Sr Manager, Financial & Strategic Planning

Join the leader in collaborative licensing and help us advance inclusive and efficient new patent licensing approaches to drive innovation globally. Via Licensing Alliance is dedicated to accelerating global technology adoption, fostering participation, and generating return on innovation with balanced IP licensing solutions for innovators and manufacturers of all sizes around the globe. Via administers dozens of patent licensing programs in audio, video, broadcast, power, and more for a variety of technologies, consisting of 25,000 patents in over 130 countries, with nearly 100 current patent holders and over 3,000 current licensees.

Via Licensing Alliance, a subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, is an independently managed company owned by industry-leading participants with over 25 years of intellectual property licensing leadership. We are the world's largest patent pool administrator. We aggregate patents around key innovations and offer licensing solutions that give companies streamlined access to standardized technologies. For decades, we have served as a trusted bridge between our licensors and licensees, driving a strong and efficient IP licensing environment that yields better products and technologies for people around the world.

As Senior Manager, Financial & Strategic Planning, you will play a key role in strengthening Via’s financial planning, forecasting, business modeling, and strategic decision-support capabilities. This role will partner closely with Finance, Licensing, Business Development, Program Management, Legal, Royalty Services, and executive leadership to translate complex market, licensing, operational, and financial information into clear insights that support growth, resource allocation, and long-term business planning.

The ideal candidate will bring strong financial acumen, analytical rigor, business judgment, and the ability to build scalable planning tools and models in a complex, technology-driven licensing environment. This individual must be comfortable working with large data sets, developing assumptions-based forecasts, evaluating licensing economics, and preparing clear recommendations for senior leaders.

This is a highly cross-functional role that requires both strategic perspective and strong execution. The Senior Manager will help Via improve forecasting discipline, evaluate new and existing licensing programs, develop financial models for strategic initiatives, and create consistent analytical frameworks that support informed decision-making across the organization.  This hybrid role is based in San Francisco and requires in-office presence three days per week, Tuesday through Thursday.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and enhance financial models for existing and prospective licensing programs, including revenue, royalty, participation, distribution, cost, margin, and profitability forecasts.

• Lead and support annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, and long-range strategic planning processes, translating business objectives into measurable financial and operating plans.

• Build market-sizing and revenue models incorporating technology adoption, unit volumes, pricing, royalty structures, penetration rates, program participation, and other key commercial assumptions.

• Conduct scenario, sensitivity, and risk analyses to support new program development, commercial negotiations, licensing strategy, strategic initiatives, and executive decision-making.

• Evaluate alternative royalty structures, licensing models, pricing approaches, and commercial terms, and quantify their financial impact on Via and participating stakeholders.

• Partner with Finance, Licensing, Business Development, Program Management, Legal, Royalty Services, and technical teams to evaluate new opportunities and develop investment and business cases.

• Track actual performance against forecasts, analyze material variances, and identify the underlying business, market, operational, or licensing drivers behind performance trends.

• Develop dashboards, KPIs, and recurring reporting tools to monitor program performance, pipeline development, licensee penetration, revenue growth, cost trends, and other strategic priorities.

• Analyze industry, technology, competitive, customer, and macroeconomic trends that could affect licensing revenues, royalty flows, program economics, or long-term strategic plans.

• Prepare executive and board-level presentations, financial analyses, strategic insights, and recommendations that clearly communicate business performance, opportunities, risks, and tradeoffs.

• Develop frameworks for prioritizing new initiatives based on expected financial return, strategic importance, execution risk, market opportunity, resource requirements, and organizational capacity.

• Improve forecasting methodologies and establish consistent assumptions, data inputs, analytical standards, and review processes across business cases and planning cycles.

• Support cross-functional decision-making by translating complex financial, licensing, and market information into concise, actionable insights for senior management.

• Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, reporting tools, data quality, automation, and analytical capabilities to support scale and operational efficiency.

• Serve as a trusted analytical partner to business leaders by providing thoughtful financial guidance, proactive insights, and practical recommendations that support Via’s growth strategy.

Qualifications and Skills

• 8+ years of progressive experience in financial planning and analysis, strategic finance, corporate finance, business planning, licensing economics, consulting, investment analysis, or a related field.

• Strong financial modeling skills, including experience building revenue forecasts, scenario analyses, sensitivity models, business cases, valuation analyses, or long-range planning models.

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex financial, operational, market, and commercial information into clear insights and actionable recommendations for senior leaders.

• Experience supporting annual planning, budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, KPI reporting, or strategic planning processes in a complex business environment.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work with large or imperfect data sets, develop sound assumptions, and clearly explain key drivers and tradeoffs.

• Excellent business judgment and strategic thinking, with the ability to connect financial analysis to broader company priorities, market opportunities, and operational realities.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including the ability to prepare executive-ready materials and explain complex financial concepts to both finance and non-finance audiences.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across Finance, Licensing, Business Development, Program Management, Legal, Royalty Services, and executive leadership.

• High degree of ownership, initiative, intellectual curiosity, attention to detail, and accountability, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Advanced proficiency in Excel or similar financial modeling tools; experience with Power BI, Tableau, Salesforce, CRM data, ERP systems, planning tools, or other business intelligence platforms is a plus.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, Data Analytics, or a related field required; MBA, CPA, CFA, or other advanced degree or financial certification is preferred.

• Experience in intellectual property, patent licensing, technology, media, software, semiconductors, telecommunications, professional services, or another data-intensive business environment is preferred.

Benefits & Perks

• Flexible work options (9/80 schedule) – employees in the U.S. get every other Friday off.  That’s 26+ three day weekends a year
• Competitive compensation (base + bonus)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contribution
• 401(k) with 50% company match on the first 6% of eligible pay you contribute on a pre-tax or Roth basis
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Generous holiday, vacation and sick leave
• Supportive maternity, child bonding, and family care leave programs as well as short and long-term disability benefits
• Programs and resources to support your physical, financial and social well being
• Social activities including team events and onsites, all-company updates and retreat
• Catered weekly lunch + snacks and drinks when working in the office
• Temporary remote work option for qualified positions – employees can temporarily work remote from a location that is different from their designated office and home locations for up to 30 calendar days/20 workdays in any 12-month period with manager and company approval
• Tuition Reimbursement Program

The San Francisco/Bay Area base salary range for this full-time position is $153,000 - $210,000 and can vary if outside of this location. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, competencies, experience, market demands, internal parity, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range and perks and benefits for your location during the hiring process.

Via will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of San Francisco Police Code, Article 49, and Administrative Code, Article 12 

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Via is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Our success depends on the combined skills and talents of all our employees. We are committed to making employment decisions without regard to race, religious creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, marital status, family status, medical condition, disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.