Business Navigation Leader

IKEA Gruppe; Johor Bahru; On-site; Confidential; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

IKEA discounts

Flexi benefits

Maternity and paternity leave

Performance incentive plan

Job summary

IKEA Southeast Asia in Johor Bahru, Malaysia is seeking a Business Navigator to support growth and profitably steer the business. You will analyze performance, develop standardized dashboards, and collaborate with store leadership to optimize costs and margins.

You will forecast, monitor working hours and staff costs, and contribute to budgeting and KPI development for the assigned area, including cross-functional projects and store-level profitability initiatives.

Qualifications

• 1-3 years of experience in a retail market, preferably store or country level, understanding commercial and financial processes.
• 1-3 years of experience developing new ways of working and implementing efficient solutions.
• 1-3 years of experience in data analysis, developing metrics and projections from analysis results.
• Proven track record delivering under time pressure.
• Able to work with computer/smart devices and be tech-savvy.
• Able to speak fluent English (written and spoken).

Responsibilities

• Provide store steering team with information, analysis, and insights to support growth, performance, and long-term profitability.
• Promote standardised dashboards and build store competence for analysis and informed decisions.
• Contribute to new ways of measuring and steering business performance in an omnichannel environment.
• Oversee store profit & loss, cost development, and gross margin management; support budgeting and forecasting.
• Lead cost structure, working hours, and productivity planning to meet targets.
• Drive projects to ensure budget feasibility and healthy cost development.
• Develop short-, mid-, and long-term resource planning with HR to ensure cost efficiency.
• Analyze multi-dimensional retail performance with customer focus.
• Coordinate financial planning and follow-up for assigned areas to reach goals.
• Support commercial sales navigation on the shop floor to ensure profitability.
• Provide input to store boards to enable performance.

Skills

Data analysis

English fluency

Time management under pressure

Tools

Computer literacy

Excel

Job description

Company description

The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. We do this by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them. We operate in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand - and have an ambitious expansion plan to bring a little bit of Sweden to new markets in the region. We are part of the Ikano Group of companies and the only IKEA franchisee owned by the Kamprad family that founded IKEA.

We also develop, own and operate Shopping Centres that are anchored by IKEA and create walkable communities by including residential, office and other types of real estate in our development plans.

We work towards making sustainability a natural part of our everyday work. We are active in our communities, driving and supporting social initiatives that benefit children, women and the environment.

Job description

About the job

Support the Business Navigation & Operations Manager in navigating the growth and securing sustained profitability of IKANO. Drive the business navigation processes, including staff cost and productivity development. Be a pro-active, trustworthy business partner to the Country Business Navigation Manager, Finance Managers and store steering team by steering and challenging the actual business performance for the assigned area of responsibility.

Your assignment

• Provide store steering team with information, analysis, and expert insight to support, challenge, and steer the store towards growth, optimal performance, and sustained longterm profitability.
• Promote standardised dashboards and secure competence in the store to allow for analysis and understanding of performance and for making optimal decisions.
• Contribute to new ways of measuring and steering the business performance in an omnichannel environment, including productivity goals and productivity measurements to ensure performance.
• Have a full overview of store profit & loss and take responsibility for cost development and gross margin management, as well as for specific lines of the profit & loss, supporting Store and Country Business Navigation Manager in achieving a healthy profit & loss through key performance analysis and evaluation.
• Responsible for overall forecasting and monitoring, including the execution of working hours and staff cost structure, as well as budget, to ensure that set targets are met.
• Contribute with business navigation expertise in driving projects and business initiatives forward to secure the budget frame and healthy cost development.
• Develop and drive short-, mid-, and long-term resource planning, together with the HR manager to ensure cost efficiency.
• Conduct the necessary analysis, while securing a multi-dimensional view of the business, to evaluate retail performance with the customer in focus.
• Contribute with input and coordinate the financial business planning, budgeting, and followup for the assigned areas of responsibility to ensure goals are met.
• Responsible for commercial sales navigation on the sales floor to secure sustained profitability.
• Contribute with input and provide expertise to the store boards to enable performance.

Qualification

• Possess at least minimum 1-3 years of experience in a retail market, preferably from store or country company level, with a good understanding of how the commercial and financial processes work.
• Possess at least minimum 1-3 years of experience of developing new ways of working and implementing proven solutions for efficiency purposes.
• Possess at least minimum 1-3 years of experience in data analysis, developing metrics and projections based on analysis results.
• Proven track record in delivering under time pressure.
• Able to work on computer/smart device literate, tech-savvy
• Able to speak fluently in English, both written and spoken

More Information

Please apply by 30 September 2026.

Working with us has its rewards

Wherever you work within IKEA Southeast Asia, you enjoy a wide range of benefits. Here are just some of them:

• IKEA discounts Co-workers are our most values customers and are entitled to a 15% discount on any home furnishings and food sold in our stores, from the first day of work.
• Flexi benefits We offer flexi benefits to cater our co-workers who are in different life stages with differing benefits needs. Within an annual Flexible Spending Account, co-workers can claim against dental, optical, fitness memberships or classes, vaccination or immunisation, non-insured outpatient medical expenses, health screenings, health supplements, IKEA purchases, health aid & equipment and mental health.
• Maternity and paternity leave We give mother four consecutive months of maternity leave and father receives four weeks of paid time off after a baby has arrived to help share the joys - and responsible - at home.
• Gifts We enjoy special occasions together and give tokens to mark birthdays, marriage, the arrival of a baby. We reward loyalty through our Long Service Awards.
• Work environment As home furnish experts, we take pride in providing inspiring workplaces that showcase IKEA products and crate a relaxed, open atmosphere where we work side by side.
• Incentive plan All co-workers may earn an annual financial reward when we meet our shared business objectives.