Business Analyst - Finance Transformation in Bury St Edmunds

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world. JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally. We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

About JD Group: Founded in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, JD Group has grown into a leading global omni-channel retailer in Sports Fashion, Outdoors, and Gyms. Our diverse and dedicated teams operate across a portfolio of renowned retail brands in multiple international markets. Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1996 and a proud member of the FTSE100 since 2019, JD Group continues to expand both in the UK and globally driven by a commitment to innovation, excellence, and possibility. Our vision is to become the world’s most trusted and dynamic omni-channel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to join us in shaping this future. If you’re passionate about contributing to an inclusive, people-first, and customer-centric organisation and are motivated by continuous growth and operational excellence we’d love to hear from you.

Role Overview: The plan is to implement a financial planning forecasting tool that provides bottom-up financial modelling of all the elements that drive our primary financial statements. Some of the elements relating to the profit and loss statements are revenue, cost of sales, operating costs, depreciation and interest calculations. As part of the discovery phase, we are seeking a Business Analyst with Financial planning experience to draft the business requirements and assist in the assessment of a ‘fit for purpose’ forecasting tool. The person needs to have a strong understanding of the key drivers in a financial planning process and apply a process-led and data-driven approach to gather the business requirements. The stakeholders are based in various locations and may have conflicting requirements. This is where the financial planning experience of the business analyst comes into play, suggesting good practices against conflicting requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and document the end-to-end business analysis for complex, financial planning processes.
• Engage with the commercial finance teams across several regions to understand their FP&A process.
• Document the processes.
• Identify the similarities and key touchpoints.
• Highlight the financial planning gaps between the regions.
• Identify the process improvements required across the JD landscape to drive better forecasting accuracy.
• Understand and document the various data sources per region and process.
• Define and manage business requirements, ensuring alignment between current and future states of the financial planning process.

Skills & Experience Required:

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver outcomes within tight and sometimes conflicting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience of preparing financial forecasts and or financial budgets.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to collaborate and influence across all levels of the organisation.
• Advanced problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to diagnose complex business challenges and deliver practical, actionable solutions.
• Skilled in root cause and impact analysis using a range of business analysis tools and techniques.
• Experience developing business cases and defining measurable benefits to support strategic decision-making.
• Proficient in requirements elicitation and management, including workshop facilitation, documentation, and alignment with IT deliverables.
• Proficiency with tools such as Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messages to a range of audiences.
• Proven success in managing complex stakeholder landscapes and balancing competing priorities.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Data Analysis/Modelling/Governance: design conceptual data model underpinning all phases of the financial planning processes.

What We Offer:

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a workplace where every colleague is valued, respected, and empowered. We celebrate the diversity of our teams and strive to ensure that all colleagues regardless of background, identity, or lived experience can thrive and contribute meaningfully. As a part of our successful and continually evolving company, you’ll be encouraged to embrace and uphold our strategic priorities: putting people first, at the forefront of digital innovation, staying deeply attuned to our customers, and pursuing operational excellence. We are always exploring new avenues for growth, and we welcome individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact every day. We know our employees work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits:

• Staff Discount on qualifying purchases across Group retail stores and online.
• Discounted Gym membership.
• Personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.
• Access to Apprenticeships and accredited qualifications.