Strategic Finance Associate

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.

Location: Hybrid - 2 days a week in Jagex office (Cambridge)

Reports to: Director of Commercial Finance

Key Responsibilities

• Model Development & Maintenance

• 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 with the preparation of Board materials Data Analysis & Insights
• Maintain the on-going partnership with the Games and Data teams to reflect changes to assumptions and game roadmaps.
• Supporting creation of business cases to calculate and support ROI narrative

• 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. 
• Financial Forecasting & Reporting
• Work closely with product teams to translate Jagex position in the  games industry & beyond

• 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.
• Collaboration & Cross-Functional Work
• Partner 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 relating to prior employment in Big 4, Investment Banking, Consulting, other Corporate Finance or similar / equivalent   

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.

What we offer:

When you join Jagex you can look forward to a generous Perks & Benefits package including:

• Private Healthcare, including Dental Plan.
• Minimum 6% Pension contributions.
• Employee Assistance Programme & onsite Counselling.
• Life Insurance.
• Discretionary annual performance bonus.
• Enhanced family leave policies from day 1.
• Flexible working hours.
• 25 days annual leave + Bank holidays & the option to buy/sell holidays + so much more!

About Jagex: 

We are Jagex: The RuneScape Company- home to one of gaming’s most enduring success stories. We create deep, community-powered games with worlds that evolve, inspire, and endure. Our flagship MMORPG franchise, RuneScape has welcomed over 300 million player accounts, inspiring generations of players across PC and mobile for 25 years.

As we begin our 26th year, we are accelerating our strategy to expand RuneScape into a broader ecosystem of forever games and connected experiences, grounded in a renewed commitment to integrity and fair play. This includes the reduction of monetisation mechanics, as well as the launch of RuneScape: DragonWilds into Steam Early Access in 2025 representing a major step in building a multi-genre future for the RuneScape universe. We remain focused on building enduring worlds, empowering player-led innovation, and laying the foundations for the boldest era in RuneScape’s history. For more information, visit www.jagex.com.

Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, We are  home to passionate creators, storytellers, engineers, and even a few dreamers, all united by a single mission- to shape the future of online worlds and empower players to make them their own. We’re looking for people to join us who share our ambitions & values - We foster an inclusive workplace built on trust, autonomy, and a shared passion for creating experiences which inspire our communities. Our values guide everything we do: We Embrace Fellowship by collaborating and sharing openly. We Hone our Craft by always learning and improving; We Honour our Vows by being honest and transparent; We are our Customers’ Heroes by striving to understand our team & player needs, and We Seize The Day by making the most of every opportunity.

Join us. The next era of RuneScape - and the next chapter of Jagex: The RuneScape Company - starts now.

We are committed to providing equal opportunities and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, and we recruit, develop, and promote based on merit and ability.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you during the recruitment process, please let us know when you’re invited to interview.