Senior Commercial Finance Manager in Stoke-on-Trent

Office-based 2-3 days per week. Mint Velvet began when founders Liz Houghton and Lisa Agar-Rea set out to create an unfailingly chic collection of contemporary, great quality staples and elevated fits that they felt were missing from their wardrobes. Feeling frustrated that they couldn’t find anything they wanted to wear, or the great customer service they craved, they started fusing relaxed comfort with glamorous yet wearable fashion trends. Relaxed Glamour was born.

As collaborative creatives, we take untold pride in our work, designing with heart and soul. We want to be a force for good and are committed to becoming a more circular and responsible business, from the fabrics we choose to our considered processes. We are an agile and growing business, and we work hard to create an environment which allows for growth and progression, balanced with the support and flexibility needed to meet the challenge of a high-performance culture. Our leadership teams and founders sit amongst the teams and encourage a culture of balance and passion. MV is a very special place, and our values are anchored by three main pillars: people, planet, and community.

Our Values:

• With Soul.
• Courage & Resilience.
• Passion & Drive.
• Entrepreneurial Spirit.
• Collaborative.

We are seeking a Senior Commercial Finance Manager to join our finance team in a fast-paced omnichannel fashion environment. This role will be key to supporting our ambitious growth plans, with a strong focus on optimising digital performance and driving international expansion. You will act as a strategic business partner to senior management, working with various teams across the business to deliver data driven financial insights and support informed and commercial decision making.

The Role:

• Commercial Finance & Business Partnering: Partner with commercial teams including retail, merchandising, e-commerce, marketing to analyse business performance, report on key KPIs and support commercial decision making across all our markets. Deliver ad hoc financial analysis as and when required by the business. Work closely with marketing teams to analyse spend, evaluate campaign ROI and review strategies to optimise profitability across channels. Develop financial models to evaluate investment opportunities and provide ROI analysis, including for new store openings, entering new markets, product launches, capital investment in technology. Leading timely reporting and analysis to inform critical business decisions.
• Financial Planning and Analysis: Lead the annual budgeting and forecast process across all channels (online, store, wholesale) for sales, margins and operational cost lines. Develop detailed financial models, dashboards and KPI trackers to support business planning and scenario analysis. Partner with senior management across the business to monitor performance, review spend and provide actionable insights. Deliver monthly, quarterly, and ad-hoc financial reports, highlighting key trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Processes, Data & Systems: Support implementation and optimisation of systems to improve data reporting, such as customer segments, behaviour, seasonal trends and campaign performance. Drive improvements in financial processes, systems and reporting. Ensure accuracy and integrity of financial information. Collaborate with tech and commercial teams to enhance data output for financial and KPI reporting to support strategic decision making.
• People: Demonstrating strong people management and your ability to lead a high-performing and efficient team - leading with the right balance of support and challenge in order to ensure the Commercial Finance team delivers great results. Ensuring your team is always clear about the work to be done (leading activity with clear targets & timescales) and how their work fits into the bigger strategic picture. Focusing on driving high performance, through setting SMART objectives and supporting ongoing training and development, including 1:1 coaching on the job and encouraging an ongoing transfer of knowledge & skills. Conducting regular performance reviews, sharing constructive feedback, celebrating successes and managing any performance issues promptly. Collaborating effectively with colleagues across the wider business to deliver department and brand objectives. Taking responsibility for continually improving your own performance – setting and achieving stretching objectives. Being proactive in driving your own personal development - seeking/receiving feedback on your development for your career progression, driving regular development conversations with your manager and utilising training, development and support resources available.

What You'll Have:

• You are highly commercial, with proven experience in fast-paced consumer environment (CIMA qualified, or similar), where you’ve demonstrated your ability to create actionable commercial insights from complex data (being an Excel guru is a must-have).
• You take a collaborative approach – focusing on strong relationship-management and excellent communication to socialise strategic initiatives and implement solutions.
• You skilfully align stakeholders and lead your team to deliver amazing results, ensuring priorities are clear in a fast-moving context.
• You have the ability to challenge at the most senior level, asking the questions that make people stop and think.
• You take smart risks, being agile in driving change, and open to failure in the pursuit of trying new things.
• You have the drive and energy to make things happen at pace, with a keen eye on the detail.
• You effortlessly balance facts with intuition – ensuring you always act with common sense and simplicity in mind.
• You’re a great manager - inspiring a high performance and can-do team culture where teamwork and adaptability thrive. You continually drive your own performance forwards, being proactive in your professional and technical development. You consistently role model our Mint Velvet brand values: ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit’, ‘Passion’, ‘Courage & Resilience’, ‘Collaborative’ and ‘With Soul’.

You’ll Be Rewarded With:

• Competitive starting salary and great career prospects in a fast paced and growing business.
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and an additional day off on your birthday.
• Company-funded private health insurance and access to our EAP Smart Health and Retail Trust.
• Life assurance.
• Discretionary bonus scheme.
• 50% staff discount.
• Interest-free season ticket loan.
• Free Parking.
• Early pay day finish - finish at 3pm every pay day Friday plus Summer hours (3pm finishes every Friday throughout June, July & August).
• In-house performance coaches for all levels.