Commercial Finance Analyst - Operations

wagamama us; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Paid time off

Career growth

Senior leadership exposure

Impact across restaurants

Process improvements

Job summary

wagamama us is seeking a Commercial Finance Analyst – Operations to partner with finance and operations, turning data and insight into action that improves restaurant performance.

Based in our Tampa office, you’ll focus on cost control and sales analysis, digging into COGS, labor, and trends to identify opportunities and build a clear financial picture of restaurant performance. You’ll develop reporting, dashboards, and KPIs to empower leaders with practical recommendations.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in finance, FP&A, commercial analysis, or related analytical role.
• Experience analyzing costs, sales performance, inventory, and operational results.

Responsibilities

• Own analysis around cost control and sales performance, identifying trends, variances, risks and opportunities across our restaurants.
• Analyze COGS, food costs, inventory, waste, purchasing and other key cost drivers to identify opportunities to improve margins.
• Analyze restaurant sales performance, including sales trends, traffic, peak hours, and other factors influencing revenue.
• Develop reporting, dashboards and KPI tools for clear, actionable visibility into performance.
• Partner with finance, operations and restaurant leadership to translate analysis into practical recommendations.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Data analysis

Financial analysis

Communication

Tools

COGSwell

Job description

at wagamama, we’re a restaurant business built around fresh food, great hospitality, and continuous improvement. guided by our philosophy of kaizen — the belief that we can always be better today than we were yesterday — we’re always looking for ways to improve how we work and how we support our restaurants.

as we continue to grow, we’re looking for commercially minded people who can turn data and insight into action, helping our teams make better decisions, improve performance, and deliver stronger results across the business.

about the role

the commercial finance analyst – operations partners closely with finance and operations to understand what’s driving restaurant performance and turn financial and operational data into action.

with a primary focus on cost control and sales analysis, you’ll dig into the numbers to identify trends, uncover opportunities, and build a clear financial picture of restaurant performance. your analysis will extend beyond cogs and cost management into menu performance, labor, turnover, peak hours, sales trends, and process improvement.

this role reports directly to the senior director of finance and is based in our tampa office.

what you’ll do

• own analysis around cost control and sales performance, identifying trends, variances, risks, and opportunities across our restaurants


• analyze cogs, food costs, inventory, waste, purchasing, and other key cost drivers to identify root causes and opportunities to improve margins


• analyze restaurant sales performance, including sales trends, traffic, peak hours, and other factors influencing revenue


• build a broader financial picture of restaurant performance by connecting sales, costs, labor, and operational data


• conduct menu analysis, including item performance, sales mix, cost, and profitability


• analyze labor performance, productivity, scheduling, turnover, and peak-hour trends to identify opportunities for improvement


• support restaurant-level forecasting, budgeting, and performance analysis


• serve as a cogswell subject matter expert, using the platform to analyze inventory, food costs, purchasing, and cost variances


• identify opportunities for process improvement across reporting, controls, systems, and ways of working


• develop reporting, dashboards, and kpi tools that give leaders clear, actionable visibility into performance


• partner with finance, operations, and restaurant leadership to turn analysis into practical recommendations and drive continuous improvement

what we’re looking for

• 3+ years of experience in finance, fp&a, commercial analysis, cost analysis, or a related analytical role


• hands-on cogswell experience and strong working knowledge of the platform


• restaurant or hospitality experience with a strong understanding of restaurant operations


• demonstrated experience analyzing costs, sales performance, inventory, and operational results


• strong excel skills and confidence working with large data sets; advanced excel capabilities are a plus


• ability to connect financial and operational data to understand the bigger picture and translate findings into actionable recommendations


• strong attention to detail with the ability to identify trends, inconsistencies, and opportunities within the numbers


• strong communication skills and the ability to partner effectively across finance, operations, and restaurant leadership


• proactive and self-motivated, with the ability to take ownership and move work forward independently


• comfortable wearing multiple hats and shifting priorities in a growing, fast-moving business


• naturally curious and analytical, with a willingness to dig beneath the numbers, challenge assumptions, and solve problems

what we offer

• medical, dental, and vision coverage


• paid time off


• career development and growth opportunities


• direct exposure to senior leadership and decision-making


• opportunity to make a measurable impact across our restaurants


• opportunity to improve processes and shape how we work as we grow

work environment + availability

• ability to work from our tampa,fl office five days per week, partnering closely with the senior director of finance and operations teams


• comfortable working primarily in a computer-based environment, including regular use of video calls and business systems


• flexibility to occasionally work evenings or weekends based on business needs

ready to join us?

if you’re looking for a role where you can move beyond reporting, get close to the operation, and use your analysis to directly influence restaurant performance, we’d love to hear from you.