Lead Financial Analyst

Co-op; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Lead Financial Analyst for a 12-month fixed-term contract in Manchester. This hybrid role involves supporting project investment appraisals, managing investment proposals, and improving financial processes. Ideal for candidates with accountancy qualifications and strong analytical skills.

Benefits

30% off Co-op branded products

Annual incentive scheme

28 days holiday, increasing with service

Pension with up to 10% employer contributions

Subsidised onsite gym access

Coaching and career development training

Wagestream - access to earned pay

Grocery Aid for support services

Qualifications

• Accountancy qualification or equivalent experience.
• Experience working in a finance team.
• Strong analytical and Microsoft Office skills.

Responsibilities

• Support investment proposals and post-investment appraisals.
• Manage investment forums and ensure approvals align with financial forecasts.
• Conduct finance modelling to support decision-making.

Skills

Analytical skills

Microsoft Office

Communication

Education

Accountancy qualification (e.g. ACA, CIMA, ACCA)

Job description

Lead Financial Analyst
£40,000 to £50,000 plus benefits (Work Level 6A)
12-month fixed-term contract
Manchester City Centre (Hybrid)

We’re looking for a Lead Financial Analyst to join us in Manchester on a 12-month fixed-term contract to support our project investment appraisals and post-investment appraisal reviews.

We’ll look to you to play a key role in managing our investment forums, collaborating with colleagues to produce modelling on investment appraisals, and exploring opportunities to improve our processes. This is a hybrid role, which lets you split your time between home and the office in a way that suits you (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

What you’ll do

• Support our Lead Finance Manager with investment proposals and post-investment appraisals
• Manage our investment forums, as well as the pipeline of investments, to make sure our approvals are consistent with financial forecasts
• Help to improve our processes, including supporting the training and development of our finance colleagues
• Carry-out finance modelling and provide recommendations based on this data to support decision-making
• Collaborate with partners and support key projects (e.g. potential acquisitions and disposals)
• Support with projects across the wider Capital and Investments team as necessary

This role would suit people who have

• An accountancy qualification (e.g. ACA, CIMA, ACCA) or equivalent experience
• Experience working in a finance team and collaborating with wider business partners
• Experience using financial models and appraisal techniques
• Strong analytical and Microsoft Office skills (e.g. Excel and PowerPoint)
• Good communication skills, with the ability to translate technical language for a non-technical audience

Why Co-op?

If you’ve got the skills and experience we’re looking for, we can offer you a competitive salary and great benefits package which includes 30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores (as well as other discounts on Co-op products and services). You’ll also get:

• An annual incentive scheme (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• Coaching and training to support your career development
• Wagestream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Grocery Aid – 24/7 access to a range of emotional, financial, and practical support services for you and your family

Building an inclusive work environment

At Co-op, we’re proud to do things a different way. As one of the world’s largest co-operatives, owned by millions of members, community is at the heart of what we do. Since our Co-op was founded in 1844, we’ve had a clear social purpose, and everything we do as a business helps to build more value for our member-owners every day.

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs. We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We'll ask whether you’d like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process.

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme at Disability Confident Scheme - Co-op Colleagues and more about our commitments to diversity and inclusion here

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes between 45-60 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.