Commercial Finance Business Partner

About the role

The Commercial Finance Business Partner acts as the financial lead supporting the Commercial Director and commercial teams, providing financial analysis, business insight and decision support to drive profitable growth, optimise inventory investments, improve gross margins and enhance overall business performance. The role partners with Buying, Merchandising, Retail Operations, Planning, Marketing and Brand Management teams, turning financial data into actionable recommendations.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with the Commercial Director and leadership team, acting as a trusted advisor who translates financial performance into clear recommendations, risks, opportunities and corrective actions
• Guide buying plans, assortment strategies, pricing, markdowns, promotions and inventory investments; challenge assumptions with fact-based analysis
• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting and reforecasting, and support long-range and strategic planning
• Monitor performance against budgets and forecasts, prepare monthly business reviews with variance analysis, KPI reporting and bridge analysis, and develop scenario planning and financial models
• Analyse sales, gross and net margin, markdowns, sell-through, stock productivity and profitability across brands, stores, channels and categories, and conduct price-volume-mix analysis
• Optimise inventory investments with Planning, Buying and Merchandising teams, monitor stock ageing, slow-moving stock and stock turns, and support Open-to-Buy planning
• Develop and evaluate business cases for brand launches, store openings, refurbishments, marketing activations and pricing initiatives, with ROI, payback, cash flow and investment analysis
• Build dashboards and reports, simplify financial information for non-financial stakeholders and deliver insights to senior management
• Improve planning, forecasting and reporting processes, automate reporting with BI tools, and support ERP, BI and finance transformation initiatives

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration or a related discipline
• Professional qualification (CIMA, ACCA, CPA, CMA or equivalent) preferred
• 5-8 years of experience in FP&A, Commercial Finance, Business Partnering or Financial Analysis
• Experience in luxury or fashion retail
• Proven experience supporting senior commercial stakeholders and driving business performance through financial insights

Required skills

• Advanced Excel and financial modelling
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, profitability analysis and business case development
• Power BI and data visualisation tools
• ERP experience, preferably Microsoft Dynamics
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical mindset and excellent communication and presentation skills