Senior Financial Analyst, Business Planning & Analysis

Job Description Summary
#LI-Hybrid
Location: Hyderabad, India
Ready to combine your Finance expertise with technology and play a key role in how financial planning evolves? You’ll act as an important link between Finance and Information Technology, supporting critical planning, closing and day-to-day operations while helping solve system and data challenges. You’ll build on your hands-on SAP Business Planning and Consolidation expertise while developing your capabilities in SAP Analytics Cloud as our planning environment evolves. With future rollouts ahead, this is an opportunity to grow your technical expertise, broaden your impact and help shape how Finance works across the organization.
Job Description
Key Responsibilities
· Act as a key link between Finance and Information Technology, supporting effective day-to-day planning system operations.
· Prepare budgets, forecasts and variance analyses, translating financial performance into clear, actionable business insights.
· Support end-to-end month-end close checks, planning submissions and validation activities to ensure smooth business operations.
· Coordinate with Information Technology and cross-functional teams to investigate and resolve system, data and integration issues.
· Translate business needs into effective planning solutions, defining clear requirements, priorities and expected outcomes.
· Test and validate system enhancements and changes, supporting successful deployment and business readiness.
· Communicate clearly with stakeholders during planning cycles, close activities and incidents, driving timely resolution and follow-through.
Essential Requirements
· Chartered Accountant or Master of Business Administration in Finance, with at least two years of relevant Finance experience.
· Hands-on experience with SAP Business Planning and Consolidation, supporting planning, closing and operational processes.
· Strong knowledge of financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and related Finance processes.
· Ability to analyse complex data flows, system integrations and dependencies to identify and resolve issues.
· Strong analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with a techno-functional mindset across Finance and technology.
· Excellent communication, collaboration and stakeholder management skills, working effectively across Finance, technology and diverse user groups.
Desirable Requirements
· Knowledge or experience of SAP Analytics Cloud, with an interest in building deeper expertise as the planning environment evolves.
· Familiarity with emerging artificial intelligence capabilities and AI-enabled Finance tools, including Microsoft Copilot.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.
Accessibility and accommodation
Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to diversityandincl.india@novartis.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.
Skills Desired
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Controls Compliance, Critical Thinking, Database Normalization, Data Cleansing, Data Reporting, Data Visualization, Employee Engagement, Financial Management, Give Feedback, Insight Generation, Interpersonal Relationships, Key Driver Analysis (KDA), Managing Ambiguity, Market Understanding, Planning Analysis, Problem Solving, Process Optimization, Stakeholder Influence