Manager, Workforce Finance in London

Located in the UK and a member of the Ralph Lauren Workforce Management team, the Manager, Workforce Finance (S&B) is responsible for end to end financial management of all locations in EMEA. This position reports directly to the Senior Director of Workforce Management and will work together with key business partners and regional leadership to support the group’s baseline financial operations including responsibility for overseeing and delivering effective divisional budgeting/long range planning, forecasting and month end close activities. The ideal candidate will be a proactive, forward thinking and innovative commercial professional with the ability to multi-task whilst managing a high degree of analytical proficiency and integrity. This position relies on foundational knowledge and experience in finance/accounting and a firm understanding of commercial retail. This is an excellent opportunity to build and shape a long term career, identifying sound business opportunities and establishing action plans to convert these opportunities to drive sustainable, profitable growth.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Own the annual budget and LRP efforts including developing expense budgets, projecting other expense items, and preparing supporting analyses and bridges.
• Lead the end-to-end month end and forecasting process for the full S&B P&L including sales/margin and operating expenses across all bricks and mortar locations as well as delivery of key KPIs, including accruals/reclasses and variance analyses (sales/expenses).
• Ensure accuracy of accruals, R&O and other adjustments, and report to management in a clear and timely manner.
• Develop accurate and high-quality models to support business cases and commercial strategies, drawing on best practices from across DTC channels.
• Collaborate with the functional leads to develop monthly forecasts; specifically, with leads across FP&A, planning, retail, marketing and supply chain.
• Track performance metrics and proactively analyse and assess business risks and opportunities to drive operational and financial performance and deliver against targets.
• Review monthly expense results with functional department/Country heads; act as the lead business partner for expenses and establish a track record of clear communication and sound follow up.
• Drive the strategy, decision making and lead guidance for new business initiatives, special projects and other investment decisions, partnering with leadership to develop related ROI analyses.
• Establish and maintain strong business partnerships across regional retail teams to promote teamwork and organisational alignment including sharing best practices across channels and countries.
• Drive growth and development of analysts, providing development plans, one to one guidance and daily direction to ensure deadlines and standards are met. Mentor the team, managing performance and providing support and guidance where necessary.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge

• Finance education or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Experience of Finance/Accounting in a highly commercial environment / FP&A in a multinational or global retail company ideal.
• Strong communication and presentation skills (oral, written, and formal) with the ability to develop professional relationships with varying levels of management.
• Proven ability to manage multiple tasks and adapt to a changing, fast paced environment; detail oriented with strong organization skills.
• Strong commercial and strategic thinking skills; high degree of accuracy with a strong attention to detail.
• Self-motivated/pro-active, follow through with responsibilities and taking accountability for results.
• Mandatory: Advanced competency in Excel and other Microsoft applications.
• Preferred: SAP, Insight, and Hyperion Essbase.