Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for BGG Business Manager
💰 $70,000 - $130,000
🎯 Role Definition
The BGG Business Manager is responsible for end-to-end commercial and operational management of a business unit, product line, or function. This role owns financial planning (budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis), performance metrics (KPIs, dashboards), process and program management, vendor and contract negotiations, and cross-functional stakeholder alignment to deliver growth, profitability, and operational scalability.
Core keywords/SEO focus: business manager, P&L ownership, budgeting and forecasting, financial analysis, operations management, process improvement, stakeholder management, vendor management, KPI reporting, strategic planning.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Senior Business Analyst with cross-functional exposure and financial modeling experience
- Operations Manager or Program Manager responsible for process optimization and vendor oversight
- Commercial or Sales Operations Specialist with P&L support responsibilities
Advancement To:
- Director of Business Operations / Director of Finance Operations
- Head of Commercial Operations or Head of Business Planning
- VP of Operations, VP of Finance, or General Manager with P&L responsibility
Lateral Moves:
- Product Manager (commercial/product cross-functional)
- Program Manager (enterprise-level project delivery)
- Strategic Planning or Corporate Development roles
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Own full P&L accountability for assigned business segment by developing and executing monthly, quarterly, and annual forecasts, ensuring alignment with corporate financial targets and communicating variances and corrective plans to senior leadership.
- Lead budgeting and annual planning cycles, coordinating input from cross-functional partners (sales, marketing, product, operations) and translating strategic goals into detailed line-item budgets and headcount plans.
- Produce rigorous financial analyses including gross margin modeling, cost-to-serve analysis, scenario modeling, and sensitivity testing to inform pricing, promotion, and resource allocation decisions.
- Design, build and maintain executive-grade dashboards and KPI scorecards (revenue, margin, CAC, LTV, churn, conversion metrics) using BI tools to provide near real-time visibility for stakeholders.
- Partner with commercial leaders to define sales targets, quota attainment modeling, commission expense forecasting, and territory-level profitability analysis that support scalable go-to-market execution.
- Drive monthly business reviews (MBRs) and quarterly business reviews (QBRs), preparing executive presentations that synthesize performance, risks, opportunities, and recommended remedial actions.
- Lead cross-functional programs to reduce operating costs and improve process efficiency—own project scope, timeline, dependencies, RACI, and delivery against defined ROI targets.
- Manage vendor relationships and negotiated contracts (outsourcing, logistics, SaaS providers), ensuring commercial terms, SLAs, and billing practices are optimized for cost and service quality.
- Implement and enforce strong internal controls across finance and operational processes to mitigate risk, ensure compliance, and support audit readiness.
- Conduct variance analysis across revenue, cost of goods sold, and operating expenses, isolating root causes and partnering with functional owners to remediate recurring issues.
- Serve as the primary liaison between finance, operations, legal, and product teams for commercial agreements, pricing approvals, and special revenue recognition scenarios.
- Identify, prioritize, and deliver process automation and system improvements (ERP/CRM/BI) to remove manual reconciliation work, accelerate month-end close, and improve data integrity.
- Build and coach a high-performing team (when applicable) including hiring, career development, performance management, and succession planning for direct reports.
- Lead demand planning and inventory optimization initiatives in partnership with supply chain to reduce stockouts, optimize working capital, and improve fulfilled order margins.
- Drive customer and market profitability analyses to inform product roadmap trade-offs, promotional strategy, and channel mix optimization.
- Own ad-hoc strategic projects such as M&A integration support, new market entry analyses, business model pilots, or subscription monetization initiatives—including build-out of financial models and go/no-go recommendation.
- Maintain up-to-date competitor and market intelligence and translate insights into actionable recommendations for pricing, product packaging, and channel strategy adjustments.
- Ensure compliance with corporate policies, local regulations and tax requirements across the business unit; coordinate with external auditors and regulatory contacts as needed.
- Establish and manage SLA-driven reporting cadence for finance and operational metrics, tailoring the level of detail for operational teams vs. executive stakeholders.
- Facilitate cross-functional decision-making by presenting clear trade-off analyses, recommended options, and risk mitigation plans to senior leadership.
- Lead continuous improvement efforts for customer experience and operational workflows using Lean, Six Sigma or similar methodologies to reduce cycle time and cost-per-transaction.
- Oversee headcount planning and compensation modeling in partnership with HR to support growth while maintaining cost discipline and ROI on new roles.
Secondary Functions
- Support ad-hoc data requests, exploratory data analysis, and complex financial modeling to answer CEO/CFO level questions and enable fast strategic decisions.
- Contribute to the organization's data strategy by defining reporting requirements, KPIs, and data governance practices for the business unit.
- Collaborate with engineering and analytics teams to translate business needs into technical requirements for dashboards, ETLs, and automated reports.
- Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies when cross-functional engineering work is required to deliver business-critical analytics or operations automation.
- Support commercial initiatives such as promotions, bundles, and pilot programs by modeling financial impact, operational readiness, and monitoring post-launch performance.
- Act as backup approver for commercial discounts and contract exceptions within delegated authority limits while ensuring adherence to pricing policies.
- Facilitate knowledge transfer sessions and prepare process documentation, runbooks, and playbooks for periodic business processes and close activities.
- Drive stakeholder training on financial literacy and business metrics to improve decision quality across non-finance teams.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- Advanced financial modeling and forecasting skills with demonstrable experience building driver-based models, sensitivity analysis, and scenario planning.
- Deep proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, advanced formulas, Power Query) and experience building repeatable finance models and templates.
- Hands-on experience with ERP and accounting systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle) and ability to reconcile reports and troubleshoot integration issues.
- Practical experience with BI and visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker to create executive dashboards and automated reports.
- Familiarity with CRM and sales operations tools (Salesforce, HubSpot) and the ability to extract actionable metrics tied to revenue and pipeline.
- Experience using SQL for ad-hoc queries and dataset validation; ability to partner with data teams to produce accurate metrics.
- Budgeting and cost-control expertise including headcount modeling, OPEX/CAPEX allocation, and scenario-based budget planning.
- Contract negotiation and vendor management experience including drafting commercial terms, fee schedules, and SLA enforcement.
- Strong understanding of revenue recognition principles and GAAP implications relevant to product subscriptions, multi-element arrangements, and rebates.
- Project management experience using Agile or traditional methodologies, able to manage cross-functional workstreams, timelines, and deliverables.
Soft Skills
- Strategic thinking: translates data and insight into clear business priorities and roadmaps.
- Stakeholder management: builds trust with finance, commercial, product, and executive stakeholders and drives alignment through influence.
- Communication: crafts crisp, executive-level narratives and presents complex analyses in a simple, actionable way.
- Leadership and people development: mentors teams, provides constructive feedback, and drives performance.
- Problem solving and critical thinking: anticipates issues, structures complex problems, and produces pragmatic solutions.
- Time management and prioritization: balances competing priorities and delivers against tight deadlines.
- Adaptability and resilience: thrives in ambiguity and pivots quickly when new information emerges.
- Attention to detail: ensures accuracy in financial reporting, reconciliations, and controls.
- Collaboration and teamwork: fosters a culture of cross-functional partnership and shared accountability.
- Negotiation and conflict resolution: achieves mutually beneficial outcomes in vendor and internal negotiations.
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, or related field.
Preferred Education:
- MBA, Master’s in Finance, or relevant graduate degree preferred for senior business manager roles.
- Professional certifications desirable: CPA, CFA, CMA, or PMP depending on role emphasis.
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Finance
- Accounting
- Business Administration
- Economics
- Supply Chain / Operations Management
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range:
- 3–7 years of progressive experience in business operations, finance business partnering, commercial finance, or operations management for mid-level roles.
- 7+ years preferred for senior/managerial roles with demonstrated P&L ownership.
Preferred:
- Proven track record owning revenue, margin and operational KPIs in a high-growth or technology-driven environment.
- Experience working collaboratively with product, engineering, sales, and marketing teams in a matrixed organization.
- Prior experience implementing systems, dashboards and process automations that materially improved decision-making speed and reduced manual effort.