Finance Business Partner - Merchandising & Export

Job Description

We are currently recruiting for a Finance Business Partner to join the Merchandising & Export team on a full-time, permanent basis. This is a key business support to both the Finance Director Merchandising with a specific focus on supporting the pricing team and the Export division.

International Food Group is the Sysco export speciality business, with separate divisions based within the US and Europe, and forms part of the strategic initiatives for exporting mainly to Europe and the Middle East.  Export has sales of circa £7m per annum serving 40 active customers.  The GB arm of IFG forms part of the Brakes business, based in Orpington with occasional travel.

We are looking for an individual who is highly numerate with strong data analytical skills who enjoys working towards tight deadlines whilst positively influencing the Senior Leadership Team.

We are offering a hybrid working contract with most of your time spent working from home. However, you will be required to attend the office in Ashford, Kent once per week, so you must be comfortable and flexible with travel and commuting for project and team meetings.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities:

• Key strategic business partner to the Merchandising function including procurement managers, category managers and the Pricing team & the Export team offering insight, support, and robust challenge where appropriate.
• Robust, timely and accurate financial reporting of volumes, sales, margins and costs and insight into the key drivers of performance.
• Forecasting of these metrics prepared in line with weekly, quarterly and annual forecast cycles.
• Improvement of current processes to streamline activities including ensuring adequate controls are present and being followed.
• The role will play a key role both developing and maintaining processes and accounting for sales via different routes to market as well as understanding the associated costs to feed into commercial decision making.
• It will also support and challenge the Export team in the formulation and delivery of plans and financial targets/forecasts.
• Key month-end activities, ensuring margin and costs are accurately represented and accounted for and preparation of monthly performance reviews.
• This role will also be the finance business partner supporting inter-company sales, involving forecasting and query resolution.
• Providing finance support to pricing including inflation forecasting and external price tracking development and reporting. Overseeing the end-to-end inflation process & understanding how this impacts the wider business to advise when changes occur.
• Key finance contact supporting the maintenance of the Circana relationship and contact, both with Circana themselves and the merchandising contact.
• Ownership and preparation of annual customer audits. Presenting and delivering information to senior colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Production of information for audit requirements for both export and merchandising.
• Collaborate with rest of Merchandising Finance team to identify & implement improvements in existing processes and document where appropriate.
• Understanding roles and responsibilities of other team members to provide cover, support & ownership where appropriate, including the promotions process and key month-end activities.

About you:

You’ll be a qualified accountant, (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) currently operating as a Finance Business Partner, Management Account or Finance Analyst, looking to join a global organisation as part of your career development.

We are looking for someone who will drive performance through insight and has a high level of competency in accounting, financial analysis and modelling and possess strong Excel skills, including experience in financial analysis and modelling are essential and SAP/ BW experience. You will be self-motivated and driven to deliver results and positively influence key stakeholders and be confident communicating with and influencing demanding business partners including presenting information to senior stakeholders. You will have an established history of adding value within a complex commercial environment and the ability to take your technical capability and translate into simple language for non- finance colleagues.

What you’ll receive:

• A competitive salary
• Company car allowance of £5,500
• Pension scheme
• Single private medical healthcare cover
• Generous holiday allowance of 25 days, with option to purchase additional holidays + bank holidays
• Huge discounts on all sorts of lovely food and award-winning products through our staff shop
• Discounts on Cinema tickets, shopping and earn cashback on purchases through Sodexo.
• Recognition awards and Incentives
• Real career opportunities - being part of Sysco, the world’s leading foodservice business, opens up a world of possibility