Finance Manager - Distribution Rail and Third Party

Tesco PLC; Digswell; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail company in the United Kingdom is looking for a Finance Business Partner to drive operational and strategic outcomes within the rail network. Responsibilities include managing third-party transport operations, delivering data-driven insights, and leading financial planning processes. The ideal candidate will have strong analytical skills, experience in change management, and proficiency in Excel. This role is key to optimizing efficiency and sustainability across operations.

Qualifications

• Ability to engage and challenge senior stakeholders proactively.
• Strong leadership skills to drive outcomes through constructive challenge.
• Proven experience in financial analysis and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Manage commercial relationships with third-party transport operations.
• Deliver data-driven insights for commercial decisions during tenders.
• Lead budgeting and forecasting processes.

Skills

Analytical skills

Strategic thinking

Numeracy

Problem-solving

Change management

Education

Professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)

Tools

Excel

Job description

Overview

With nine daily trains from London to Scotland and ambitions to expand, plus ten Third-Party sites with upcoming retenders, this role is key to improving efficiency and sustainability. You'll build robust business cases to optimize the Rail network, reduce carbon footprint, and influence decisions that deliver operational excellence and strategic impact.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Head of Rail and Regional Transport Manager, providing additional support to the Transport Director to drive operational and strategic outcomes.
• Manage commercial relationships with third-party transport operations, ensuring alignment with business objectives and contractual obligations.
• Deliver data-driven insights to guide commercial decisions throughout the tender process, working collaboratively with Procurement and Operations teams.
• Lead budgeting and forecasting processes, maintaining integrity across the P&L and providing performance analysis, with regular presentations at weekly and periodic finance reviews to the Transport Director and UK Distribution Director.
• Foster collaboration with the Bengaluru team, building strong relationships that enable knowledge sharing and continuous improvement in reporting and support processes.
• Provide financial expertise to business teams for end-to-end planning, including investment committee papers and Save to Invest initiatives.
• Enhance KPI analysis tools, simplifying and improving reporting to support informed decision-making.

Qualifications

• Ability to proactively engage and challenge both finance and non-finance senior stakeholders
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to see both detail and the bigger picture
• Peer-to-peer leadership: building relationships and providing constructive challenge to drive the best outcomes
• Experienced in change management
• Highly numerate with strong problem-solving skills
• Proficient in Excel

Desirable

• Proven financial analysis experience
• Professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)