Director, Governance and FP&A
- Company: AmTrust Financial Services
- Location: Jersey City, NJ
- Work mode: On-site
- Job type: Full-Time
- Posted: 2026-10-21
OVERVIEW
This role will establish and operate a centralized governance capability to evaluate, prioritize, track, and report on capital projects and the use of IT capacity across the enterprise. Sitting within FP&A, the role will serve as the single point of coordination for business case intake, evaluation, portfolio tracking, and executive‑level governance.
The successful candidate will own the end‑to‑end operating rhythm: from business case development and challenge, through quarterly leadership readouts, to ongoing performance tracking and integration into the annual planning and budgeting cycle.
This role does not require a traditional finance background; however, the individual must be fluent in core financial concepts and comfortable facilitating decision‑making with senior business, functional, and technology leaders.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Governance
* Stand up and run a centralized governance framework for capital projects and IT capacity usage.
* Define and document intake processes, evaluation criteria, approval workflows, and reporting standards.
* Ensure alignment across FP&A, IT, and business stakeholders on governance expectations and decision rights.
Business Case Intake, Review & Challenge
* Act as the central owner of all capital and IT‑related business case submissions.
* Partner with stakeholders across business units and functions to develop, refine, and pressure‑test business cases, including scope, benefits, costs, risks, and timing.
* Challenge assumptions, identify gaps, and ensure consistency, comparability, and clarity across all submissions.
* Ensure business cases clearly articulate value drivers (financial and non‑financial), trade‑offs, and interdependencies.
Stakeholder Engagement & Facilitation
* Proactively engage senior leaders across the business, functions, and IT to understand strategic priorities and upcoming investment needs.
* Serve as a neutral facilitator, balancing competing priorities while maintaining objectivity and governance discipline.
* Translate complex inputs into clear, decision‑ready narratives tailored to executive audiences.
Executive Reporting & Decision Support
* Prepare quarterly portfolio readouts for leadership committees, including:
* New project submissions and recommendations
* Status of approved and in‑flight projects
* Capacity utilization and constraints
* Key financial and delivery metrics, risks, and issues
* Support leadership decision‑making by synthesizing data into concise insights, scenarios, and recommendations.
Portfolio Tracking & Performance Management
* Own the ongoing tracking of approved projects, including spend, benefits realization, timelines, and delivery status.
* Work with project teams and stakeholders to collect actuals and performance metrics across the portfolio.
* Identify variances versus business case assumptions and escalate risks or deviations where appropriate.
* Continuously improve tracking processes to balance rigor with practicality as the portfolio scales.
Planning & Budgeting Integration
* Embed capital and IT investment governance into the broader annual planning and budgeting cycle.
* Ensure approved projects, future pipeline, and capacity constraints are accurately reflected in financial plans.
* Partner with FP&A colleagues to align governance outputs with forecasts, outlooks, and long‑range plans.
QUALIFICATIONS
* 8–12+ years of experience in one or more of the following areas:
* Program or portfolio management
* Strategy, transformation, or enterprise PMO
* Corporate planning, investment governance, or business operations
* Demonstrated experience working across multiple functions (e.g., business, finance, IT, operations) in a complex organization.
* Proven ability to operate with senior‑level stakeholders and influence without direct authority.
Financial & Analytical Capability
* Strong working knowledge of core financial concepts, including:
* Cash vs. P&L impacts
* Capital vs. operating expenditure
* NPV, ROI, payback, and value drivers
* Experience reviewing, challenging, or building business cases; hands‑on financial modeling is a plus but not required.
Skills & Attributes
* Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, deadlines, and stakeholders concurrently.
* Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to synthesize large volumes of information into clear executive‑level materials.
* Comfortable operating in ambiguity and building structures from the ground up.
* Naturally inquisitive with a bias toward constructive challenge and continuous improvement.
* Strong judgment and discretion when handling sensitive commercial and strategic information.