Senior Commercial Analyst *INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY*

A key part of the team responsible for financial planning and management of sales, margin and employed staff costs across the Southern Europe Region.

You will develop strong relationships with Retail and other areas of the business.

Key Duties/Responsibilities:

Responsibility for all sales, epos margin, and store staff costs including budgets, monthly reforecasts and actuals

Sales: work closely with the retail team, merchandising and senior finance team to set monthly targets which are stretching, but achievable.

• Analysis of current trading and future impacts to help set the target
• Understand and explain movements and impact of changes
• Analytical approach to ensure sales targets consider and reflect the impact of key events (Easter / Eid / Xmas / Bank holidays / School holidays)
• Oversee Daily sales reporting
• Reconciliation of monthly sales to daily sales and investigation of variances

Margin: understand margin rate trends and liaise with merchandising team to refesh the plan as required

• Analyse variances between actual and forecast margins and understand the drivers of these
• Ensure finance forecast margins are in line with merchandising margins

Store wages & Staff Costs: main aim is to ensure that the budgeted ratio for store wages is achieved

• Calculate core salary requirements for new stores Using EU Headcount Model
• Review current wages model and analyse data to identify cost opportunities and potential improvements to the forecast and core calculation methods
• Analyse and understand variances between actual and forecast staff costs working with payroll and retail to resolve any issues identified.
• Calculation and communication of quarterly retail bonus scheme ensuring high levels of accuracy, appropriate review and submission to payroll within required timescales
• Ad hoc analysis to support the retail team and fellow team members

 Skills/Experience/Knowledge needed:

• CIMA / ACCA / ACA Qualified Accountant
• Experience of management accounting essential.
• Retail experience advantageous
• Strong communication skills both written and verbal required.
• Very strong analytical skills required in order to investigate, understand, and explain variances and overall business performance.
• Ability to work under own initiative.
• Strong time management skills and ability to prioritise workloads to meet deadlines.
• Advanced Excel skills, Oracle, TM1 experience not essential but an advantage
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Positive, flexible, enthusiastic, and driven.

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