Sr. Analyst, Portfolio Strategy

job purpose:

The Portfolio Strategy Senior Analyst will be staffed on workstreams with high leadership exposure and value-add to the organization. This role will support mid-to-long term strategic initiatives that help guide executive leadership's decision-making processes at the fairlife enterprise level, including macro trend analysis, market intelligence, and demand forecasting /projections. We are seeking an ambitious candidate with strong analytical and critical thinking skills, inclusive of excel modeling, storytelling with data, and developing insights-led recommendations.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate big picture thinking and a general manager mindset. They should have a high degree of intellectual curiosity, strong attention to detail, and openness and excitement for new projects. They should be able to conduct deep analyses, synthesize key learnings, and craft a polished presentation for leadership. This position is perfect for those who are early in their career and seeking exposure to a variety of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) business functions.

responsibilities:

1. Support strategic projects with forward looking insights and actionable next steps
   
   
   
   • Gather, analyze, and synthesize multiple data sources to identify & project macro trends, competitive activities/performance, and consumer preferences.
   • Assist in preparing market/enterprise reports, including macroeconomic monitoring, retailer and competitor results and strategic initiatives, brand performance, and ad hoc leadership requests.
   
   
   
   
2. Own the development and validation of large forecasting models
   
   
   
   • Build, pressure test, and update models that forecast business outcomes such as category growth projections, innovation launches, market share potential, mid-range enterprise plans, and long-range financial plans.
   • Translate large datasets into flexible scenarios, demonstrating critical thinking/logic surrounding specific business questions while leveraging excel best practices (advanced formulas, sanitized data, clean & labeled workbooks).
   
   
   
   
3. Assist in cross-functional collaboration and workshopping needs
   
   
   
   • Work closely with finance, brand, demand planning and other cross-functional teams on a project basis to gain alignment.
   • Present regularly to senior leadership, with the ability to tailor data/messaging to specific audiences and a desire to further develop public speaking presence & skills.
   
   
   
   
4. Craft thought leadership and build strategic point of view on emerging topics, such as GLP-1s, wearable health technologies, M&A activity, etc.
   
   
   
   • Share key findings and implications informally and formally across the organization (e.g. Expo West recap at an all hands meeting, market update posting to internal chatboard).
   
   
   
   

skills/qualifications required:

• 2-4 years of experience in the CPG industry or in a related analytical field.
• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, mathematics, economics, statistics, computer science, or a related field.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
• Experience in Excel, PPT (prefer advanced levels e.g., can write excel formulas, visualize datasets through formatting and charting, build and navigate models, run regressions/correlations).
• Experience in POS (Nielsen/IRI) or Consumer Panel (Numerator) data strongly preferred.
• Ability to handle ambiguity and work in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment.

position location:Chicago, IL
reports to: Director, Portfolio Strategy
travel requirements: <10%