Little Sprouts is an award-winning network of experienced, engaged, and compassionate early educators dedicated to making lasting, positive differences for children and families. Our expert teachers and directors deliver high-quality care and essential early education to thousands of children in our Little Sprouts Schools in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, our Building Blocks Early Learning Centers in Connecticut, and our Heartworks Schools and Loveworks Child Care Centers in Vermont. In addition, our play-based curriculum and commitment to practicing NAEYC’s Anti-Bias Early Education support healthy childhood development and model the power of responsive relationships across all of our schools and communities.

We are excited to announce the opening of new centers and are looking for a Business Analyst (FP&A)/Performance Manager to join our team. The ideal candidate will drive excellence across our centers, ensuring high-quality education and care standards are met and sustained. If you are passionate about early education and have a track record of performance management, we invite you to apply and help us shape the future of our growing network.

What We Will Achieve Together:

• Performance Analysis and Management. Financial sustainability through analysis, and assessment to ensure that the financial operation of each school is understood and optimized.
• Growth Engine. Help position the organization to grow to scale through process refinement/replication/transferability, systems synergies, and quantitative/qualitative performance.
• Employer of Choice. Achieve a stellar reputation among professionals considering and working in early education.
• Data Proficiency. Identify, gather, and report upon non-financial Key Performance Indicators (i.e. turnover, staffing, etc) to make decisions and recommendations grounded in facts and insights.
• Innovation Think Tank. Partner with educational, marketing, and managerial experts in the US and abroad to further develop and publicize our innovative approaches.

What You’ll Do:

• The following responsibilities will be prioritized based on the current needs of the business:
• Identify, analyze, and forecast performance based on four optimization levers: sales performance, proper staffing levels, future enrollment projections, and financial compliance to budget.
• Build and execute a strategy for profitable operations by analyzing the performance of the school portfolio, assessing opportunities to improve, and innovating to ensure predictable, repeatable, and scalable results that drive revenue growth and maximize quality.
• Build and maintain operational data and financial reports that analyze performance and inspire action across team members and fellow executives.
• Serve as an “operations champion” by moving comfortably between school-level leadership and company-level management on detailed execution to advance the objectives of the business.
• Work with the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Management to develop and implement a cohesive operational strategy to stimulate, incentivize, and effect scalable organic and inorganic growth.
• Integrate new schools and innovative products into the portfolio – brands, systems, culture, resources, and profit – through people- and process-oriented collaboration.
• Work with the Human Resource operations team to uphold and refine the organization’s approach to compliance, compensation, and regulations.
• Expertly convert Excel data into visual dashboards and reports to support forecasting and management decisions.
• Other duties as required.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• High-end, consumer-facing professional experience preferred.
• 1-3 years of professional experience managing a multi-site, complex enterprise’s operations, with deep knowledge of finance and human resources.
• Hybrid role based in Lawrence, MA (north of Boston), with 60% of the workweek from the home office, and 40% remote.
• Must demonstrate a track record of previous experience in scaling up an organization.
• Motivated, highly organized, and flexible; a self-starter with a teamwork orientation.
• Written and verbal communication and presentation skills to translate complex concepts into easily understandable talking points and presentation materials appropriate for all organizational levels, including executive and board-level audiences.
• Experience developing relationships; ability to build credibility, respect, and collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all organizational levels, with a willingness to accept and incorporate feedback.
• Understanding and experience supporting or managing integration and synergy realization processes.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook), and data visualization tools.

How It Gets Done:

• Can work at least a full-time, 40-hour a week schedule, sometimes off-hours as the business requires (i.e., networking events, conferences, business dinners, etc.).

• Can sit for long periods at a computer in a primarily sedentary position; manual dexterity is required to use desktop computers and peripherals.

• Travel is required (25-50%) to schools, events, meetings, or new school/acquisition scoping, both US Domestic and International; sometimes within daily driving distance or further afield that may necessitate overnights.
  What We Are Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, or other quantitative field required

• 1-2 years of professional work experience in analytical, consulting, finance or engineering role(s)

• Strong analytical skills (working with large data sets) and attention to detail

• Excellent problem solving, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills

• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel (SQL experience heavily preferred)

• Experience creating and optimizing business and operational processes

• Ability to manage time effectively, set priorities, and meet deadlines

• Ability to work on a team and collaborate with other internal and external stakeholders

• Flexible demeanor and ability to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment

Bonus if You Have:

• Supply chain or distribution experience
• Interest in beauty or subscription box industries