Strategic Finance Analyst

Jagex Ltd; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading gaming company in Cambridge seeks a Finance Associate to support the commercial finance team. The successful candidate will design and maintain an Excel-based model to analyze player behavior, particularly focusing on churn and retention. Key skills include strong Excel abilities, analytical acumen, and experience in finance. A degree in Finance or a related field is required. This is an on-site position.

Qualifications

• Strong Excel skills including advanced formulas and data modeling.
• Proven ability to build financial or analytical models.
• Experience in cohort analysis or customer lifetime value metrics.

Responsibilities

• Design and build a dynamic Excel model for player churn forecasting.
• Support preparation of board materials and data analysis.
• Translate complex analytical outputs into actionable insights.

Skills

Strong Excel skills

Analytical skills

Cohort analysis

Communication skills

Education

Degree in Finance or related field

Tools

SQL

Power BI

Job description

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly analytical and detail‑oriented strategic Finance Associate to support the commercial finance team in understanding and forecasting player behaviour, with a particular focus on player churn and retention. The successful candidate will design, build, and maintain a robust Excel‑based cohort model that quantifies churn dynamics, supports financial forecasting, and helps guide strategic decisions around player lifetime value, marketing ROI and retention initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build a dynamic Excel model to track and forecast player churn by cohort, incorporating key behavioural and financial metrics (e.g. acquisition date, spend, activity, retention curves).
• Maintain and update the model regularly with new data from finance and data analytics teams.
• Ensure the model is transparent, auditable, and scalable for future business needs.
• Support the preparation of board materials and provide data analysis and insights.
• Partner with the Games and Data teams to reflect changes to assumptions and game roadmaps.
• Support creation of business cases and calculate and support ROI narratives.
• Analyse player lifecycle data to identify churn drivers, retention trends, and revenue impacts.
• Segment players into cohorts (e.g. by acquisition channel, geography, game title or spend level).
• Work closely with marketing and product teams to quantify the impact of retention campaigns or game changes.
• Integrate churn assumptions into revenue and cash‑flow forecasts.
• Support budgeting and scenario modelling by providing insight into expected churn rates and lifetime values.
• Prepare and present findings to finance leadership and key stakeholders across the business.
• Collaborate with Data, Marketing, and Product teams to align definitions and data inputs.
• Collaborate with BI and data engineers to automate model inputs over time (e.g. via SQL or Power Query).
• Translate complex analytical outputs into clear, actionable insights for non‑technical stakeholders.

Requirements

Key Skills & Experience

Essential:

• Strong Excel skills, including advanced formulas, data modelling, Power Query, and data visualisation (PivotTables, charts).
• Experience building financial or analytical models from scratch.
• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills with a keen attention to detail.
• Strong understanding of cohort analysis, churn modelling, or customer lifetime value (LTV) metrics.
• Ability to communicate insights clearly to senior non‑technical audiences.
• Relevant degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or related field.
• Experience in Big 4, Investment Banking, Consulting, Corporate Finance, or similar roles.

Desirable:

• Experience in gaming, entertainment, or subscription‑based businesses.
• Familiarity with SQL or data extraction from BI tools (e.g. Looker, Tableau, Power BI).
• Exposure to Python, R, or other statistical tools for churn or retention modelling.
• Understanding of digital marketing metrics and player acquisition funnels.

Personal Attributes

• Curious and data‑driven with a proactive approach to problem solving.
• Comfortable managing large, complex datasets.
• Strong business acumen – able to link data insights to financial performance.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Passion for gaming and understanding player behaviour.