Finance Manager, Buying and Merchandising

Job Introduction

The purpose of this role is to from the nucleus of the Finance Team that supports the Buying and Merchandising Team. With the support of their analyst and wider team, this naturally curious individual will deliver an end to end financial service spanning planning, commercial analysis and management accounts. Their objective is to provide clear financial information to their business partners, supplemented with the relevant commercial insight that drives appropriate actions within the business. This should be done with reference to the wider remit of their team and the direction of their Senior Finance Manager and Head of Finance.

A bit about the role

The London Finance structure contains three distinct business partnering teams and a dedicated Financial Planning and Analysis team. Each business partnering team is headed up by a Head of Finance who will develop a "one stop shop" for the financial needs of each of the key Executive stakeholders. 

This particular role will sit within the Buying and Merchandising, Stores and Restaurants Finance Team, reporting into the Senior Finance Manager of Buying and Merchandising. The role will partner the key stakeholders across the Buying and Merchandising Team and will require an articulate and confident individual who is able to facilitate business decisions around sales, margin and stock, providing insight and recommendations. The individual will also work both the Property and Investment Teams as they will be a key player in decision making relating to investments in our physical stores. The role requires a curious individual who is willing to both support and challenge at all levels. In order to provide the correct level of support to the business, this position have one direct report who the individual is responsible for developing and supporting in all aspects of their role.

This role is responsible for ensuring that clear, accurate, timely, reporting and analysis is delivered to their business partners to support robust planning, excellent cost control and profit driving commercial decision making and investments. The role is also responsible for leading and supporting their business partners through the budgeting and forecasting process of sales and gross margin.

In conjunction with ad-hoc decision making, the role is responsible for ensuring production of management accounts for sales down to gross profit. This will include a clear understanding of performance and the ability to provide insight on historic performance, highlighting risk and opportunities going forward. The role is also responsible for ensuring that all balance sheets are completed each period end.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the Merchandising Team in understanding and managing the stock and margin position of both seasonal and continuity stock.
• Be responsible understanding performance of key events, including Team Member Events, Designer Preview, Sale and Christmas Comes Early.
• Prepare business cases and complete post investment reviews, considering the wider implications on the business outside of their immediate area of expertise.
• Support the production of the management accounts, specifically focusing on sales and gross profit – with robust variance analysis to enable relevant questioning of potential risks and opportunities.
• Prepare balance sheets that relate to sales and margin, ensuring that actions / balances are understood and dealt with in an appropriate manner.
• Be responsible for delivering the sales, gross profit and central Buying and Merchandising costs budget/forecast and 5 year plan.
• Be familiar with the relevant KPIs of their business area, financial and non-financial and how these impact financial results.
• Identify and develop appropriate and timely analysis to deliver further insight to their business partners, thus enabling them to manage their areas profitably.
• Complete commercial analysis of various cost / benefit scenarios considering and suggesting the opportunities for improved productivity.
• Be able to manage and develop their direct report.
• Build effective working relationships with stakeholders across the business.

A bit about you

Person Specification:

Experience

• Held a number of finance roles across various areas of a business
• At least 2 years PQE
• Managed a direct report or team
• Sound business knowledge, preferably retail

Technical Skills

• Qualified - CIMA/ACCA/ICAEW or international equivalent

Personal Attributes/ Behavioural Skills

• Curious, analytical and numerate
• Strong customer orientation – passionate about setting and delivering exceptional standards of service
• Clear and confident questioning style, with the ability to influence customers
• Competently applies their technical qualification and ethics to the situations at hand, seeking out assistance where needed
• A change mindset, happy in an environment of continuous review and improvement
• Good verbal and written presentation skills, able to adapt their style to the audience
• Works effectively and collaboratively cross functionally
• Flexible in work style able to reprioritise effectively according to the changing demands of the business
• A credible manager who is able to develop and motivate a team.

A bit about us

We are a shop run on imagination: a place where the world’s most covetable brands combine with the most extraordinary spectacles, events and ideas for an experience like no other.

We have challenged the rules of retail from day one, whilst demonstrating our unwavering commitment to sustainability.  In 2016, we were the first to be awarded with recognition for the ‘World’s Best Sustainability Campaign by a Department Store’ at the IGDS Global Department Store Summit, in-line with its focus on buying better and inspiring change. We are also recognised as the Best Department Store in the World (2010, 2012, 2014 & 2018) underlining our place at the forefront of retail. In 2018 we were recognised as a LinkedIn Top Company to work for.

Our vision is to be the destination for the most extraordinary customer experience, and our people are central to us achieving this.  As an employer we are committed to making Selfridges an exciting, inspiring and fun place to work