Strategic Finance Partner - Senior Commercial Analyst

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. JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019. 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 achieve our strategic goals of being a people‑led, innovative and customer‑focused organisation, you will need to:

• Prepare and review investment and commercial business cases, including Income Statement performance and return on investment measures, for presentation at relevant governance and approval forums.
• Provide performance data and analytics to support strategic commercial decision making.
• Develop and introduce a monthly KPI reporting pack to support senior stakeholders with improved visibility of financial and commercial performance.
• Provide clear, concise reporting to the Finance Business Partner and relevant senior stakeholders.
• Support the annual budgeting process and quarterly forecasting for the relevant cost centre or business areas.
• Support the preparation of Quarterly Business Reviews and Annual Budget decks.
• Provide financial support to the relevant Senior Commercial Finance stakeholders, offering clear and concise insight into the cost base, including staff costs and overheads.
• Support Procurement on cost saving initiatives, including analysis of new contracts, rebates, and commercial terms to deliver sustainable financial benefits.
• Chair regular meetings with the Reporting team to review month‑end performance, understand spend drivers, identify underlying issues and provide appropriate financial challenge.
• Own and oversee the Purchase Order (PO) process, including management of approval hierarchies, ensuring appropriate financial controls, governance compliance and timely approvals.
• Complete ad‑hoc Finance tasks and project work as required.

Qualifications:

• CIMA/ACCA/ACA Part‑Qualified Accountant.
• Experience of business partnering, including providing constructive challenge and making value‑adding recommendations.
• Proven experience of delivering data‑driven insights to support decision‑making.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate financial information for non‑finance stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate effectively with non‑financial colleagues and collaborate across multiple business functions.
• Strong analytical skills to investigate, understand and explain financial and operational performance.
• Ability to form strong working relationships at all levels of the organisation.
• Self‑motivated, with the ability to work on own initiative.
• Strong time‑management skills, prioritising workloads and meeting competing deadlines.
• Advanced Excel skills essential; experience with Oracle, TM1.