Technical Planning Analytics Analyst (Contract)

At Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), we are committed to redefining the future of Finance through innovation, transformation, and operational excellence.

This role sits within SIE’s Finance Transformation Office (FTO) and supports PARIS, a business-critical IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) platform used across the SBG Finance planning process. The Business Analyst will help ensure the platform is reliable, available, and appropriately configured throughout budget and forecast cycles.

Working across Finance and technical teams, this role will support users, troubleshoot system and data issues, contribute to requirements and testing, and help drive improvements in planning processes, automation, and data flows. The ideal candidate brings a strong understanding of FP&A and financial planning systems, with TM1 experience preferred and other enterprise planning platforms also considered.

Role & Responsibilities

• Provide support to users of the IBM Planning Analytics finance planning tool throughout the planning cycle, including annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting. Responsibilities include:

• Application administration
• New user setup
• Support for reports created using Planning Analytics for Excel
• Resolution of ad-hoc user queries
• Maintenance of system documentation
• Delivery of end-user training

Partner with FP&A and technical teams to identify and implement system improvements within IBM Planning Analytics in alignment with the departmental roadmap.

Work alongside the development team on key workstreams, including:

• Requirements gathering
• Test case preparation
• Unit testing
• Documentation
• Training and user handover
• Delivery of system upgrades and enhancements

Project manage and deliver system upgrades and improvements based on change requests, including testing code updates and roadmap changes as required.

Understand data flows and identify opportunities to make them more dependable and repeatable while strengthening integrations with other enterprise tools.

Continually improve reporting and analysis processes by automating or simplifying self-service support for customers.

Challenge the status quo and identify process improvement opportunities that drive innovation.

Perform other system-oriented duties as required by business needs.

• Strong understanding of finance principles, with previous experience supporting financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes and working with finance analysts.
• Ability to interact effectively with users at all levels of seniority and manage stakeholder expectations across the organization.

• 4+ years of IBM Planning Analytics development experience (v2.0 or higher), including knowledge of:

• Server installation and system configuration
• Cube and application design
• Planning Analytics TI and Chores
• Rules and Feeders
• Planning Analytics Security, including Element Security
• MDX and SQL
• Planning Analytics REST API, preferably through Cubewise Canvas

Hands-on experience with:

• Python
• TM1Py
• HTML
• JavaScript

Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills.

Proficiency with Microsoft Excel. Preferred Skills

• Exposure to master data management solutions.
• Experience with Cognos BI integration.
• Knowledge of Lean/Six Sigma process improvement methodologies.
• Educational or professional background in Computer Science, Finance, Economics, Statistics, or a related field.
• Desire to continue developing technical knowledge and skill sets.

Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play - it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. As a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, we’re part of a proud legacy of innovation and excellence. SIE is a dynamic technology company, delivering cutting-edge hardware and network services to more than 100 million people and an entertainment leader, home to some of the most beloved and recognizable intellectual properties (IP) in the world. Our role at SIE is to create and nurture the experiences under the PlayStation brand, a name synonymous with entertainment excellence and creativity., Sony Interactive Entertainment pushes the boundaries of entertainment and innovation, starting from the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. Today, we continue to deliver innovative and thrilling experiences to a global audience through our PlayStation line of products and services that include generation-defining hardware, pioneering network services, and award-winning games. Continue reading