Principal, Financial & Planning – RAC Expense FP&A

Job Description:

Principal, Financial & Planning – RAC Expense FP&A

Position Summary: The Principal, FP&A – RAC Expense will report to the Senior Director of FP&A and take ownership of RAC expense planning, forecasting, variance analysis, and business support. This role will serve as the primary FP&A partner for key RAC expense categories, including labor, benefits, fleet/delivery, insurance, marketing, occupancy, utilities, outside services, and other store operating expenses. The analyst will be expected to understand expense drivers, identify risks and opportunities, partner with Operations, Accounting, HR, Risk, Marketing, Digital Technology, and other cross-functional teams, and provide clear, executive-ready insights that support expense management and EBITDA performance.

Responsibilities:

• Own RAC expense forecasting, budgeting, and variance analysis across major operating expense categories, with a focus on understanding true run-rate, timing items, one-time impacts, and structural cost drivers.
• Maintain and enhance expense models for key drivers such as labor (headcount, hourly rates, overtime, incentive programs, employee benefits, workers compensation) and fleet/delivery (lease expense, rental, maintenance, insurance reserves)
• Prepare monthly close, forecast, budget, and long-range plan analyses that explain expense performance versus plan, forecast, prior year, and latest outlook.
• Partner with RAC Operations, Accounting, HR, Risk, Marketing, Digital Technology, Procurement, and other business partners to validate assumptions, improve data accuracy, and pressure-test expense trends.
• Identify and communicate expense risks and opportunities early, including labor productivity, overtime, fleet cost, insurance reserve movements, vendor spend, promotional impacts, and cost savings initiatives.
• Support recurring RAC reporting deliverables, including weekly dashboards, monthly financial reviews, store-level reporting and analysis, and executive-level expense commentary.
• Support expense-related strategic initiatives and business cases such as fleet optimization, labor analysis, technology-enabled cost savings, vendor spend reviews, and process improvement opportunities.
• Improve reporting discipline, documentation, and model governance to create scalable, repeatable processes and reduce reliance on manual or inconsistent data sources.
• Serve as a trusted analytical partner who can challenge assumptions, explain variances, escalate material issues, and help drive accountability for RAC expense performance.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, business, or related field; MBA, CPA, or CFA designation is a plus.
• Minimum of 4+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, operations finance, accounting, or a related analytical role.
• Strong expense forecasting and variance analysis experience, ideally with ownership of a meaningful operating expense portfolio or business-unit P&L.
• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to build flexible, accurate, and well-controlled forecast models.
• Experience with enterprise planning, reporting, ERP, or business intelligence tools is preferred; familiarity with Oracle, EPM, Power BI, or similar systems is a plus.
• Strong analytical judgment, with the ability to distinguish recurring trends from timing impacts, one-time items, and controllable versus non-controllable drivers.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to summarize complex financial drivers for senior leaders in a concise and actionable way.
• Strong business-partnering skills and comfort working cross-functionally with Operations, Accounting, HR, Risk, Marketing, Procurement, Digital Technology, and Finance teams.
• Detail-oriented, highly organized, and comfortable managing multiple deadlines during close, forecast, budget, and planning cycles.
• Demonstrated ownership mindset, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to challenge assumptions while building trust with business partners.

Sponsorship: Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time. 

This role offers the opportunity to take direct ownership of RAC expense FP&A, support senior Finance and business leaders, and help drive stronger visibility, accountability, and decision support around one of the company’s most important operating cost areas. We offer competitive compensation, benefits, and opportunities for professional growth in a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

Upbound Group is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.