The Director, Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) - Ground leads a team of Finance professionals in delivering financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, and business performance analysis for the company’s Ground businesses, including less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload services (TLS), domestic freight forwarding (DFF), and pool distribution. They are the primary finance partner to Ground business leadership, providing strategic insights, decision support, and financial guidance to drive operational and financial performance. They own the Ground financial planning models, forecasting processes, and monthly reporting package, with a focus on modernizing and migrating from spreadsheet-driven workflows to scalable, governed data platforms in partnership with Business Intelligence and Pricing teams. This is a high-visibility position that regularly presents financial results, risks, opportunities, and recommendations to executive leadership.
Responsibilities
Lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning activities for the company’s Ground product business, including annual budgets, quarterly forecasts, and medium-term planning processes.
Serve as a strategic finance partner to business unit leaders by developing financial plans, monitoring performance against targets, and providing actionable recommendations.
Build, maintain, and enhance driver-based financial models encompassing volume, weight, revenue per shipment, linehaul, pickup and delivery, terminal costs, and other key operational metrics.
Advance the migration of Ground planning and reporting processes from spreadsheet-based tools to governed enterprise platforms, including Databricks and Microsoft Fabric, in partnership with the Analytics team.
Automate and streamline monthly financial reporting processes to increase team capacity for value-added analysis and business partnership activities.
Prepare and present monthly, quarterly, and annual financial results, forecasts, and business insights to executive leadership.
Perform variance analysis against budget, forecast, and prior-period results, clearly explaining operational and financial drivers.
Provide financial analysis and decision support for strategic initiatives, pricing actions, network optimization efforts, and capital investment opportunities.
Identify, assess, and communicate financial risks and opportunities while recommending corrective actions and mitigation strategies.
Develop, track, and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards, and performance metrics for Ground operations.
Serve as the business lead for Ground-related FP&A planning tool initiatives, including requirements gathering, process mapping, user acceptance testing, and implementation support.
Ensure compliance with internal controls, accounting policies, financial reporting standards, and established procedures.
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Ground FP&A team, fostering both analytical excellence and technical capability development.
Conduct ad hoc financial analysis, reporting, and special projects in support of senior leadership and evolving business priorities.
All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.
Qualifications
Education: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related quantitative field from an accredited college or university required; MBA preferred.
Certification/Licensure: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), other relevant professional designation(s) preferred.
Experience: Seven (7)+ years of progressive experience in financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting, corporate finance, or related disciplines, including leadership responsibilities.
Industry Exposure: Transportation, logistics, supply chain, or less-than-truckload (LTL) industry experience preferred.
Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing finance teams in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated experience building financial models, forecasts, reporting solutions, or analytical tools outside of Excel utilizing technologies such as SQL, Python, R, business intelligence platforms, or FP&A planning applications.
Proven success replacing spreadsheet-based processes with automated, governed, and scalable reporting or planning solutions.
Strong understanding of financial modeling, financial statements, performance management, forecasting methodologies, and corporate finance principles.
Experience partnering with senior business leaders to provide strategic financial insights, influence decisions, and drive business performance.
Preferred experience with Databricks, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Tableau, Python, data warehousing concepts, and collaboration with data engineering or analytics teams.
Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.
Technical: Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.).
Environment: Comfort commuting to/from and working in a 100% on-site setting (listed in this posting), with travel for related meetings/events.
Forward Air is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related quantitative field
- Minimum 7 years of experience in financial planning, analysis, budgeting, and forecasting
- Experience building financial models, forecasts, or reporting outside Excel using SQL, Python, R, BI tools, or planning platforms
- Experience replacing a spreadsheet-based process with an automated, governed process
- Strong knowledge of financial modeling, financial statements, and corporate finance principles
- Experience partnering with business leaders to provide strategic financial insights and recommendations
- Track record of leading and developing high-performing teams
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities
- High integrity, professionalism, and commitment to ethical standards
- MBA or CFA
- Experience with Databricks or Microsoft Fabric, Power BI or Tableau, and Python
- Experience working with data engineering teams on pipelines and data models
- Experience working directly in a data warehouse or in an analytics or BI role
- Transportation or logistics industry experience, particularly LTL
What We Do
Forward Air Corporation is an asset-light freight and logistics company that provides ground transportation and related shipping services to the North American air freight and expedited LTL market. It offers a reliable, cost-effective alternative to air transportation through accelerated, time-definite surface shipping. The company serves as a single-source provider for the wholesale transportation community, including logistics companies, freight forwarders, and air cargo carriers.
