Manager, Commercial Strategy and Finance (New York)

This role serves as the primary architect and steward of the most complex and high-value commercial initiatives and partnerships. It sits at the intersection of business development, strategy, deal-making, and operational rigour, and reports into a Vice President of Advertising Finance. The successful candidate will act as a quantitative engine driving commercial strategy, evaluating ideas before launch and deals before signature while rigorously tracking performance once they are live.

• Translate dense financial data and analysis into high-impact visual narratives for discussions with The Athletic's leadership team, articulating the rationale behind major investments.
• Build clean, flexible financial models to value complex and integrated deals and commercial initiatives across licensing, advertising, and other revenue streams.
• Analyse and support the negotiation of deal mechanics, focusing on minimum guarantees, revenue shares, and recoupment schedules.
• Partner closely with Legal and Accounting to ensure term sheets translate into sound financial realities.
• Own the full lifecycle of deals by tracking actuals against benchmarks, managing P&L impact, and providing FP&A oversight to course-correct or double-down.
• Integrate live deal performance into broader rolling forecasts, explaining variances to leadership and identifying trends in audience monetisation and rights costs.

• 5+ years of experience in corporate development, strategic finance, consulting or investment banking.
• Analytically rigorous individual with experience performing high-stakes evaluation of potential deals.
• Deep understanding of the leverage points in a negotiation, including the ability to anticipate how a legal clause might impact a financial outcome.
• Understands the value of accuracy and owns the numbers from start to finish, whether in a pre-deal valuation or a post-deal performance report.
• Genuinely motivated by The Athletic's mission and understands the value of premium sports journalism and the gravity of the shifting media landscape.
• Expert-level financial modelling.
• Strong executive presentation development skills.
• Deep understanding of commercial deal terms, negotiations, and deal processes.
• Experience with key FP&A processes (budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis).
• BS in Finance/Economics.

• MBA is a plus.
• Content licensing experience is ideal.

• Hybrid role requiring 3 days per week in office for candidates in the greater New York City Metropolitan area.

• Total compensation may vary based on education, experience, skills, and location, and may include non-cash rewards and benefits.
• The base salary range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
• For U.S. roles, dependent on role, candidates may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock.

• Medical, dental and vision benefits.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s).
• Company-matching 401(k) plan.
• Paid vacation, paid sick days and paid parental leave.
• Tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
• For roles outside the U.S., benefits information is provided during the interview process.