Commercial Finance Lead

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Our team members are passionate, driven and up for a challenge. If you have ambition to make a difference, then please read on.

About Advanced Since 1999, Advanced has been creating innovative fire safety solutions trusted to protect lives and property in more than 80 countries. Our reputation is built on the quality of our products and our commitment to customer service excellence.

As part of Halma, a FTSE 100 group of life-saving technology companies, we enjoy the benefits of being part of a global network whilst having the freedom to grow our business using our own sector expertise. At Advanced, you’ll have the opportunity to make a real impact, working as part of a talented team driven by a shared purpose to create a safer, sustainable future.

About the role

As Commercial Finance Lead at Advanced Electronics, you will be instrumental in driving data-led decision making across the business by delivering insightful analysis of revenue, margins, inventory, working capital and operational performance.

Working closely with the Finance Director, Sales, Product, Operations and Supply Chain, you will transform financial and operational data into actionable business insight. You will play a key role in forecasting, budgeting, pricing analysis, inventory optimisation and strategic planning, helping the business improve profitability, cash generation and sustainable growth.

What you’ll be doing

Financial Planning & Analysis
· Collaborate with key stakeholders to prepare accurate budgets, forecasts and financial plans.
· Develop robust financial models and  what-if  scenarios to support decision making and strategic planning.
· Support monthly forecasting of revenue, gross margin, operating expenditure and working capital.
· Perform sensitivity analysis to identify financial risks and opportunities.
· Support annual budget preparation, quarterly reforecasts and long-range planning activities.

Revenue, Margin and Commercial Analysis
· Deliver detailed analysis of revenue, gross margin and profitability by customer, product, region and channel.
· Partner with Sales and Commercial teams to provide pricing analysis and support commercial decision making.
· Evaluate the impact of component costs, labour costs and inflation on profitability.
· Identify margin leakage, underperforming products and profitability improvement opportunities.
· Provide clear recommendations to support revenue growth and margin enhancement initiatives.

Inventory & Working Capital Performance
· Analyse inventory levels, inventory turns, ageing, excess and obsolete stock.
· Monitor and report on working capital performance, highlighting risks and opportunities.
· Partner with Supply Chain and Operations teams to improve inventory management and cash conversion.
· Support stock valuation processes and provide financial challenge and insight around inventory decisions.

Operational & Manufacturing Finance
· Analyse manufacturing performance, operational costs and key production metrics.
· Support product costing, standard costing and cost structure reviews. Investigate manufacturing variances and identify opportunities for efficiency improvements.
· Partner with Operations to understand cost drivers and support continuous improvement initiatives.
· Ensure product costing information remains accurate and supports informed decision making.

Business Partnering
· Build strong relationships across Finance, Sales, Operations, Product and Supply Chain.
· Provide financial insight and challenge to support operational and commercial decisions.
· Communicate complex financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
· Support departmental leaders in understanding business performance, trends and opportunities.

Management Reporting & Business Intelligence
·…