Anaplan Analyst  

Job Profile Summary

This role will be key in the successful delivery of Anaplan within Manulife by engaging with internal customers, supporting the build and design of Anaplan solutions, and will be responsible for Anaplan Model development, enhancement, and implementation.

As our primary Anaplan Model Builder, the successful candidate will support the full Anaplan development life cycle including model design, build, delivery, iteration, and maintenance. The successful candidate will support the Finance Systems Leads in managing all aspects of Anaplan delivery including liaising with internal and external support, service vendor, working closely with Business Units and Regional Teams to understand business use cases, updating existing models as well as supporting the Finance team on the system development roadmap, and the wider business in their use of Anaplan.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Reports into MBPS Finance Service Delivery Program Manager and will be functionally accountable to the Financial Process and Control Lead - Global Finance Shared Services Asia.
• Primarily accountable for supporting the Anaplan initiatives/projects for Global Finance Shared Services.
• Delivering large and complex end to end Anaplan implementation projects which includes participation in requirements gathering, modelling, and building designs, testing, and developing training materials
• Maintain and update existing Anaplan models in response to changing business requirements
• Ensuring robust framework of controls is in place across the Anaplan landscape
• Design, develop and maintain planning/forecasting/consolidation models and data transformation to meet business requirements.

Build Trust And Credibility With Business Users By:

• Analyzing business requirements/objectives and monitoring of key measures related to key stakeholder satisfaction
• Participating in data integration and migration solutions activities.
• Preparing business users and team members by facilitating training or walkthroughs.
• Assisting in the estimate process, including updating and validating forecast assumptions.
• Enabling end-users to engage with the models by incorporating visualizations via dashboards
• Fully documenting all processes and other technical deliverables for ease of use and transparency
• Providing primary business support during process UAT and parallel runs including primary escalation and resolution contact
• Alert management to accounting or operational problems and suggest actionable solutions.
• Special projects will arise from time to time that may not be Anaplan related and will require strong financial knowledge, strong analytical and organizational skills with an innovative mindset. The Manager will be responsible for assigning these ad-hoc projects as required by senior management pertaining to the introduction of new services, products and processes designed.
• Living the Manulife Values in partnering with Business Users and Finance Shared Services Operations during the Anaplan project lifecycle. Ensure that outcomes of the Anaplan initiatives above are measured, tracked, and reported.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in accounting or other related disciplines. CPA designation an advantage
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in finance function processes including consolidation, management reporting, forecasting/budgeting, and finance operations
• 2+ years of experience designing and building Anaplan models with Level 2 Model Builder certification
• Strong financial model building skills on Anaplan and potentially other EPM tools e.g., Excel, Hyperion, Essbase
• Strong expertise and deep understanding of multi-dimensional modeling. Ability to translate from model-building in Excel to multi-dimensional technologies.
• Strong understanding of financial fundamentals and commercial drivers
• Comfortable in operating across geographies and with teams of varying maturity
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Tact and clear verbal and written communication skills are necessary to facilitate solutions and resolve problems
• Strong influence, negotiation, and change management skills
• Strong analytical and innovative problem-solving skills with the proven ability to exercise flexibility and judgment in assessing business issues and risks in a dynamic environment
• Execution-oriented with strong focus to deliver targeted outcomes
• Ability to work in ambiguous environment and adapt to change while managing time and workload with aggressive timelines
• Applies industry best practices within daily work and continues to participate in professional development by reading publications, networking, and participating in professional organizations
• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills
• Can work on a Hybrid work arrangement in UPTechnohub, Quezon City
• Preferred but not required:
• Prior experience in working with offshore teams
• Qualified with recognized financial qualification (CIMA, ACCA etc.) or equivalent highly advantageous
• Certification to the Anaplan Solution Architect or Master Anaplanner level is highly preferred
• Knowledge of VBA, SQL and basic data warehouse experience is also preferred.