Senior Finance Business Partner - Fixed Term Contract in Bradford

Location: FGH Business Centre, 66-70 Vicar Ln, Bradford BD1 5AJ

Hybrid flexibility: 2 office days per week

About The Role

As a key member of the Finance Directorates senior management team, this role is responsible for all financial matters relating to the relevant functional directorate. The position focuses on commercial support and challenge, delivering month-end, planning, reporting, project accounting and benefits tracking responsibilities while ensuring appropriate controls and financial discipline. It provides insight and challenge to enhance decision making, seeks opportunities to improve commercial outcomes, and builds strong relationships within the functional team and broader decision-making forums.

Accountabilities

• Commercial Decision Support
  • Work hand in glove with the Director & senior management team while maintaining commercial objectivity, proactively providing financial analysis, data-driven challenge & information to enable the team to make the right decisions.
  • Provide financial leadership to establish a disciplined approach to evaluating commercial opportunities and actively seek improvements to business performance.
  • Demonstrate commercial awareness and holistic thinking to credibly challenge decision making and address KPI performance.
  • Develop and maintain appropriate schedules for financial performance, financial simulations, business cases and project accounting; hold the department accountable for commitments and highlight cash and P&L implications.
  • Ensure appropriate reporting is in place and provide insight into KPIs aligned with business objectives.
• Financial Planning & Forecasting
  • Oversee delivery of regular financial forecasts, budgets and latest views, including packs and supporting analysis; ensure reviews and business buy-in.
  • Align the process with the wider FGH planning cycle, driving integration and implementation of seasonal planning within the business function and liaising cross-functionally for consistency.
  • Collaborate with FP&A and other stakeholders to enhance understanding.
• Month End Reporting and Commentaries
  • Ensure a smooth month-end process and hold the function accountable for performance against comparatives, identifying opportunities and risks.
  • Liaise with reporting teams so numbers are understood and commentaries are timely, appropriate and insightful.
  • Oversee balance sheet reconciliations, communicating risks and opportunities.
  • Manage internal and external audit interaction and ensure appropriate schedules are in place.
• Leadership & Relationships
  • Represent Finance within senior team forums.
  • Provide staff management, including regular one-to-ones and annual performance management processes.
  • Build relationships across the business and group, earning trust and displaying FGH values.
  • Provide financial leadership and ensure controls and disciplines are adhered to.
  • Maintain a close relationship with the reporting team to understand actuals vs forecast and potential risks and opportunities.
• Miscellaneous
  • Deputise for Head of Finance.
  • Supplementary ad-hoc tasks as they arise.
  • Commit to fair treatment of customers at all times.
  • Ensure compliance with applicable UK and local regulations, company policies and FCA Conduct Rules.
  • Demonstrate behaviours in line with company values.
  • Take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and others affected by actions at work.

About You

• Strong commercial understanding of business and retailing.
• Previous role held in a commercial or retail environment.
• Experience in business partnering with a strong sense of customer focus and objective challenge.
• Professionally qualified with 2 years PQE.
• Production of month-end accounts.
• Production of end-to-end budgets/forecast.
• Retail or consumer business experience.
• Strong Excel and modelling skills; tables, spreadsheets, graphs, etc.
• Excellent presentation, visual and oral communication skills.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Ability to understand key business cost drivers and experience of profitability and decision-support modelling.
• Ability to forge effective business relationships across all levels, utilising strong interpersonal skills and establishing gravitas and respect with peers.
• Good relationship-building skills with the ability to be objective and challenge positively.
• Attention to detail and holistic viewpoint.
• Staff management skills.
• Worked in a group or team to deliver a project.
• Financial qualification: CIMA, ACCA, ACA.
• Maths and English grade C or above, or equivalent.
• Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines with high levels of accuracy.
• Personable but professional relationship-building skills.
• Able to commute to Bradford city centre and work additional hours to ensure projects are completed on time.

About Us: FGH

For over 100 years, Freemans has been at the forefront of home shopping, delivering quality products and exceptional service. We’ve accepted the challenge to transform our business into a modern, digital-first retailer. With a rich heritage and an eye on the future, we are a forward-thinking, tech-driven online retail business, making fabulous fashion and stylish homewares accessible and affordable for everyone. Based in West Yorkshire and part of the OTTO group, one of the world’s largest online retail organisations, Freemans Grattan Holdings (FGH) is the home of familiar brands such as Freemans, Grattan, Kaleidoscope, and Curvissa.

What We Offer You

• Flexibility: We offer hybrid working to help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. Our full-time head-office colleagues work a minimum of 2 days per week in the office, allowing the perfect balance between collaborative in-person teamwork and the flexibility to work from home.
• Training & Development: Turning your job into a career is a real passion for us, and our development programmes will enable you to grow in role. We offer clear career pathways that will show you the way, outlining the skills, behaviours and knowledge needed to perform at the next step, and we invest in our colleagues, giving them all the opportunity to progress. Our inspired leadership programme is aimed at equipping future leaders to coach, develop, manage change and maintain situational awareness.
• Inclusivity: As a business, we depend on a fusion of identities, characteristics, backgrounds, and cultures to fully appreciate our people and our customers. Freemans has a long-standing commitment to ensuring fairness and balance. Our company is an inclusive organisation where everybody can make the most of their talent and abilities. Our pay, reward and progression approach is based solely on fairness and merit.
• Benefits: Competitive salaries and annual bonus scheme, 37 days holiday, healthcare cash plan, competitive pension scheme, life assurance, paid paternity and maternity leave, incredible staff discounts, subsidised canteen.