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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for BGG Business Manager

💰 $70,000 - $130,000

Business ManagementOperationsFinanceStrategy

🎯 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.