Senior Finance Analyst - FTC for up to 12 Months

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Finance Analyst to support the Finance Business Partner (FBP) by taking ownership of the month end reporting routines whilst also being central to the delivery of the financial budgeting, forecasting and latest view cycles. The role will gain exposure to financial modelling, project accounting and you will be expected to have daily interaction with, and provide support for, the Divisional team including SMT and EMT members. The role holder will demonstrate strong financial leadership, aided by a requirement to pursue and complete a professional financial qualification and in conjunction will also gain improved commercial awareness. The role may also provide opportunities in directly or indirectly developing Finance Analysts (FA) where appropriate.

This is a hybrid role - working at least 2 days in the office with the remainder from home.

This role is on a fixed term contract covering maternity leave

Role Responsibilities

MONTH END ROUTINES & CONTROLS

• Responsible for delivering the accurate and timely month end result for the relevant area and for onward review with the FBP. Actively participate in month end review meetings with wider finance community
• Oversee the work of the FA during period end to understand the month end numbers and to provide guidance, development & leadership where appropriate
• Maintain strong financial controls and disciplines
• Ahead of, and during month end, work closely with the business functions & budget holders to understand the outturn and challenge any variances. Circulate that information to FA and FBP
• Create and deliver financial results information to budget holders
• In conjunction with FA deliver insightful month end variance analysis for month end review
• Understand and challenge areas of responsibility in the P&L

FORECASTS & PLANNING

• Responsible for delivering the detailed inputs / outputs required for completion of the financial forecasts / budgets utilising FA resource where appropriate
• Understand, contribute (including challenge) and agree timetables & ensure stakeholders are aligned to delivering inputs in a timely fashion and accurately
• Prepare packs, review documents and source and confirm risks and opportunities - attend and contribute to the associated meetings
• Ensure clarity around embedded initiatives and associated benefits / impacts
• Work with Divisional budget holder to challenge robustness and accuracy of inputs, assumptions and outputs to forecast process
• Update/maintain forecast models in conjunction with agreed assumptions and planned activities
• Ensure delivery of relevant templates to other business units for operational planning and financial recharges - being confident in the information provided and prepared to field challenge.

DECISION SUPPORT & MODELLING

• Seek out opportunities to develop financial modelling skills and build up decision support experiences building business cases and identifying / tracking success metrics. In doing so prepare numerical and written presentations to support the business case
• Utilise professional accounting qualification progression to identify development gaps and liaise with FBP to gain experiences in the commercial support arena
• Be pro-active in taking on project accounting responsibilities where the opportunity presents itself
• Be proactive and self-starting in building relationships in the divisional team to identify areas where decision support would add value and work to fill those gaps
• STAFF DEVELOPMENT
• Where the opportunity exists have responsibility for management of FA. In the absence of that potential seek out options to provide guidance or mentoring to FA
• BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE & SUPPLEMENTARY
• Build business relationships to ensure objectives achieved
• Inquisitive approach to problem solving
• Deputise for FBP where appropriate
• Attend and support FA in budget holder review meetings ensuring all finance inputs are reviewed for accuracy ahead
• Other duties as required
• Miscellaneous
• To be always committed to the fair treatment of customers
• Ensure compliance with all applicable UK and local regulations, Company Policies and FCA Conduct Rules
• Demonstrate behaviours in line with our Company values
• To take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and other persons who may be affected by acts and omissions at work

About you

• Strong user of Word, Excel- able to set up tables, spreadsheets, graphs etc (S)
• Strong presentations skills both in terms of pulling together clear and insightful PowerPoint packs for review and then delivering verbally with clarity
• Good commercial understanding of business and retailing. (K)
• Qualified or well advanced in progress towards completing a professional accountancy qualification.
• Retail experience preferable - but certainly some understanding of the challenges & KPI's in managing a retail business
• Focus on accuracy and clarity of financial information - communicate written & oral financial information clearly & concisely to all levels of personnel - providing summaries which facilitate a clear interpretation of the detail and enable quick decision making
• Commercial awareness - the ability to apply that understanding to the role's requirements.
• Ability to persuade other people to an objective point of view
• Strong organisational & prioritising skills
• General ledger experience
• Worked in a group or team to deliver a project.
• Maths and English grade C or above, or equivalent.
• Qualified or studying towards a professional accountancy qualification
• Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines with high levels of accuracy
• Intermediate to Advanced Excel user. Basic competence in use of a database packages or more advanced. Power BI capability (S)
• D365 experience
• Good understanding of retailing, markets, customer groups. (K)
• 18 Months plus experience in a commercial environment. (E)
• Cross functional project experience.
• Degree in Accounting and Finance
• Management/Administration or Marketing with an analytical leaning.
• Competitor knowledge and understanding in both retail and online
• Able to commute to Bradford city centre (hybrid working).

Why FGH?

Our staff enjoy competitive benefits including staff discount, generous annual leave, healthcare cash plan together with a vibrant, colourful, creative and flexible working atmosphere. With our competitive benefits, and supportive teams our staff enjoy helping us on our mission and benefit greatly from the challenges that come with working for a successful retailer.

About us

Freemans Grattan Holdings (FGH) is based in West Yorkshire and is part of the OTTO Group - one of the world's largest online retailers.

Home to familiar brands such as Freemans, Grattan and Kaleidoscope, we have over 100 years of experience.

We're on a mission to help our customers live their best lives through a choice of quality basics, the brands they love and credible exclusive product supported by easy and rewarding ways to pay.

We offer excellent service and delivery seven days a week, with so much going for us - why not be part of the story.

We have over 600 UK employees working for us in various functions, including Marketing and Creative, Customer Experience, Warehousing and Logistics, Financial Services, Transformation, Buying and Merchandising, IT and Support Services.

Our values of Resilience, Empathy, Ambition, Commitment, and Honesty underpin our vibrant and dynamic culture.

We're heading for some exciting and challenging places, so why not join us and be part of our vision to create a modern, digital retailer with powerful customer brands, exciting product and compelling financial services.