Financial Analyst

Sophisticated Work. In a Great City. Making a Difference.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) manages more than $178 billion in assets, including those of the fully-funded Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). SWIB operates at a level more often seen in top-tier global asset managers than in typical public pension funds. SWIB is a home for top talent. Approximately 61 percent of SWIB’s investment professionals are Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholders.

The City of Madison, the state capitol and home of Wisconsin’s flagship university, makes regular appearances on lists of best places to live, eat, and play. SWIB offers a modern workspace, hybrid work options, and competitive compensation and benefits.

Serving over 703,000 WRS beneficiaries, SWIB is driven by a clear mission: securing the financial future of those who serve Wisconsin. When you work at SWIB, you know your work matters.

Job Description

About the Team

The Finance Division (Finance) serves the entire organization and is under the direction of the Chief Financial Officer. Finance is responsible for several critical functions at SWIB and comprises five teams: Fund Administration (FA), Finance Operations (FinOps), Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Vendor Engagement and Oversight (VEO), and Performance.

This position is within FP&A. FP&A provides business finance support to SWIB divisions and teams and serves as a consultative arm of the Finance Division. The team leverages financial data and analytics to support budgeting, expense management, cost allocations, cost benchmarking, and enable business decision-making. FP&A also manages various compensation-related deliverables, including incentive compensation, salary analysis, and other compensation analytics.

Position Overview

The Financial Analyst will support the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) function through budgeting, cost allocation, financial reporting, and analysis that helps inform business decisions. The role will help develop and monitor SWIB’s annual expense budget, analyze financial results and key business drivers, and provide timely and accurate financial information to business partners and Finance leadership.

The Financial Analyst will work cross-functionally to understand financial performance, identify and explain variances and trends, and support ongoing planning and decision-making, while helping improve the efficiency and effectiveness of FP&A processes.

This role is well suited for a finance professional who has developed a solid foundation in financial analysis and is ready to take greater ownership of assigned analyses and planning activities while continuing to build business partnership, financial modeling, and FP&A capabilities. The position’s essential activities and attributes that the ideal candidate will possess are included below.

Essential Activities

• Support the development of SWIB’s annual expense budget, including working with business partners to understand expense needs and assumptions and ongoing budget monitoring and analysis.
• Execute SWIB’s cost allocation processes, including maintaining allocation models, analyzing allocation methodologies and results, and working with stakeholders to support accurate and appropriate allocation of costs across the organization.
• Perform agency, division, and team level reporting and analysis of actual expenses compared to budget.
• Compile and analyze data for SWIB’s annual cost of management benchmarking process, which evaluates SWIB’s expenses relative to industry peers.
• Assist with various compensation deliverables, including incentive compensation, salary analysis, and other compensation analytics.
• Collaborate with management and other stakeholders to identify and implement process improvements.
• Perform ad hoc projects as requested.
• Provide business finance support, including consultative, analytical, and partnership support, to SWIB divisions and teams.

The Ideal Candidate

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or a related field.
• 1 or more years of post-degree work experience.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Microsoft Excel, including experience maintaining financial models and developing ad hoc analyses and models.
• Ability to efficiently analyze large amounts of data and develop clear, well-supported conclusions and recommendations.
• Leverages intellectual curiosity to continually learn, develop skills, and deepen understanding of the business.
• Is a self-starter with the ability to effectively manage competing priorities.
• Can efficiently consume, distill, and communicate complex issues.
• Builds effective relationships and is focused on collaboration across teams and divisions.
• Is driven by results and thoughtfully utilizes efficient processes in their delivery.
• Challenges the status quo when appropriate and contributes to process improvements.
• Demonstrates excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Has the ability to multitask, adapt, and thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Demonstrates a strong work ethic, attention to detail, team orientation, and commitment to excellence.

SWIB Offers

• Competitive total cash compensation, based on AON (formerly McLagan) industry benchmarks
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Educational and training opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Challenging work in a professional environment
• Hybrid work environment

The position requires U.S. work authorization.

Pursuant to our Hybrid Remote Work Policy, all staff have the flexibility to work remotely but are required to have a weekly presence in our offices, the frequency of which is dependent on their distance from office or the job position. Staff are not required to reside locally; however, we offer relocation reimbursement to the Dane County area per our policy.

All SWIB employees are subject to SWIB’s Ethics Policy and Personal Trade Approvals Policy. These policies include restrictions on outside business activities and employment and have limits on personal trading. You may request copies of these policies from SWIB’s talent acquisition team and any questions can be answered by SWIB’s compliance team.