Finance Associate in Ashford

Brakes are currently recruiting for a results driven Finance Associate to join our Finance team in Ashford, Kent. Our Finance colleagues are a central hub of knowledge, and as a Finance Associate within the Sales division, you’ll ensure that your team are on hand to support the business in every way possible to achieve business growth across all regions of the UK. Reporting to the Senior Finance Business Partner, you’ll be responsible for providing finance support to our Corporate Account Managers and the other Corporate Finance team members. You will be expected to provide support through the management of rebates, month end processes, customer reporting and other margin impacting activity. A well supported role for a finance professional looking to take the next step in their career. We offer a clear development path up to a Finance Business Partner and even offer a study support package towards your accounting qualifications! This role is offering flexible hybrid working with 1-2 days based in our Kent office for team collaboration and meetings, so you must be within a commutable distance.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities:

• Responsible for ensuring accuracy of rebates and rebate reconciliations.
• Responsible for setting up, recording, accruals and settlement.
• Review customer performance / margin analysis.
• Assist the Senior Finance Business Partners/Finance Business Partner in the production of Budgets/Forecasts.
• Prepare Customer reports.
• Raise POs.
• Assist the team with the month end process.
• Act as a central point of contact for internal customers for finance related queries.
• Support in the production of ad-hoc reports/presentations as required to drive business results.
• Act as an ambassador for finance promoting cross functional collaboration and understanding.
• Stand in for other Finance Associates and Finance Business Partners as required.

About you:

This is a great role for someone with a strong academic background, excellent commercial acumen and advanced excel skills, which are essential for success in this position. The ideal candidate will have experience in a data-focussed or financial analyst role, where they have been responsible for producing, analysing and interpreting performance reporting. You will be highly confident working with large datasets, building and adapting reports, and using tools such as pivot tables, lookup formulas, SUMIFs and logical formulas to analyse performance and support decision-making. You will be comfortable interrogating data independently, identifying anomalies and investigating variances rather than simply producing reports. Accuracy and attention to detail are critical, as is the ability to present information clearly and concisely to stakeholders. You will have excellent communication and teamwork skills to liaise with multiple stakeholders across the business. You will take ownership of your work, use initiative to question and challenge where appropriate, and see enquiries through to resolution whilst maintaining professional and ethical standards.

What you’ll receive:

• A competitive salary.
• Generous holiday allowance, with option to purchase up to 10 additional holiday days.
• Pension scheme.
• Hybrid working contract.
• Huge discounts on all sorts of lovely food and award-winning products through our staff shop.
• Discounts on Cinema tickets, shopping and earn cashback on purchases through Sodexo.
• Recognition awards and Incentives.
• Career progression opportunities - being part of Brakes and the wider Sysco group, the world’s leading foodservice business, opens up a world of possibility.

Additional Information:

At Brakes everyone is welcome. We don’t want you to ‘fit our culture’ we want you to help define it and we actively celebrate the unique talents of each and every colleague. We don’t just look at your CV, we’re more focused on who you are and your potential. As part of our values, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone has a voice, is appreciated and has the same opportunities. We work hard to ensure that everyone feels part of our business, as we care for one another and connect the world through food and trusted partnerships. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that everyone belongs and thrives at Brakes and we recognise that Brakes can only thrive when everyone feels they belong. We’ll do everything we can to support you during your application. If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, speak to our resourcing team who will be happy to support you.

Brakes is built on a passion for food and feeding the nation, we are the UK’s largest foodservice supplier. Every day Brakes deliver the highest quality fresh and frozen food and ingredients from our nationwide network of distribution centres to some of the nation’s most famous pubs and restaurants, as well as schools, caterers, care homes and hospitals. Our customers depend on us, and our 8,000-strong workforce is dedicated and proud to be part of this vital provision. And we’re growing!