Head of FP&A and Treasury

Position Overview

CymaBay Therapeutics, Inc. is a publicly traded, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Newark, California, focused on developing therapies for liver and other chronic diseases with high unmet medical need. We are building our organization as we prepare to launch our first therapeutic, Seladelpar in the US, in anticipation of Ph3 data read out followed by successful NDA filing and regulatory approval.

The finance function is seeking a dynamic, experienced finance professional to lead Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) and Treasury function. This leader will steer all aspects of business partnership, planning, and financial performance management, and oversee the monthly financial close in partnership with key business teams and the Controllership function. This finance leader will develop long-range plans, annual budgets, and latest estimates while collaborating with stakeholders across levels and departments within the company. In addition, this role also entails standing up the treasury function and leading team member responsible for managing banking operations and stock administration and prepare cash flow forecasts partnering closely with the controllership function.

The Head of FP&A and Treasury will track performance and drive analyses for critical business and strategic issues in a fast-paced, nimble environment. Reporting to the CFO, the selected candidate will be an experienced, execution-focused FP&A professional who can inspire and lead a small team of direct reports while fostering strong communication with business partners. The hired candidate will possess a reputation for delivering outstanding financial support, especially in commercial finance, along with a track record of advancing financial systems and reporting infrastructures. In summary, this high-impact role represents a rare and fantastic opportunity to lead the FP&A and Treasury function for a dynamic business on the cusp of commercialization. It’s also the chance to play an integral part of an organization that is serving critical, unmet needs for patients, their families, and the medical professional community.

Principal Responsibilities

• Build FP&A function required to support organization transitioning to commercial phase and prepare for near term US commercial launch.
• Design, build and implement processes and systems to support commercial launch, including supply chain, gross-to-net modeling, sales forecasting, P&L and cash flow management.
• Partner with each of the executive leaders of the business as well as their teams to ensure financial considerations are incorporated in business decisions. Deliver insightful and timely management reporting at the function, executive, and corporate levels.
• Mentor and coach, a growing FP&A team on both the technical and soft skills to help them continue their professional development at the pace needed for a rapidly growing company.
• Manage team (full time and consulting support) responsible for managing banking operations and stock administration and scale the function as needed with growth in business, in partnership with controllership function.
• Design and lead the annual budget process and quarterly latest estimate updates.
• Support long-range planning efforts and translate resource requirements and revenue inputs into the company’s long-range plan.
• Build capabilities to gather and track business performance on a regular basis to enhance transparency and decision-making.
• Support business development with necessary financial analyses.
• Develop presentations that tell the story with conclusions and recommendations in concise formats for executive management and the Board.
• Design and measure key performance indicators (KPIs) to enable management to track results as well as progress against goals.
• Leverage an understanding of the business and financial outlook to guide the FP&A team through the completion of functional accruals during the monthly financial close.
• Hold responsibility for the company’s financial planning and management reporting system; partnering closely with accounting to maintain the consistency of key attributes and working with IT to manage system enhancements.
• Help lead other critical projects as needed.

Candidate Requirements

Undergraduate degree in finance, accounting, economics, or another relevant analytic field.

• 15+ years of financial, business, and strategic planning experience with increasing responsibilities.
• Ability to build strong partnerships with all levels of management, cross-functional business partners and with corporate functions.
• Experience leading commercial finance team in biotechnology / pharma domain.
• Experience building financial systems and process in a small biotech company environment. Familiarity with Netsuite and FP&A planning tools is preferred.
• Experience managing treasury and stock administration within a small biotech environment is a plus as this leader will be managing treasury and stock admin team member.
• Creative problem solver, strategic thought partner, analytical thinker, and quick learner; ability to work through ambiguity; quick study of new or complex concepts; relentlessly resourceful and diligent.
• Excellent leadership and management skills with ability to build a collaborative, high performing FP&A team and gain trust and support from cross functional peers and teams.
• Passion for using data to drive better decision making.
• Strong financial and business application skills including ERP, BI tools, CRM, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Office.
• Ability to translate complex technical and difficult-to-solve problems into understandable and consumable terms for top executives and the Board.
• In-depth knowledge of financial technology, payments and/or transaction processing business is preferred.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.
• MBA and/or CPA is a plus.

Candidates for this role must possess unquestioned character, as both ‘what’ and ‘how’ one delivers result are equally important. Key personal attributes we are looking for include...

• Energetic, resourceful, and hands on – with an execution-oriented mindset and dedicated to developing and delivering outstanding work.
• Strategic mindset – with strong analytical reasoning, creativity, conceptual ability, and judgment. He or she must be able to connect the dots, grasp issues quickly and anticipate risks/consequences for a diverse set of partners.
• Focused on continuous improvement – with ability to “roll up the sleeves,” and multi-task in a fast-paced, rapidly-evolving environment. He or she must be able to balance designing for the future while managing the present by problem-solving and balancing priorities across constituencies.
• Storyteller – who is exceptionally skilled in written and oral communications with ability to present views in a clear, succinct, and compelling manner to all levels and functions.
• Interpersonally skilled – Be a strategic thought partner to the leadership team. He or she must be collaborative, personable, and able to anticipate the perspectives of all partners and quickly engender people’s confidence.

The salary range estimated for this position based in Newark, California is $250,000 - $300,000. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc. CymaBay is a multi-state employer, and this salary range may not reflect positions that work outside of SF/Bay Area or in other states.