Financial Analyst Planning & Insights (all genders) – Universal Music Central Europe – Universal Music GmbH

Universal Music is the market leader of the music business. The world’s most famous music labels belong to us. We have been writing music history for over 100 years, representing numerous local and international artists across all genres. Our accomplishments are driven by our love for music, extraordinary artists and our ambitious team.

Based in Berlin, you will be part of Finance Planning & Intelligence. Our mission is Scale & Enablement: we own strategic planning and target setting, deliver fast and decision-ready finance insights, and build the data products and automation that make Finance faster and more reliable. We are a hands-on team that combines finance and data expertise.

In this role, you are the analytical engine of our insights squad (“Speedboat”). You take a business question, find the answer in the data, and turn it into a clear recommendation for Finance leadership. At the same time, you support our planning and target-setting cycle and help shape how we work in the future: from manual reporting to automated data products, and from static analyses to AI-supported insights.

You will report directly to the Head of FP&I.

Here’s your chance to join! We’re looking for a Financial Analyst Planning & Insights (all genders) to join us at our Berlin headquarters from April 2027. This is a permanent, full-time position.

Your responsibilities: 

• Deliver fast-turnaround, decision-ready analyses on business performance (revenue, margins, costs, artist and deal performance) and translate them into a clear “so what” for Finance leadership
• Analyse actuals against budget and forecast, identify the key drivers behind deviations, and proactively flag risks and opportunities
• Support the planning, budgeting and target-setting cycle, including driver-based analyses, scenario modelling, financial roll-ups, and the preparation of materials for senior management discussions
• Build and maintain robust financial models (incl. DCF) and perform investment analysis to evaluate investment opportunities
• Prepare management packs and executive presentations, turning complex numbers into a concise and structured storyline
• Work closely with our BI Developer to define requirements and KPIs for dashboards and data products, validate figures, and help establish one consistent set of finance definitions
• Contribute to the transition of our planning processes to Anaplan by providing business requirements, testing models, and becoming a key user within the team
• Identify recurring manual analyses and automate them using modern BI, data, and AI tools; guide our working student on analysis tasks

We are looking for candidates who: 

• Have a strong academic track record in Finance, Economics, Business, Business Informatics, or a related field; you hold a Bachelor’s degree and ideally a Master’s degree
• Bring 1–3 years of relevant professional experience (including internships) in FP&A, Controlling, Business or Finance Analytics, Management Consulting, or a similar analytical role, ideally in an international environment
• You bring a strong AI First Mindset and actively use AI-based tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Copilot) in your daily work and are curious about how they can change finance analysis and reporting
• Have a solid understanding of P&L logic, financial KPIs, variance analysis, and planning and forecasting processes
• Have advanced Excel skills (large datasets, financial models, Power Query, scenario analyses) and excellent ability to build a clear storyline
• Are comfortable working directly with data: you have experience with a BI tool such as Power BI/Tableau/Looker Studio & corresponding data warehouse like BigQuery-MS Fabric, and at least basic SQL; Python knowledge is a plus
• Have first experience with planning tools such as Anaplan or comparable systems, or a strong motivation to learn them quickly
• Are business fluent in both English and German (C1+/C2), with confidence in communicating with senior stakeholders

Your personality matters:

• You combine strong analytical thinking with sound business judgment, and you always have an opinion: you would rather present one clear recommendation than ten charts
• You are fast without being sloppy, and you know when an answer is good enough to support a decision
• You have a strong interest in music, media, technology, or other creative industries; prior experience in these fields is a plus
• You are hands-on and curious, and you enjoy working at the interface of finance and data
• You are communicative, a strong team player, and able to build relationships across cultures and seniority levels
• You take ownership of your topics and drive them forward proactively in a dynamic and fast-changing environment
• You are innovation-minded and excited to challenge existing ways of working through automation, AI, and continuous improvement
• You enjoy responsibility and are eager to contribute to Universal Music with a high level of curiosity, resilience, and motivation to grow

Our values, our compass, our culture:

• Creativity – Home to Artists, Innovators and Entrepreneurs.
• Connection – We are ONE team.
• Passion – Music is our first love.
• Responsibility – It’s up to us.
• Diversity – Music is universal.
• Factuition – Guided by head AND heart.

Our benefits – because you’re important to us:    

• Feel the music! – Thanks to a concert ticket budget, employee discounts on physical music and merchandise products as well as various internal events
• United by music! – We believe that personal interaction and creative collaboration thrive when we work together in person – that’s why we spend most of the week in the office, with regular opportunities to work remotely
• Time to relax! – You are more than your job, benefit from 30 vacation days plus fixed company closure days
• Always on track! - Keep moving sustainably through the capital thanks to special rates for BVG tickets (public transport) and our job bike leasing offer
• Develop yourself! - We offer professional development through various workshops and courses
• Self-care matters! – We promote and support mental health with our Employee Assistance Program for all challenges in life (professional and private); we offer confidential counseling and coaching through a third-party provider

#joinuniversalmusic 
We look forward to receiving your application via our online application form! Please upload your documents (letter of motivation / cover letter, CV, references) as files and state your earliest starting date as well as salary expectations.

MUSIC IS UNIVERSAL!

As a large and globally operating company, Universal Music promotes diversity and opposes discrimination. We aspire to reflect the diversity represented by our artists through their music and individuality in our teams. We pledge ourselves to be an equal opportunity employer and enable individuals to express themselves – regardless of age, sex, gender, appearance, origin, faith, physical/mental ability, or sexual orientation.

If you are unsure about submitting an application because, for example, you do not fulfil all of the requirements, we would like to encourage you to try it nonetheless!

#YOUatUMG