Sr Manager, Business Planning

Job Description

The Disneyland Resort Finance organization is seeking a strategic, forward-thinking leader to help shape the future direction of the Resort by driving disciplined decision-making, enterprise prioritization, and long-range growth planning.

This role sits at the intersection of finance, strategy, and analytics. The Senior Manager will lead a small, high-performing team responsible for framing, assessing, and recommending where the business should focus, what initiatives are worth pursuing, and how investments in capacity and growth should be sequenced over time. The role partners closely with senior leaders across Operations, Commercial, Technology, and WDI to ensure that the organization’s most critical initiatives are economically sound, strategically aligned, and realistically executable.

The ideal candidate is a strong strategic thinker with excellent judgment, has high degree of business acumen, and is skilled at framing complex analyses for executive audiences. This leader enjoys shaping direction as much as analyzing data, and brings rigor, clarity, and focus to the hardest business decisions.

Who thrives in this role:

• Problem-Seeker:  Be curiosity-driven; seek out business anomalies and patterns, leveraging analytical tools and business knowledge to shed light and gain understanding of the business in order to strengthen strategies and initiatives.

• Strategic Storyteller:  Translate complex analysis, competing priorities, and uncertainty into clear, compelling narratives that help leaders understand trade-offs, make decisions, and align around a path forward. Communicate with intent — not just what the data says, but why it matters.

• Business Optimizer:  Continuously look for new businesses to drive long-term value. Evaluate opportunities holistically, balancing growth, efficiency, experience, and risk to ensure the organization focuses on what truly moves the business forward.

• Partner of Choice:  Build trust quickly across functions by listening deeply, bringing perspective, and elevating conversations. Be the thought partner leaders seek out when decisions are complex, stakes are high, and clarity is needed.

• Change Agent:  Influence progress through insight and conviction, not authority. Challenge the status quo constructively, bring discipline to ambiguity, and help the organization move from indecision to action by shaping the choices that enable meaningful change.

What we expect of you:

• This role is responsible for leading business planning, investment evaluation, and long-range growth analysis to support enterprise decision-making
• Lead the framing, assessment, and recommendation of business cases for major initiatives, ensuring consistent evaluation of value, risk, and strategic fit
• Develop rigorous analytical tools and models using internal and external data to drive executive decision-making and site strategy
• Evaluate a portfolio of growth projects, capacity drivers, and investment initiatives to support long-term, sustainable growth
• Drive enterprise-level prioritization, forcing clear trade-offs across competing initiatives, business opportunities, and limited resources
• Support short- and long-range planning efforts, including multi-year capital growth project scenarios
• Translate complex analyses into clear executive narratives through creative storytelling to enable confident, timely decision-making
• Lead and develop a small team, fostering strong business judgment, analytical rigor, and inclusive team culture; while extending influence cross-functionally to drive and align strategy
• Actively contribute to the evolution of Finance as a strategic thought partner to the business

What you bring to this role:

• +7 years of experience in strategy, finance, business planning, consulting, or related analytical roles
• 5+ years of experience leading teams or complex workstreams
• Strong financial, analytical, and business acumen with experience evaluating investments and enterprise trade-offs
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders through clear thinking and communication
• Proven ability to work effectively in complex, matrixed environments
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a proven ability to translate complex challenges and solutions to senior executives
• High degree of self-awareness with a proven ability to partner and deliver results through influencing
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity with a bias toward clarity and action
• Self-directed, curious, and outcomes-oriented
• Acute ability to prioritize; managing multiple, ongoing projects with the ability to understand business need and drive work through the organization

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Engineering, Analytics, or related field

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or advanced degree
• Experience in capital-intensive, consumer-facing, or operations-heavy businesses
• Experience supporting portfolio prioritization, long-range planning, or enterprise initiatives
• Familiarity with investment governance, growth strategy, or large-scale planning efforts

The hiring range for this position in California is $153,200-$205,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.