Head of Finance - Operations

Holland & Barrett; Nuneaton; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days holidays

Private medical insurance

Annual health testing kit

Employee Assistance Programme

Employer pension contributions

Life assurance (3x salary)

Annual bonus up to 33%

Car allowance

Colleague product allowance

Discounts & wellbeing benefits

Job summary

Holland & Barrett is seeking a Head of Finance - UK&I and BNL Operations to act as senior Finance partner to the COO, CFO and Leaders across UK&I and BNL. You will lead four direct reports within a total team of 11, shaping a forward-looking Finance function and partnering across Stores, Digital, payroll, property, Distribution and Customer Contact Centre.

You’ll drive financial judgement, build models, and forecast with robust insight to support investment decisions, store estate shaping and

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with senior Finance leadership experience.
• Experience in Retail, FMCG, logistics or consumer-facing environments.
• Partner Executive-level leaders and challenge constructively when evidence points elsewhere.
• Able to move between strategy and detail in discussions about estate, payroll, or distribution.
• Skilled at building models and scenarios to clarify difficult choices.
• Proven track record in developing people and raising standards in Finance teams.
• Experience across multiple markets; exposure to Retail estate strategy, workforce optimisation, Distribution or Finance transformation is useful.

Responsibilities

• Partner directly with COO and senior leadership, bringing Finance into early decisions.
• Build a single view of performance across UK&I and BNL, linking channels, payroll, operating costs, occupancy and distribution.
• Forecast better by tying financial outcomes to drivers.
• Develop and present financial cases for major programmes (Right Range, Right Store, Estate Optimisation, Store Closures, productivity and network optimisation).
• Create robustModelling and scenarios for labour, investment, hours, estate changes and future shape.
• Turn complex financial and commercial issues into clear recommendations for the leadership team.
• Lead, develop and raise the bar for a team of senior Finance professionals.

Skills

Qualified accountant

Senior Finance leadership

Finance Business Partnering

Multi-market experience

Strategic thinking

People development

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent

Job description

Nuneaton | Full-time | Permanent | Hybrid

You’ll be based from our Nuneaton office working hybrid.

You’ll also typically spend 1–2 days a month in Amsterdam, working with colleagues across our markets.

Intro

Some Finance roles explain what happened: This one help decide what happens next. As Head of Finance - UK&I and BNL Operations, you’ll be the senior Finance partner to our Chief Operating Officer, with a view across Stores, Digital, payroll, property costs, Distribution and our Customer Contact Centre across UK&I and BNL.

It puts you close to some of the biggest decisions we make: Where should we invest? How should we deploy labour? And what should our store estate and distribution network look like longer term?

Your job is to bring the financial judgement, challenge and evidence that helps us make those decisions well - working directly with the COO, CFO and senior leaders across the business.

You’ll lead four direct reports with an overall team size of 11 and shape a Finance team that looks forward, not backwards.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Partner directly with the COO and senior leadership team, bringing Finance into decisions early rather than commenting on them afterwards.
• Build one clear view of performance across UK&I and BNL - connecting trading all channels, payroll, operating costs, occupancy, distribution and customer service.
• Get underneath what is driving performance and turn that insight into decisions, actions and measurable outcomes.
• Shape the financial case behind major strategic programmes including Right Range, Right Store, Estate Optimisation, Store Closures programme, distribution centre productivity efficiency and network optimisation.
• Put robust modelling around decisions on labour, investment, opening hours, estate changes and the future shape of the business.
• Improve forecasting by linking financial outcomes more closely to the drivers behind them.
• Turn complex financial and commercial issues into clear recommendations for the COO, CFO and Executive Leadership Team.
• Lead, develop and raise the bar for a team of senior Finance professionals.

What You’ll Bring

• You’ll be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with significant senior Finance leadership experience.
• You’ll have a sound understand the economics of a complex, multi-site business - ideally solid exposure in Retail, FMCG, logistics or another consumer-facing environments.
• You’ll have partnered Executive-level leaders before and know how to challenge constructively when the evidence points somewhere different.
• You’ll be comfortable moving between strategy and detail. One conversation might be about the long-term shape of the estate; the next about payroll productivity or distribution cost.
• You’ll know how to build models and scenarios that make difficult choices clearer.
• You’ll be able to take something complicated and turn it into a recommendation senior leaders can act on.
• And you’ll be an outstanding Finance leader with solid exposure in developing people, raising standards and creating the confidence to speak up. You understand and have outstanding experience in running and developing Finance Business Partnering teams.

It is a must that you have experience across multiple markets, retail estate strategy, workforce optimisation, Distribution or Finance transformation would be useful.

Benefits

Holidays

• 33 days, including bank holidays
• Holiday purchase scheme

Health & Wellbeing

• 24/7 Virtual GP access
• Private medical insurance - Self & partner cover
• Annual free at-home health testing kit (after 6 months' service)
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme and a network of Mental Health First Aiders whenever you need support

Financial Wellbeing

• Enhanced workplace pension via salary sacrifice, with employer contribution
• Life assurance (3x salary, after 6 months' service)

Reward

• Annual Bonus (subject to company and individual performance) up to 33%
• Car Allowance
• £50 Colleague product allowance on Holland & Barrett products (after 6 months' service)

Lifestyle & Everyday Benefits

• Access to cashback and discounts from a wide range of retailers
• 25% colleague discount, available in store and online, with free delivery on online orders
• Free Wellhub membership, with discounted access to gyms, studios and premium wellbeing apps
• Cycle to Work scheme

This is a role for someone who wants to be close to the decisions that matter.

Someone who can see the numbers, understand the operation behind them and bring a clear point of view on what should happen next.

About Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett exists to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone, adding quality years to life. We've been trusted for more than 150 years, but we're still changing - how we operate, how we use our estate, data and technology, and how we serve customers across channels and markets. That creates complexity. It also creates opportunity. And in this role, you'll have a genuine hand in shaping what comes next.

Inclusion & accessibility statement

We want Holland & Barrett to be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected and able to contribute. Different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives make better teams and better decisions. We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't match every point above. If you need any adjustments or additional support during the recruitment process, please let us know.