Commercial Finance Director

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Company Description

We're ASOS. We blend our flair for fashion with our love of cutting- edge technology, but more importantly were interested in how we can bring the best out of you.

We exist to give people the confidence to be whoever they want to be, and that goes for our people too. At ASOS, you're free to be your true self without judgment, and channel your creativity into a platform used by millions.

Through our Fashion with Integrity strategy we are driving diversity, equity and inclusion across every aspect of ASOS and ensuring every ASOSer can be their authentic self at work. We want our people to be whoever they want to be, because we believe people who bring their best selves to work, do their best work.

Job Description

The Finance Team

Finance at ASOS operates at the heart of the business, working as one team to deliver our vision. Commercial Finance & Group Finance work in tandem to drive insight-led decision-making, ensuring we focus on the right priorities to fuel growth. These insights are built on a foundation of strong financial controls, processes, and integrity across financial accounting, tax, and shared services.

The Commercial Finance Director is a key leadership role, partnering with the Exec team to drive both in-year and long-term performance. At ASOS, Commercial Finance is not just a support function - we work with the business to identify and focus on the decisions that will have the greatest impact on our performance and our ambition to be the global online destination for fashion.

This role has full accountability for commercial trading, overseeing a c. £2.5bn global sales business and partnering across trading, marketing, product, sourcing, and supply chain (warehouse, distribution, and customer service). This is a true end-to-end commercial finance role, giving you full P&L ownership and the ability to shape the business direction.

As a leader, you will develop your team, evolve the function, and foster a high-performance, collaborative culture that makes ASOS an exciting and rewarding place to work.

The Details

Strategy

• Lead and drive improvement in the annual budgeting and strategic five-year plan process to ensure the delivery of financial commitments and growth ambitions of the business
• Preparation of business wide commercial monthly forecasts, commentary and analysis to support key business decisions
• Use monthly performance to indicate what this means in detail for the balance of the year, highlighting risk & opportunities
• Responsibility for sales through to gross profit management with Brand Experience operating costs to support these ambitions as well as capital expenditure requests to ensure adequate control and reporting is in place
• Ensure sales and gross profit generation as well as development, monitoring and reporting against budget is compliant, effective and enables cost management initiatives to be developed to strengthen results
• Analyse current and past KPI trends to identify risks and opportunities in costs and other operational KPIs, but also working with the International Finance team to improve operating costs in each market to enhance overall country profitability
• Ad-hoc / deep dive analysis to develop insight that will lead to better business decisions

Business Expertise

• Provide leadership advice to Retail, Global and Brand Experience & supply Chain Finance teams on short, mid and long-term commercial decisions

Business cases

• Develop robust business cases for new investments for Supply Chain making sure any decisions are aligned with company strategy and supported by analytic rigour. Initiatives will range from large capital investments in warehouse infrastructure to smaller P&L investments in service proposition
• Lead the capex governance forum to ensure capital spend is spent in the right areas and on track
• Ensure all new investments follow the relevant company governance process for sign-off

Leadership

• Develop, manage and lead the ASOS Retail, Global and Brand Experience & Supply Chain Finance teams
• Lead, inspire and motivate the Commercial Finance team of c 40 heads in line with ASOS Values

Transformation

• Asos is a transforming business to ensure it stays relevant for 'fashion loving customers'. As a result, being able to deliver best in class ways of working and culture will be key

Problem Solving

• Ensure credibility of Trading Finance and ultimately ASOS by overseeing the provision of timely and accurate analysis of budgets, trends, forecasting and commercial analysis

Nature of Impact

• Be the financial conscience for and role model collaboration between different functions across the business
• Operate in a truly collaborative way with key senior stakeholders across all functions

Area of Impact

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with the ASOS Exec Board and where necessary the PLC Board
• Partnering with the business to identify value creation opportunities

Interpersonal Skills

• Influence the beliefs and opinions of others within the Finance community and the Business by establishing effective, collaborative relations with other departments and stakeholders
• Supporting our culture by championing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategies.

Qualifications

About You

• ACA/CIMA/ACCA qualified
• Experience of Finance Director/Senior Finance level roles in fast paced, retail, high growth environments
• Experience managing significant P&L budgets, as well as managing capital governance processes
• Demonstrated experience of leading teams and fostering innovation and collaboration
• Strong communicator with the ability to present and facilitate at a senior board level and cascade information across all levels and geographies
• Combines excellent business judgement and entrepreneurial flair
• Drive and determination to deliver outstanding results as the company grows
• Excellent analytical, abstract reasoning and organisational skills
• Experience in a senior financial-management role, partnering with directors and executives, supporting the development and implementation of creative financial management strategies and execution
• Team player who works for success of the wider team

Additional Information

What's in it for you?

• Employee discount (hello ASOS discount!)
• ASOS Develops (personal development opportunities across the business)
• Employee sample sales
• Access to a huge range of LinkedIn learning materials
• 25 days paid annual leave + an extra day for your birthday
• Discretionary performance related bonus scheme
• Private medical care scheme
• Flexible benefits allowance - which you can choose to take as extra cash, or use towards other benefits