Role Summary: Reporting to the Business Partner (Store Operations), the successful candidate will be responsible for providing analytical and strategic decision support to the Store Operations and Central Operations teams. Key internal customers will include: Stores Director Director of Central Operations Store Area Managers This commercial role will suit a highly analytical finance professional who can turn data into insight and make well-considered recommendations in a fast paced and ever-changing environment. Developing enduring relationships through effective and open communication will allow the candidate to influence decisions and support the profitable growth of the retail business. Candidates will have an excellent financial grounding and demonstrable commercial awareness. Experience gained in a fast moving retail environment is preferable. What You'll Do:
• Support Store Operations senior management team to deliver their financial and operational targets through planning, monitoring, analysing and forecasting
• Provide insight and support the key decision making across the Store Operations team
• Support the businesses understanding of performance drivers
• Responsibility for developing, implementing and managing a cost control framework for all Store Operations cost lines, including supporting store profitability
• Lead the budgeting/forecasting processes for store operating cost lines ensuring numbers are jointly owned by the Store Operations senior management team. Ensure targets are communicated, understood and reviewed frequently
• Review and control store operating costs on a regular basis highlighting issues and agreeing actions with store operational teams
• Act as a catalyst for change and deliver process improvement across the Store Operations budgeting/forecast and reporting process
• Analyse and interpret weekly and monthly store cost performance, highlighting and understanding issues and opportunities with appropriate recommendations. Provide insight to Store Operations senior management on a range of pertinent issues
• Cost Centre management and month-end review
• Support weekly store reporting and ad-hoc analysis Qualifications Essential Skills
• Proven commercial awareness with a strong technical grounding and a process-improvement mind-set
• You will be self-motivated, resilient and able to demonstrate initiative
• Highly customer focused with excellent interpersonal skills
• Experience of budgeting and forecasting
• Proven analytical capability and experience of developing insightful MI
• A strong and self-aware communicator with ability to influence others
• Advanced Excel skills
• Retail work experience in a fast-paced environment (desirable)
• ACA/ ACCA/ CIMA qualified (desirable)
• Competent in the use of Finance Systems including SAP, BW and BO (desirable)
• Understands the needs of internal customers and supports their decision-making with relevant insight (not just numbers) and commercial/ functional awareness
• Consistently identifies opportunities to improve support to internal customer base, with over-arching goal of enhancing external customer proposition
• Committed to building and maintaining strong working relationships both within and outside of the Commercial Finance team
• Conveys messages with credibility and confidence. Influences decisions with key stakeholders and supports their strategic agenda in the wider business
• Builds a strong network of contacts throughout the business
• Provides relevant, timely and user-friendly insight to support decision-making
• Challenges decision-making processes based on commercial awareness and robust information
• Mitigates risk through establishing ownership of numbers via appropriate targets and KPIs
• Communicates performance frequently and openly offering recommendations to improve
• Optimises net profitability through full cost consideration Behaviours We Like:
• I think Customer & Team
• I am open and honest
• I am not afraid to challenge or say no
• I provide insight, not just numbers
• I take responsibility for my own development
• I take part and have fun at work
• I demonstrate accountability for my areas