Principal Project Manager

Job Description

We are growing! Come, grow with us! 

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.

Principal Project Manager

Type of Employment: Temporary position for 1 year

Location: Riga, Latvia 

Visa requirements: A valid work permit from the EU/EEA (relocation assistance is not provided)

Key Responsibilities:

• 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.

Required Functional Capabilities:

• Project Management Fundamentals: Solid understanding of fundamental PM methods, such as Agile, Waterfall or others.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: 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.

• Meeting Facilitation: Strong ability to communicate clearly, run effective meetings, and keep people aligned using standard governance tools (RACI, status reports, meeting notes).

• Relentlessly Drive Progress: Through ingrained habits, the ideal candidate will follow up on issues, mitigate risks, and drive project teams to ensure timely delivery. You are proactive and take ownership for delivery.

• Reporting & Insights: 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.
• Risk & Quality: Skill in spotting potential risks early, documenting them, and following through on agreed actions.
• FP&A Process Knowledge: 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.
• Financial Acumen: 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.
• EPM & Finance Data Awareness: 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.
• Budget & Resource Tracking: Comfort using Excel and basic PM tools to monitor costs, resources, and timelines, and to explain variances against budget and forecast.

• Tools Proficiency: 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.

What we expect:

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

What you can expect at Circle K:

• For 6 years in a row, Circle K Business Centre has been awarded 1st place in the “CV - Online TOP Employer” International Business Services category.
• Monthly salary starting from: 3800 EUR gross.
• 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.

Interested? 

We encourage you to apply by November 6, 2026. 

We know great companies are built from within by great people like you. Come grow with us! 

Circle K Business Centre SIA 
Nr: LV40103511774 
Duntes iela 6, Rīga, Latvija LV-1013