Financial Analyst - Investor Relations

SM Energy is seeking a highly analytical, motivated and intellectually curious Financial Analyst to join the Investor Relations & Finance team. This is a hands-on analytical role for an individual who enjoys solving complex problems, working with financial and operating data, and translating analysis into clear conclusions for senior management, the Board of Directors and the investment community. The position sits at the intersection of corporate finance, operations, strategy and the capital markets and will have direct exposure to senior leadership as well as investors and sell-side research analysts. The successful candidate will be a strong independent thinker and executor who can take an analytical question from initial concept through research, financial analysis and final presentation. This individual will support competitive benchmarking and valuation analysis, earnings and consensus analysis, operating and guidance assessment, investor and Board materials, and other strategic finance initiatives. ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES: Financial Analysis, Valuation & Competitive Benchmarking • Perform detailed financial, operating and valuation analysis of SM Energy and its peer group. • Maintain and enhance comparative-company analyses, including trading multiples, free cash flow yields, leverage, returns, capital efficiency, operating performance and other relevant financial and operating metrics. • Evaluate relative valuation and identify key drivers of differences in market performance and investor expectations. • Conduct independent research on peers, industry trends, commodity markets, capital allocation, transactions and other topics relevant to SM Energy's strategy and valuation. • Support scenario analysis and other strategic finance projects for senior management. Earnings, Consensus & Sell-Side Analysis • Review and analyze sell-side financial models in detail, including production, pricing, operating costs, capital expenditures, cash flow, earnings and balance-sheet assumptions. • Maintain and analyze consensus expectations and identify meaningful variances among analyst estimates and versus company expectations. • Investigate the assumptions underlying changes in analyst estimates and help identify emerging areas of investor concern or opportunity. • Assist in preparing management for quarterly earnings calls, analyst discussions and investor meetings. • Develop analyses that connect operating and financial performance with external expectations and valuation. Operations Planning & Guidance • Partner closely with Operations Planning and asset teams to understand operating performance, production trends, capital activity, timing and other drivers of company results. • Assist in translating operating plans and performance into financial expectations, company guidance and external messaging. • Analyze actual and forecast performance against company guidance, internal plans and external expectations. • Identify potential risks and opportunities to guidance and assist in developing the supporting analysis for senior management. • Build a strong working understanding of the operational drivers behind SM Energy's financial results. Financial Reporting & Accounting Support • Partner with Financial Reporting, Treasury and other Accounting/Finance functions to support quarterly earnings and external financial communications. • Conduct financial and accounting diligence necessary to support investor materials, earnings analysis and management decision-making. • Assist with reviewing and validating non-GAAP financial measures, reconciliations and supporting schedules. • Trace financial information to underlying source data and investigate discrepancies or unusual trends. • Develop sufficient financial-statement and accounting fluency to independently research and resolve financial questions in coordination with subject-matter experts. Executive, Board & Investor Materials • Develop high-quality analytical materials for senior management and the Board of Directors. • Create financial and strategic content for investor presentations, quarterly earnings materials and other external communications. • Translate complex financial, operating and market information into clear, concise and decision-useful presentations. • Own analysis and content development from initial data collection through final presentation rather than serving solely as a presentation-formatting resource. • Support ad hoc strategic projects and analyses for the Vice President of Investor Relations and senior Finance leadership. Investor Relations & Capital Markets • Support interactions with institutional investors and sell-side research analysts. • Research investors, analysts and market developments and identify relevant themes for management. • Assist in responding to investor and analyst information requests and conducting follow-up analysis. • Participate in investor conferences, non-deal roadshows and other investor-relations activities, with periodic travel required. • Other duties as assigned QUALIFICATIONS: • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business or a related analytical discipline. • Strong financial modeling, valuation and financial-statement analysis skills. • Demonstrated ability to independently research and analyze complex financial or business questions. • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. • Strong attention to detail with the ability to produce accurate, high-quality work under tight deadlines. • Ability to synthesize large amounts of information and identify the issues most relevant to management and investors. • Strong written and verbal communication skills. • Intellectual curiosity and demonstrated interest in capital markets, corporate finance and the energy industry. • High degree of initiative, ownership and personal accountability. • Ability and willingness to work across organizational boundaries, including with Operations, Accounting, Financial Reporting, Finance, Treasury and executive leadership. • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with limited supervision. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: • Experience in investment banking, equity research, corporate development, strategic finance, FP&A, transaction advisory or another analytically rigorous finance environment. • Experience in or demonstrated knowledge of the energy industry, particularly upstream oil and gas. • Experience with Bloomberg, FactSet, S&P Capital IQ or comparable financial-data and market-information platforms. • Experience analyzing public-company financial statements, earnings materials and financial models. • Familiarity with corporate valuation methodologies, including trading comparables, precedent transactions, discounted cash flow and other financial analyses. • Experience developing executive-level or Board-level presentation materials. • Demonstrated proficiency using artificial intelligence and other emerging analytical tools to improve the speed and quality of research, analysis and presentation development while maintaining appropriate data-security and confidentiality standards. CHARACTERISTICS FOR SUCCESS The strongest candidate will be someone who: • Is a **doer** who enjoys building the analysis rather than simply reviewing the work of others. • Takes ownership of loosely defined problems and independently drives them toward an answer. • Is comfortable moving between financial statements, operating data, valuation analysis and presentation development. • Naturally asks “why” and digs beneath reported numbers to understand the underlying business drivers. • Can distinguish between interesting information and information that is material to a decision. • Works with urgency without sacrificing accuracy. • Is comfortable asking questions and seeking expertise while remaining accountable for the final work product. • Has the judgment and professionalism to in