Trade Investment Finance Controller - 9 month FTC

pladis (UK); Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

pladis UK is seeking a Commercial Finance Controller to lead RM pricing and trade investment within the UK & ROI. You will head a small team of analysts, own price lists, and drive 100% accurate balance sheet reconciliations while ensuring transparent trade spend aligned with contracts.

You will partner with Sales and wider Finance, deliver controls, support the new Promotional management system, and mentor a high-performance team, advancing commercial literacy across the business.

Qualifications

• Degree holder.
• Qualified Accountant (CIMA/ACCA) is preferred.
• Advanced MS Excel, PPT, PBI.
• Fluent in English.
• 5-8 years' experience in an analytical and business-oriented role within Consumer Goods - probably within a commercial finance team.
• An appreciation of the commercial impacts of pricing & promotion.
• Experience of pulling together different internal & data sources, to form clear insights into financial understanding.
• Ability to develop your own analytical processes to investigate ways of working being flexible to accepting new approaches to drive efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ability to influence and work collaboratively across the organisation.
• Ability to work optimally in a sometimes ambiguous role to help define and drive the agenda forward.
• Strong financial and commercial competence built over a 5-year minimum career

Responsibilities

• Lead the Commercial Finance Control team to deliver key Balance Sheet metrics with 100% monthly/quarterly reconciliation accuracy.
• Establish and maintain a robust control framework for trade spend, ensuring transparency and alignment with contracts.
• Influence Sales teams to manage accruals and commercial liabilities, mitigating risks to P&L.
• Support the Project team delivering the new Promotional management system and scope new processes.
• Own Customer Master Data project stream and drive to BAU.
• Own pricing confidentiality workstream and set up ongoing business management roles.
• Lead the annual Audit process for the commercial finance area with evidence and testing plans.
• Directly lead and mentor a team, fostering high performance and technical excellence.
• Bridge central Finance and frontline Commercial teams to improve financial literacy and accountability.

Skills

Fluent English

Strong financial/commercial competence

Ability to influence & collaborate

Education

Degree holder

Qualified Accountant (CIMA/ACCA)

Tools

MS Excel

Power BI

PowerPoint

Job description

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don't compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

What will this role achieve?

The Commercial Finance Control Team sits at the heart of our Commercial Finance team.

The UK & ROI has ambitious plans and Revenue Management is a key capability to drive long term sustainable growth.

This role will support leading the business transformation agenda, by ensuring clarity and control surrounding Pricing & Trade Investment.

As the Commercial Finance Controller, you will enable the Commercial Finance Control team to provide clarity and control through the organisation relating to Pricing and Trade investment, to unlock value for pladis as well as enabling RM analytics through systemised consistent, comparable pricing & trade investment architecture.

The Commercial Finance Controller will lead a small team of analysts that own internal price lists and controlling price changes. The Commercial balance sheet will be owned by the Commercial Finance Control Team

The Commercial Finance Controller will report into the Commercial Finance Director & work closely with both the Sales Teams and Commercial Finance team.

What will be your key deliverables?

• Lead the Commercial Finance Control team to deliver key business Balance Sheet metrics, ensuring 100% accuracy in monthly and quarterly reconciliation processes.
• Establish and maintain a robust control framework for trade spend, ensuring all customer investments are transparent, validated, and aligned with contractual obligations.
• Proactively influence the Sales teams to manage accruals and commercial liabilities, mitigating financial risks before they impact the P&L
• Provide support to the Project team in delivering the new Promotional management system. You will play a critical role in scoping and implementing new processes for the project.
• Customer Master Data project - Take ownership of the Customer Master data of project stream and run to completion and move to BAU
• Pricing Confidentiality project - Take ownership of the workstream and help lead the various arms of the project to completion, including defining and set up of the ongoing business management roles and responsibilities.
• Lead the annual Audit process for the commercial finance area. Ensure testing plans are agreed and aligned with the Auditors and all evidence requests are provided in full.
• Directly lead and mentor a team , fostering a culture of high performance, commercial curiosity, and technical excellence.
• Act as a bridge between the central Finance function and the frontline Commercial teams to ensure financial literacy and accountability across the business.

Bring your experience

• Degree holder
• Qualified Accountant (CIMA/ACCA…)
• Advanced MS Excel, PPT, PBI
• Fluent in English
• 5-8 years' experience in an analytical and business-oriented role within Consumer Goods - probably within a commercial finance team.
• An appreciation of the commercial impacts of pricing & promotion.
• Experience of pulling together different internal & data sources, to form clear insights into financial understanding.
• Ability to develop your own analytical processes to investigate ways of working being flexible to accepting new approaches to drive efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ability to influence and work collaboratively across the organisation.
• Ability to work optimally in a sometimes ambiguous role to help define and drive the agenda forward.
• Strong financial and commercial competence built over a 5-year minimum career

Our Purpose

Bring happiness with every bite

It's a purpose that every one of our colleagues, all around the world believes in. And while we're all unique, we also share the same values.

Each of our values is important on its own. In combination they're exceptionally powerful.

Our values have deep personal meaning to us. They're part of who we are and what we stand for as an employer

Living our pladis values is a key part of success, look out for questions in your interview that link to these key pladis values.

Our Values

• Purpose led - We're energised and guided by our purpose to bring happiness with every bite
• Agile - We're ever evolving, we ne