Senior Finance Analyst - Retail

THE WHITE COMPANY; London; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail organization in London is seeking a Senior Finance Analyst to provide analytical support and manage financial processes in the retail division. The role involves ownership of month-end processes, trade reporting, and budgeting with a strong focus on collaboration and optimizing retail performance. The ideal candidate will be a part-qualified accountant with experience in commercial finance and a passion for retail. This position offers competitive salary and extensive benefits.

Benefits

Up to 50% discount

25 days holiday, increasing to 28 after 3 years

Opportunity to buy additional holiday days

Discretionary bonus scheme

Wellbeing discounts through Perkplace

Wagestream app for financial wellbeing

Pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Social events, including Christmas party

Qualifications

• Experience in business partnering or commercial finance, preferably in retail or FMCG.
• Strong interest in understanding key business drivers.
• Ability to work collaboratively to improve operations.

Responsibilities

• Provide financial and commercial support to stores and the retail team.
• Own weekly trade reporting and provide detailed financial analysis.
• Manage month-end processes, including journal entries.
• Produce monthly divisional and store P&L statements.
• Identify and implement process improvements through automation.

Skills

Business partnering

Analytical skills

Excellent Excel skills

Familiarity with budgeting processes

Strong communication skills

Adaptability

Teamwork

Education

Part-qualified accountant

Job description

Our Role

This Senior Finance Analyst - Retail role will primarily be responsible for providing business partnering and analytical support to the Retail channel.

The Senior Finance Analyst - Retail will own the month-end processes for retail, including the preparation and posting of journals. Ensuring all numbers in the retail P&L are correctly accounted for each month, with all material variances to the budget/forecast understood. Working closely with the retail operations team to manage the cost base throughout the year.

A significant part of this role involves producing relevant weekly and monthly business reports and developing tools and templates to drive sales and manage costs. You will understand the retail business and use your finance expertise to help the retail team maximize performance.

You will also support sales and operating cost budgeting and forecasting for retail, working with the Retail and Property teams to produce future business plans. Additionally, on a more ad-hoc basis, you may provide high-level commercial and analytical support on matters like shop profitability, sales trends, store cost control, and trading activity performance.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide financial and commercial support to stores, area managers, the retail team, and the retail director.
• Own weekly trade reporting, providing detailed financial analysis on store performance, including insights and recommendations.
• Manage month-end processes, including journal entries.
• Produce monthly divisional and store P&L statements and conduct reviews with area managers to discuss performance and actions.
• Identify and implement process improvements in month-end and trade reporting through automation and simplification.
• Lead budgeting and forecasting for all store costs, setting challenging yet achievable targets, and establishing timelines.
• Provide insights to improve retail profitability.
• Conduct ad-hoc analysis and provide insights on retail performance.
• Support the Central Property team with month-end close, budgeting, forecasting, and ad-hoc tasks.

Skills and experience needed

• Part-qualified accountant.
• Experience in business partnering or commercial finance, preferably in retail or FMCG.
• Excellent Excel skills.
• Familiarity with forecasting and budgeting processes.
• Strong interest in understanding key business drivers.
• Ability to work collaboratively to improve operations.
• Effective communication skills across finance and non-finance stakeholders, including senior management.
• Adaptability and ability to meet tight deadlines.
• Ownership and accountability for responsibilities.

What will make you brilliant

• Passion for retail, attention to detail, and accuracy.
• Enthusiastic, proactive, and dynamic.
• Ability to influence and communicate effectively with senior management.
• Flexible and adaptable working approach.
• Balance between attention to detail and strategic overview.
• Self-sufficient with the ability to handle ad-hoc requests.
• Team player with strong relationship-building skills.

What we’ll offer you

At The White Company, we value our employees and reward their dedication with great benefits and competitive salaries.

• Up to 50% discount (dependent on contract type).
• 25 days holiday, increasing to 28 days after 3 years.
• Opportunity to buy up to 5 additional holiday days.
• Discretionary bonus scheme (dependent on contract type).
• Perkplace Benefits Platform offering discounts on wellbeing and lifestyle.
• Wagestream Money Management app for financial wellbeing.
• Continued development opportunities.
• Pension scheme.
• Life assurance.
• Private medical insurance.

Additional Benefits

• Daily fruit basket.
• Tea and coffee provided.
• Option to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.
• Social events, including Christmas party.
• Seasonal sample sales.
• Volunteer day with a charity of your choice.
• Great location near transport links and amenities.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that welcomes diverse backgrounds and identities, where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and feel valued and respected.

Our commitment to Sustainability

We aim to build a sustainable legacy for future generations, reflecting this in all our actions.