Principal Project Manager

We are seeking a driven and highly capable Project Manager to join Circle K’s Strategy and Transformation team, leading high-impact projects to transform the global Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) organization into a dynamic retail environment. As the Principal Project Manager, you will drive project scoping, planning, tracking, and communication to ensure alignment and progress as we transition to a new FP&A target operating model supported by an integrated Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform.

You will collaborate with global and regional (North America and Europe) FP&A teams, Data & Analytics, IT, HR, Operations, and other business partners to implement a new Enterprise Planning tool. The project aims to standardize planning, forecasting, and reporting processes, enable rolling forecasts and automated reporting, and strengthen enterprise-wide performance management and capital planning.

• Lead end-to-end FP&A transformation and EPM implementation, covering project identification, scoping, planning, execution, monitoring and closure, while keeping finance and business stakeholders aligned and informed.
• Develop and maintain project plans covering timelines, milestones, dependencies and task assignments, aligned with budgets, forecasts and reporting calendars to avoid disrupting planning cycles.
• Identify and monitor risks, particularly around data quality, model readiness and planning-cycle timelines, ensuring timely mitigation.
• Organize status meetings and prepare updates, RACI charts and communication plans to clarify roles, responsibilities and hand-offs across global, regional and functional FP&A teams.
• Prepare concise presentations and progress updates for finance leadership and steering committees to support timely, informed decisions.
• Support change management, training, readiness and adoption tracking to ensure successful implementation of new FP&A processes, standards and EPM tools.
• Track project budgets, expenses and resources, promptly reporting variances with clear explanations to maintain financial control.
• Monitor delivery through dashboards and reports, highlighting progress, risks, delays and areas requiring attention.
• Coordinate daily activities across FP&A, Finance Data Office, Data & Analytics, IT and external EPM implementation vendors, ensuring timely follow-ups and deliverables.
• Support post-project reviews by documenting lessons learned, updating templates and tracking success metrics, including planning-cycle time, reduced manual and Excel-based work, and user adoption.
• Coordinate EPM platform implementation and rollout (e.g., Anaplan), including requirements gathering, model development, data integration, user acceptance testing (UAT), cutover and hypercare, in collaboration with FP&A, Finance Data Office and IT.
• Translate FP&A requirements—including driver-based planning, rolling forecasts, headcount planning, CAPEX/OPEX integration, standardized KPIs and variance logic—into clear project scope, deliverables and acceptance criteria.

• Solid understanding of fundamental PM methods, such as Agile, Waterfall or others.
• Demonstrated skill to cultivate trusting and influential relationships with a broad set of different stakeholders, from finance analysts and our brilliant Store Managers, to FP&A and other Functional Groups, or Senior Executives, working with diverse working styles and objectives, leveraging clear communication, analytical insight, and adaptability for effective collaboration.
• Strong ability to communicate clearly, run effective meetings, and keep people aligned using standard governance tools (RACI, status reports, meeting notes).
• Ability to create simple, accurate status reports and dashboards that give the team actionable information quickly, and to understand how management reporting and performance packs are produced.
• Skill in spotting potential risks early, documenting them, and following through on agreed actions.
• Working understanding of core FP&A processes, including annual budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, variance analysis, management reporting and close timelines, and how they connect across global, regional and functional finance teams.
• Comfort with P&L, OPEX/CAPEX and headcount concepts, key retail performance drivers (e.g., sales, margin, cost-to-serve), and basic business case measures such as ROI and NPV.
• Understanding of how planning models, master data, integrations and reporting fit together on an EPM platform, and the importance of a single source of truth for finance data.
• Comfort using Excel and basic PM tools to monitor costs, resources, and timelines, and to explain variances against budget and forecast.
• Solid understanding of MS Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Anaplan or another EPM platform (e.g., Oracle EPM, OneStream, Workday Adaptive Planning, SAP Analytics Cloud) preferred; Jira, Smartsheet, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint would be a clear advantage.
• Fluent in English (both – oral and written) for communication with colleagues in Europe and North America
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, Project Management, or a related field
• 2–5 years of experience in project coordination and management, program support, internship, or other PM roles; experience in or supporting FP&A, finance transformation or EPM implementations experience will be considered as an advantage (retail, operations, or consulting experience is a bonus)
• Experience with Anaplan or another Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform preferred
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and communicate clearly with different teams
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and willingness to travel occasionally within North America

Nice to have

• CAPM, PMP, or entry-level Agile certification is a plus
• Anaplan certification (e.g., Certified Model Builder) experience will be considered as an advantage
• Very strong relevant PM, finance and/or retail experiences can in some cases substitute for some of the elements above

• Covered tariff plan for your mobile phone.
• Health insurance.
• Employee discounts in our stores.
• Global and fast-paced work environment.
• Positive atmosphere and great colleagues around you.
• Continuous personal and professional development driven by challenging goals.