English and Japanese language
• Moderate to strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills
• Read, analyze, and interpret general business information and understand business trends through professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Write reports, business correspondence, and documented plans with timelines.
• Capability to effectively present information and respond to questions.
• Interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form

SKILL REQUIREMENTS

Language Skills:

• Bilingual (English and Japanese).

Mathematical Ability:

• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference.
• Ability to apply fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, area, circumference, and volume.

Analytical Skills:

• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret complex data.
• Proficiency in data analysis and business intelligence tools.

Research Skills:

• Excellent research skills to gather and analyze automotive market data.

Strategic Thinking:

• Strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Technical Proficiency:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel, Access, Power BI, and PowerPoint.
• Proficiency in financial analysis and reporting tools.

Communication Skills:

• Effective communication and presentation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain relationships across the organization.

Collaboration and Project Management:

• Collaboration and project management skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments.
• Experience in process improvement and change management.

Financial Acumen:

• Strong financial acumen and understanding of budgeting and forecasting.

Proactive Approach:

• Proactive approach to identifying and solving departmental issues.
• Ability to drive change and influence others.

Multi-tasking and Prioritization:

• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize tasks effectively.