Finance Business Partner (6 Month FTC)

Contract type: Fixed Term Contract (6 Months)

Location: Hatfield (hybrid working - 3 days in the office)

Working hours per week: 40 hours

Level: Senior

Application closing date: Monday 14th July 2025

About us

Our mission is to deliver joy in every shop, through unbeatable choice, unrivalled service, and reassuringly good value. We are Ocado Retail, a market-leading, joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S and the world's largest dedicated online supermarket ocado.com. Not only is Ocado.com the only place to shop a full range of M&S food online, but it's also the home to the widest online supermarket range in the UK and champion of small, independent brands. We're also the brains behind Zoom by Ocado, our same-day grocery delivery service.

About the team and the role

The Commercial Finance team has exposure to the heartbeat of how our business trades and plays a key role in delivering on our financial objectives. This team provides insight, value add and reporting for both Ocado.com and Zoom by Ocado. It’s an exciting time to join the Commercial Finance Team as we head into a pivotal period of accelerated growth and continue to raise the bar for both our finance and commercial colleagues.

Reporting to the Senior Finance Manager, you will be responsible for supporting the Fresh team, providing financial expertise and challenge to the commercial teams in order to deliver profitable growth for Ocado retail. This includes evaluating cost structures, tenders and joint business plans, as well as day-to-day trading decisions, like pricing and promotions.

What you’ll do

• You’ll partner your functional area to support leadership make the right decisions, and play a critical role in identifying, recommending, and concluding on business opportunities to create value.
• Be the trusted business partner for the 2x Trading Managers and the Fresh Commercial Director.
• Support with providing regular, robust and insightful reporting around trade performance, understanding mix vs rate analysis and how the various brands are driving performance.
• Make complex financial scenarios easy for non-financial colleagues.
• Working with our data insight colleagues, cut through the data to enable better & faster commercial decision making, ensuring we provide our customers with the most comprehensive and compelling ranges.
• Work closely with the supporting function in the preparation and review of budgets and forecasts.
• Play a key role in developing and following up on 'gap closing' activities to ensure performance is delivered in line with expectations.
• Support in annual business plans with suppliers to negotiate the best deal for Ocado, then monitor performance against agreed targets throughout the year, advising on course corrections if required.
• Own the forecasting process for your category, making forecasting accuracy improvements and enabling key trade drivers to be understood.
• Month end support by providing the central team with accruals and accurate supplier income outturn.
• Identifying and implementing improvements to ways of working within the Commercial Finance Teams.
• Evaluating and challenging new product launches, promotional activities new proposals/existing business to ensure profitability.
• Participate in cross-functional project groups.
• Providing ad hoc Finance support.
• Supervise and coach the SFA/analyst in the team leading them through.

Who you are

• Qualified accountant with strong academics.
• Previous Retail experience advantageous.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, ability to articulate financial data in a clear and transparent way.
• Strong Excel skills and experience in building financial models.
• Highly numerate and analytical with a keen eye for detail.
• Deadline focused and goal oriented.
• Enthusiastic to learn.
• Able to build relationships with key stakeholders.
• 'Can do' proactive approach.
• Dedicated to detail, quality and accuracy. Responds quickly to change, demonstrating a proactive and positive approach.
• Ownership of results.

What’s in it for you

By joining Ocado Retail you’ll have the chance to experience life at the world’s largest online retailer, work with an amazing bunch of people who challenge what’s possible each day, and grow your skills and career in online retail. If that’s not enough to tempt you, you’ll also get access to loads of great benefits to sweeten the deal.

• Health & Wellbeing: Private medical insurance with the option to add your family, Digital GP appointments, market-leading family policies, mental health support, discounted gym memberships, dental insurance, and more.
• Spend & Save: Recognition with reward platform, up to 7% matched pension contributions, 15% Ocado discount, 20% M&S discount, free breakfast every day in the office, electric vehicle leasing scheme and free shuttle bus from Hatfield station to the office.
• Never miss the moments that matter: Blended/Hybrid working, 26 days holiday plus 8 flexible bank holidays, options to buy an extra holiday, 2 weeks work from anywhere, and lifestyle break opportunities.

Our Hiring Process

Lucky for us, we get loads of great applications and we really appreciate that so many people put the time and effort in to apply. To recognise that, we treat all applications respectfully and fairly. So, if yours stands out, you’ll follow our standard hiring process - one of our Talent Partners will talk you through this in an initial call.

Everyone’s welcome

We’re an equal opportunities employer. That means that we make sure all potential colleagues are treated fairly and equally. If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know on the application form.