Sales Category Finance Controller

We are recruiting for a focused individual to join the Sales Controlling Finance team with key focus on providing Finance Co‑pilot support to the Confectionery category. Working closely with the Category Sales Controller Lead for the Confectionery team you’ll be responsible for driving the key Trade Spend Optimisation strategies, with the Category and Sales teams, to ensure pricing, promotion and customer optimisation opportunities are delivered. In addition, the role will support the Category Sales Controlling Lead and the category team in completing the Monthly Business Planning cycle, creating transparency around the Net Net Sales delivery and variances to targets.

Responsibilities

• Quarterly Investment Reviews (QIRs) – aligned to NIM Sales Controlling priorities, lead action‑focused QIRs with Category, Finance and Sales teams to identify key decisions, opportunities and discussion topics.
• Promotional and Contractual Evaluation – maximise return on investment including optimisation on promotions through the Pre and Post Evaluation process and on Joint Business Plans and Growth Overriders through the sign off, conditionality and payment for performance processes.
• Category Mix – analyse and challenge both the product/brand and the customer/channel portfolio/mix to identify optimisation opportunities to enhance marginal contribution and to eliminate value destroyers.
• Target setting – financial input into channel and customer role definition and target setting. Provide insight on forecast versus actual variances.
• Monthly planning cycle – working with the Category Sales Controller Lead and the Category Operations team to prepare and propose monthly sales value forecast, understand deviations from it, and actively manage volume and trade spend risks and opportunities to deliver the sales forecast.
• Dynamic Forecast Process – prepare sales forecast information for and attend the Dynamic Forecast Alignment meeting alongside the Confectionery Category team to ensure business forecast sign off.
• Pricing strategy – support the Category Sales Controller Lead and Head of Finance with base and promotional pricing strategy, setting of promotional guidelines, pricing workshops, scenario planning, Quarterly Business Review preparation and Category team training and capability.
• Assess Business Category performance, identifying risks and opportunities, and providing transparency and recommendations to the Category leadership team.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role you will be a qualified accountant, with proven experience in Finance & Control and demonstrating good commercial experience and/or insight. You will need to have high levels of drive that ensures a strong result‑focused mind‑set, with a good eye for detail and a high level of initiative to support the business in implementing commercial investment strategies. Your insight will enable you to quickly understand how the business decisions you manage impact business KPIs overall. You will also need to successfully communicate to and influence key senior stakeholders across all levels of the organisation to ensure strong performance is delivered. Finally, you will need the ability to be flexible when prioritising work in an environment that is often fast‑paced and ambiguous. Strong influencing and communication skills. Experience of successfully delivering in cross‑functional networks. Flexibility and the ability to prioritise across a range of priorities. The ability to cope well under pressure. Sustained strong performance in the Finance function. Good knowledge of the P&L and key business KPIs. Financially qualified either through exams (ACCA or CIMA) or breadth of experience.

Benefits

Potential, discretionary annual bonus. Generous pension scheme – up to 12% contribution from Nestle. 12 flexible days on top of 25‑day holiday entitlement. Although this is a full‑time opportunity, please speak to us about what flexibility means to you as we are always open to discuss individual's flexible working.