As Global Head of Research & Leadership Advisory at JRG Partners, I wrote this Head of FP&A job description template for employers who want the spec to do real work: attract the right candidates, repel the wrong ones, and align the hiring committee before the first interview. Use the template as the base and the customization guidance to make it yours.
Key Takeaways: Writing a Head of FP&A Job Description That Works
- The Head of FP&A owns planning, forecasting, and decision support, the models the company steers by and the analysis that makes choices better.
- A strong specification aligns the hiring committee before it ever reaches a candidate; disagreement discovered at finalist stage started here.
- Requirements should be the honest minimum: every unnecessary ‘must-have’ removes qualified candidates from your slate.
- KPIs in the spec tell candidates how success will be judged, and serious operators read them more carefully than the responsibilities.
- Note ownership structure (PE reporting cadence changes the job) and the planning stack; FP&A leaders qualify on both immediately.
About the Head of FP&A Role
Reporting most commonly to the Chief Financial Officer or VP of Finance and leading FP&A analysts/managers and business-unit finance partners, the role carries the accountabilities in the template below. Treat the template as the market-standard baseline and the customization section as the part that makes it yours.
Head of FP&A Job Description Template
Position Summary
[Company] is seeking a Head of FP&A. The Head of FP&A owns planning, forecasting, and decision support, the models the company steers by and the analysis that makes choices better. The position reports to the Chief Financial Officer or VP of Finance.Key Responsibilities
- Own budgeting and rolling-forecast processes
- Deliver management reporting that drives decisions
- Build driver-based models with documented logic
- Lead variance analysis with insight, not narration
- Partner with business leaders on plans and trade-offs
- Support board materials and investor reporting
- Drive planning-tool implementation and automation
- Develop FP&A talent and analytical standards
Requirements & Qualifications
- 8+ years FP&A; process ownership at comparable scale
- Modeling craft at diligence standard
- Planning-platform experience (Adaptive/Anaplan-class)
- Business-partnering record verified by operators
- Board-material preparation experience
- Data fluency: SQL/BI capability increasingly expected
- Communication clarity with non-finance leaders
Key Performance Indicators
- Forecast accuracy by line
- Planning-cycle duration and quality
- Reporting timeliness and decision utility
- Model integrity (errors, rework)
- Business-partner satisfaction
- Automation milestones
- Team development
Compensation
Mid-market base salaries for this role typically run $175,000-$225,000, scaling substantially with company size and mandate; see our Head of FP&A Salary Guide 2026 for full benchmarks by revenue tier, ownership structure, and industry.
How to Customize This Template
Treat every element above as a default awaiting your specifics. Note ownership structure (PE reporting cadence changes the job) and the planning stack; FP&A leaders qualify on both immediately. Then prune the requirements to the honest minimum, rank the responsibilities so the first three carry the mandate’s weight, and confirm the KPI list matches how the executive will actually be reviewed, because candidates will hold you to it.
Common Mistakes in Head of FP&A Job Descriptions
The recurring specification failures are predictable. Requirement inflation: fifteen must-haves that describe a unicorn and guarantee a thin slate. Responsibility laundry lists with no hierarchy, leaving candidates unable to tell what actually matters. Missing success metrics, which signals the company has not decided what it is hiring for. Internal jargon that reads as noise to outsiders. And compensation silence in markets where transparency is now expected or required. Each mistake is cheap to fix in the document and expensive to discover in the search.
From Job Description to Hire
With the specification locked, the search itself begins: calibrate compensation before finalists are in play, and structure the interviews to verify what the spec demands. For the interview stage, our Head of FP&A interview questions guide pairs directly with this template.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What does a Head of FP&A do?
- A: The Head of FP&A owns planning, forecasting, and decision support, the models the company steers by and the analysis that makes choices better. Day to day, the role centers on own budgeting and rolling-forecast processes and deliver management reporting that drives decisions.
- Q: Who does the Head of FP&A report to?
- A: Most commonly the Chief Financial Officer or VP of Finance, with the role leading FP&A analysts/managers and business-unit finance partners. Reporting-line choices signal the seat’s real weight, and candidates read them that way.
- Q: How many years of experience should a Head of FP&A have?
- A: Market-standard specifications ask for 8+ years of relevant progressive leadership, but treat tenure as a proxy: the requirement that matters is demonstrated ownership of the outcomes in the KPI list at comparable scale.
- Q: How does head of FP&A pay compare with corporate controller pay?
- A: The seats price within 10-15% of each other at equivalent scale, controllership carrying compliance weight and FP&A carrying decision weight; ambitious finance organizations rotate rising leaders through both on the way to CFO.
- Q: How long should a Head of FP&A job description be?
- A: One page for posting, two for the internal version. Candidates decide in ninety seconds; committees need the full success profile. Maintain both from the same source document.
- Q: What requirements should we include for a Head of FP&A?
- A: The honest minimum. Every inflated must-have trades real candidates for imaginary ones.
![](https://www.jrgpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/tanya-gallardo.jpeg")
Tanya Gallardo
Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy
Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.
With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.
Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.
