Finance Manager - Buying & Merchandising

Finance Manager - Buying & Merchandising

A bit about the role

Responsibilities

1. Lead the provision of high-quality commercial support for sales, margin, and stock across all trading divisions, presenting information concisely to drive clear, tangible actions.
2. Act as a business partner to the Buying and Merchandising teams.
3. Prepare weekly and monthly trade commentary, including analysis of key trading events, for distribution to the wider business and executive team.
4. Support sales and margin budgeting and forecasting by creating summary views to highlight expected outcomes, aligning detailed outputs with business expectations.
5. Undertake profitability analysis to evaluate proposals for new brands or conversions, aiming to maximize profitability and density contributions.
6. Review and challenge requests for new departments, ensuring commercial terms align with business strategy.
7. Regularly review and update freight and duty rates for suppliers to ensure accurate delivery cost estimates.
8. Support savings initiatives via the Stock Productivity workstream, producing business cases and tracking benefits.
9. Develop reporting for Continuity Stocks, monitor out-of-stock levels, and identify slow-moving lines for performance improvement.
10. Proactively identify and communicate risks and opportunities in sales, margin, and stock to senior management, modeling their impact on profitability.
11. Ensure timely and accurate balance sheet production with monthly reviews and signoff.
12. Participate in ad hoc projects, providing financial analysis and decision-making support.
13. Manage and develop two Finance Analysts.

General Responsibilities

1. Represent the finance community in line with Selfridges values and integrate into team practices.
2. Support the delivery of Selfridges Strategy and initiatives.
3. Contribute to the creation and implementation of the Finance People Plan.

A bit about you

Experience

• Experience supporting sales, stock, and margin functions.
• Experience managing a team.
• Previous roles across various finance areas.
• Strong business knowledge, preferably in retail or FMCG.

Technical Skills

• Qualified - CIMA/ACCA/ACA or international equivalent.

Personal Attributes/Behavioral Skills

• Accountable for personal development and coaching team members.
• Ability to understand and communicate financial and non-financial business implications.
• Work well under pressure, managing diverse workloads to meet deadlines.
• Effective in stakeholder engagement.
• Strong planning, prioritization, and communication skills.
• Analytical with excellent Excel modeling skills and attention to detail.
• Proactive in driving initiatives and improving procedures.
• Highly organized, efficient, and commercially aware.
• Excellent verbal and written presentation skills adaptable to different audiences.
• Flexible, open to change, and proactive.