Description:
The Commercial Finance Manager’s responsibility is to support the European Commercial Controller and the UK, Irish and Danish Senior Leadership teams by providing expert analysis and decision support to growth planning, operational performance evaluation to drive operational improvements and key business decisions, balancing the demands of short-term financial control with long-term value creation. The role is intended to be a true business partner supporting effective decision making across the leadership teams’ areas of responsibility.
Essential Qualifications, Experience & Skills:
- Relevant tertiary qualifications in finance / data science / statistics – Qualified Accountant or equivalent experience
- 7–10+ years of experience in financial planning & analysis and/or commercial finance roles, ideally in a multi-entity, international business.
- Experience in operational performance optimisation and continuous improvement
- Highly analytical with a strong attention to detail and ability to simplify complex data.
- Confident communicator with experience presenting to senior leadership and external stakeholders.
- Able to synthesise diverse sources of financial and non-financial information, recognise patterns, test hypotheses, and present complex information simply to inform fact based operational, investment, price and growth decisions
- Able to build & maintain trust and challenge constructively & respectfully
- Able to manage multiple customers’ competing priorities effectively
- Strong project management capability
- Individual contributor with strong Excel and PowerPoint capabilities who can independently conduct research and generate financial models and insights
- Advanced financial modelling skills
- Able to influence and communicate with cross-functional stakeholders at all levels
- Able to influence the wider finance team to collaborate effectively
- Strong technology capability, adaptable to multiple systems both financial and non-financial
Specific Responsibilities:
This role is responsible for providing proactive and timely advice to support budgeting and forecasting, growth initiatives, operational performance optimisation, equitable resource allocation, margin analysis, establishment of effective KPIs, business case preparation and investment/property evaluation and advice.
Duties to include, but not limited to:
- Supporting the strategic planning, budgeting and reforecasting process across all European entities
- Monthly and quarterly performance evaluation and analysis against budgets, prior year and forecasts
- Identification and evaluation of performance improvement opportunities including learning/ sharing of practices from other regions, standardisation, benchmarking and streamlining across the businesses
- Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of key operational projects
- Prepare scenario modelling and business cases and provide advice on investment projects, including financial forecasting, validating assumptions, benchmarking and quantifying risks and opportunities
- Analyse drivers of commercial performance (Volume, Price, Cost, Mix)
- Market, share and competitor analysis
- Reviewing monthly and longer-term forecasts, identifying areas that require focus and co-ordinating follow up actions with the relevant Executives
- Support the preparation of the Monthly Performance Review Pack and Provide insightful commentary and analysis on financial performance, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities
- Reviews into focus areas as required and ongoing tracking of improvement initiatives
- Effectively prioritise team resources to meet the requirements of the European Senior Leadership teams
- Undertake any additional duties as required from time to time