Commercial Finance Manager

Clarks; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A heritage footwear brand is looking for a Finance Business Partner to support retail growth across UK & Europe. The role requires strong analytical skills, experience in budgeting, and a proven ability to develop Power BI reports. If you have a professional accounting qualification and retail finance experience, we want to meet you. Enjoy a hybrid work model while advancing your career in a globally known brand.

Benefits

Career progression

Training opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in commercial finance roles with operational experience.
• Experience working in retail or consumer goods industry preferred.
• Extensive analytical skills with complex data.

Responsibilities

• Deliver annual forecasting and budgeting processes.
• Introduce new Power BI reporting and improve automation.
• Support new business cases focusing on profitability.

Skills

Power BI

Business partnering

Financial analysis

Forecasting

Budgeting

Education

Professional accounting qualification (CPA, ACA, ACCA, ACMA)

Job description

Overview

This role offers a hybrid schedule. Candidates must be able to come into our HQ office located at 40 High Street, Street, Somerset, BA16 0EQ at least 1 day per week.

About the role

Finance Business Partner for UK & Europe Trade supporting all channel heads but specifically Head of Merchandising. Develop greater transparency to enable the Retail, Outlet & Ecommerce channels to deliver profitable growth. Responsible for understanding the regions pricing structure and commercial strategy. Finance owner for forecasting, budgeting, strategic planning, and financial reviews as well as ad hoc analytical support. Strong IT skills are required to help us adopt and develop Power BI reporting in SAP.

What you'll do

• Deliver annual forecasting and budgeting processes, with great focus on NTO, GM and pairs. Fully engage Leadership teams in developing these plans to ensure understanding of performance against financial plans and targets.
• Introduce new Power BI reporting and improve automation and adoption.
• Deliver complete performance visibility across all aspects including Footfall and Conversion performance along with driving trading activity.
• Support on Business Cases for stores openings, closures and transfers with great focus on profitability analysis.
• Look at product sell-through and inventory management to help mitigate aged inventory.
• Partner with various key stakeholders across the business to ensure the robustness of the forecasting and variance analysis.
• Provide feedback and challenge performance and delivery on a regular basis across multiple aspects of output, both in financial and operational metrics to influence leaders and provide expert view of position.
• Provide ad hoc analysis and financial vision to deliver value add commercial acumen that makes a difference in the performance of the business.
• Review, develop and improve Finance and Reporting processes to create efficiency and reduce non-essential workload.
• Key support to the Head of Commercial Finance.

What you'll bring

• Professionally qualified accountant either CPA (US qualification) ACA (Chartered), ACCA (Certified) or ACMA (Management) and with relevant commercial finance experience gained in operational roles during that period.
• Experience with Power BI.
• Experience working in a retail or consumer goods business preferable. Good understanding of the challenges, dynamics and external factors impacting trading.
• Highly effective at business partnering and operating credibly at senior management level.
• In depth knowledge and experience of planning, budget and forecasting processes.
• Extensive analytical experience, ability to take large amounts of complex data and quickly identify key issues and drivers.
• Ability to provide financial information to high level stakeholders and proactively manage meetings.
• Must have experience in building financial business cases, identifying key assumptions and working across business stakeholders.

Why join us?

At Clarks, you'll be part of a brand with heritage, craftsmanship, and style at its core. We offer great training, career progression, and the chance to make your mark in a global business.

About Clarks

Two brothers, a small town, and shoes that changed the world. Based in Somerset, England, Clarks has redefined shoemaking since its foundation in 1825, when James and Cyrus Clark made a slipper from sheepskin off-cuts and forever transformed the future of footwear.

Sparking revolutions and defining generations, our archive of over 25,000 shoes includes the inimitable Clarks Desert Boot and Clarks Wallabee. And every pair we design today uses the same ground-breaking combination of invention and craftsmanship that started it all.

Progress is woven into our DNA. Whether we're pioneering cutting-edge comfort technologies, championing social change, or working on trailblazing collaborations with cultural icons and KOLs, we're always striding forward.

Join us in 2025 as we celebrate 200 years of giving people the freedom to move comfortably, proudly commemorating our legacy of craft, innovation, and impact - and looking boldly ahead, too.

This document describes the general nature and level of work only. It is not designed to cover an exhaustive list of all skills, activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Other activities, duties, and responsibilities may be added at any time. This description may be changed at the company's discretion at any time, with or without notice.