Commercial Finance Business Partner

The Commercial Finance Business Partner acts as the financial lead supporting the Commercial Director and Commercial teams, providing financial analysis, business insight, and decision support to drive profitable growth, optimize inventory investments, improve gross margins, and enhance overall business performance.

The role serves as a trusted partner to Commercial, Buying, Merchandising, Retail Operations, Planning, Marketing, and Brand Management teams, translating financial data into actionable business recommendations and ensuring commercial decisions are financially sound, strategically aligned, and value creating.

Key Responsibilities:

Commercial Business Partnering

• Partner closely with the Commercial Director and commercial leadership team to support strategic and operational decision-making.
• Act as a trusted advisor by translating financial performance into clear recommendations, risks, opportunities, and corrective actions.
• Provide financial guidance on buying plans, assortment strategies, pricing decisions, markdowns, promotional activities, and inventory investments
• Challenge commercial assumptions and business proposals through fact-based analysis and financial evaluation.
• Participate in regular commercial review meetings and ensure financial insights are translated into agreed action plans.
• Build strong cross-functional partnerships across Buying, Merchandising, Planning, Retail Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance.

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting, and reforecasting processes for the Commercial function.
• Support long-range planning and strategic business planning activities.
• Monitor performance against budgets, forecasts, and prior year results, highlighting financial risks and opportunities.
• Prepare monthly business performance reviews, including variance analysis, KPI reporting, bridge analysis, and management commentary.
• Develop scenario planning, sensitivity analysis, and financial models to assess different commercial strategies and market conditions.

Commercial Performance & Profitability Analysis

• Analyze sales, gross margin, net margin, markdowns, promotional effectiveness, sell-through, stock productivity, and profitability across brands, stores, channels, categories, and product groups
• Conduct price-volume-mix analysis and evaluate the financial impact of pricing, promotional, allocation, and buying decisions.
• Identify opportunities to improve profitability, margin performance, and commercial productivity.
• Review brand, category, and channel profitability and recommend actions to enhance financial performance.
• Monitor and report on key retail and commercial KPIs to support business performance management.

Inventory & Working Capital Management

• Partner with Planning, Buying, and Merchandising teams to optimize inventory investments and improve stock productivity.
• Monitor inventory levels, stock ageing, slow-moving stock, stock turns, weeks of cover, and sell-through performance
• Identify inventory risks and recommend corrective actions to improve stock efficiency and working capital.
• Support Open-to-Buy (OTB) planning and seasonal buying reviews.
• Monitor purchasing cycles, stock commitments, collections, and inventory-related commercial risks.

Business Cases & Investment Analysis

• Develop and evaluate business cases for new brand launches, store openings, refurbishments, marketing activations, promotional campaigns, pricing initiatives, and strategic investments
• Conduct ROI, payback, profitability, cash flow, and investment analysis to support management decision-making.
• Assess commercial opportunities and provide recommendations to maximize financial returns.

Reporting & Business Insights

• Develop and enhance dashboards, reports, and analytical tools that improve visibility of commercial performance.
• Deliver meaningful financial insights and recommendations to senior management.
• Ensure reporting accuracy, consistency, and timely delivery across all commercial reporting processes.
• Simplify complex financial information and improve financial understanding among non-financial stakeholders.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive improvements in planning, forecasting, reporting, and performance management processes.
• Automate reporting and improve data visualization capabilities through BI tools and technology solutions.
• Support ERP, BI, and finance transformation initiatives.
• Promote a culture of data-driven commercial decision-making across the organization.

Your Profile:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or related discipline.
• Professional qualifications (CIMA, ACCA, CPA, CMA or equivalent) preferred.
• 5-8 years of experience in FP&A, Commercial Finance, Business Partnering, or Financial Analysis roles.
• Experience within luxury retail or fashion retail.
• Proven experience supporting senior commercial stakeholders and driving business performance through financial insights.
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, profitability analysis, and business case development experience.
• Experience with Power BI and data visualization tools.
• ERP experience, preferably Microsoft Dynamics.
• Strong commercial acumen and business partnering capability.
• Analytical and problem-solving mindset.
• Ability to challenge constructively and influence decision-making.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.