Commercial Category Finance Business Partner

Americana Foods - National Food Company; Jeddah; On-site; SAR 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food company in Saudi Arabia is looking for a Commercial Category Finance Business Partner. This pivotal role requires providing comprehensive financial leadership across frozen solutions. Responsibilities include strategic planning, financial analysis, and cross-functional collaboration. The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of experience in finance, preferably within FMCG, and strong analytical skills. This position offers a unique opportunity to drive financial success in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in financial planning or analysis in the FMCG sector.
• Experience in the Saudi Arabia or Middle East market is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide financial insights to support business decisions.
• Lead financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Drive gross margin improvements through analysis.

Skills

Commercial finance understanding

Financial modeling skills

Stakeholder influence

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance or accounting

MBA or CPA/ACCA/CIMA preferred

Job description

Job Introduction

The Commercial Category Finance Business Partner is a pivotal role and will be responsible for providing comprehensive financial leadership and strategic partnership across frozen solutions product categories in GCC region. You will driving a profitable growth by translating commercial strategies into financial outcomes, ensuring robust financial planning, analysis, and decision-making. This will include strategy planning, RGM, new product innovation partnership in frozen solution range.

Key Responsibilities

(1) Strategic

• Strategic Business Partnering: Act as a key financial business partner to Category Marketing and Sales teams, providing financial insights and analysis to support strategic planning, new product development, and portfolio optimization.
• Commercial Initiative Evaluation: Lead the financial evaluation of all commercial initiatives, including pricing strategies, promotional activities, trade spend, and marketing campaigns, ensuring ROI maximization and adherence to financial targets.
• Performance Analysis: Develop and implement robust financial models and dashboards to track, analyze, and report on category performance, identifying key drivers of profitability and areas for improvement.
• Forecasting & Budgeting: Collaborate with Category teams to develop accurate and insightful financial forecasts and budgets for assigned categories, incorporating market trends, competitive landscape, and commercial strategies.
• Post-Mortem Analysis: Conduct thorough post-implementation reviews of commercial programs to assess effectiveness and identify best practices.
• Act as a Key advisor to commercial teams, providing financial insights to support business decisions.

(2) Operational

• Lead Commercial financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• P&L Ownership: Provide financial leadership and support for the GCC Frozen Solutions Profit & Loss (P&L) statement, driving initiatives to optimize revenue, manage costs, and enhance profitability
• Gross Margin Management: Proactively identify opportunities to improve gross margin through cost optimization, pricing adjustments, and mix management.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with sales and marketing, and other departments to ensure financial alignment and support decision-making.
• Continuous Improvement: Lead and participate in continuous improvement projects to enhance financial processes and systems within the supply chain function.
• Commercial Deal Support: Provide financial analysis and negotiation support for significant commercial agreements and contracts within KSA specifically and Kuwait/UAE at a higher level with Geo Finance partner support.
• Market Insights: Analyse market trends, competitor activities, and economic factors impacting the regional business, translating these into financial implications and opportunities.

(3) People

• Develop a Saudi finance partnering team across Frozen Solutions to create a long term sustainable robust organization.

(4) Risk Management

• Identify and mitigate financial risks associated with supply chain activities, ensuring compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong understanding of commercial finance, trade investments, and pricing strategies.
• Excellent analytical skills with proficiency in financial modeling and data analysis tools.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive strategic financial decisions.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, or a related field (MBA or professional certification such as CPA, ACCA, or CIMA preferred).
• +8 years of experience in financial planning, analysis, or business partnering within the FMCG sector.
• Experience working in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East market is a plus