Job Description

General duties include:

• business partner with the heads of category to make sure they deliver according to sales and margin plans
• analyse weekly and periodic performance data and provide high quality and impactful analysis and insight to help the trading team to make smarter, profit-maximising decisions
• support the delivery of key change projects around price optimisation, range rationalisation and category profitability
• support the implementation of a new cost-to-serve tool and using profit by store keeping unit (SKU) information to drive value-adding decisions
• support category planning and forecasting processes
• manage category risks and opportunities
• make sure that our ways of working are aligned to one buyer model principles
• build meaningful relationships and work closely with senior leaders and colleagues across finance, commercial and the wider business
• voice your opinion - and be prepared to influence and challenge when necessary and motivate the wider commercial finance team to develop and engage their own capability

The person

The successful applicant will be a qualified accountant (ACA or ACCA or CIMA) who comes from a similar commercial finance or business partnering background ideally within the retail, wholesale, multisite, leisure or FMCG industry.

The role requires an ambitious and proactive individual who enjoys applying a strong commercial focus, with the ability to understand business strategy, identify and interpret financial trends yet have the ability to simplify complex information. You will enjoy building robust and productive relationships, providing support and challenge across all functions and liaising with senior management.

You will have strong business partnering, driving and delivering efficiencies, stakeholder management, communication and presentation skills and in particular the ability to engage with and influence with senior leaders on a strategic level. Focussed on delivering specific objectives, you will be proactive, dynamic and self-motivated with a desire to find and deliver improvements. In addition you will have the ability to work independently and together with other personnel both finance and non-finance.

You will have experience designing, building and maintaining complex financial models - advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, macros and advanced formulas and functions) and a solid understanding of BI systems, able to interpret data and draw conclusions would be ideal. Some knowledge of Access would be highly beneficial too, but not essential

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful applicant will be a qualified accountant (ACA or ACCA or CIMA) who comes from a similar commercial finance or business partnering background ideally within the retail, wholesale, multisite, leisure or FMCG industry. The role requires an ambitious and proactive individual who enjoys applying a strong commercial focus, with the ability to understand business strategy, identify and interpret financial trends yet have the ability to simplify complex information. You will enjoy building robust and productive relationships, providing support and challenge across all functions and liaising with senior management. You will have strong business partnering, driving and delivering efficiencies, stakeholder management, communication and presentation skills and in particular the ability to engage with and influence with senior leaders on a strategic level. Focussed on delivering specific objectives, you will be proactive, dynamic and self-motivated with a desire to find and deliver improvements. In addition you will have the ability to work independently and together with other personnel both finance and non-finance. You will have experience designing, building and maintaining complex financial models - advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, macros and advanced formulas and functions) and a solid understanding of BI systems, able to interpret data and draw conclusions would be ideal. Some knowledge of Access would be highly beneficial too, but not essential