Commercial Finance Manager

Commercial Finance Manager to join their highly respected Finance team in Watford. This pivotal role places you at the centre of commercial decision-making, partnering with senior leaders across Merchandising, Marketing, and Digital to ensure every business move is underpinned by robust financial insight and accurate reporting. You will be instrumental in driving performance and profitability across a substantial £300m sales portfolio.

As Commercial Finance Manager, you will play an integral part in supporting senior leaders across Merchandising, Marketing, and Digital functions by providing expert financial insight that informs critical business decisions. Your day‑to‑day activities will involve leading all aspects of financial planning and forecasting for the UK business unit — including sales, margin, and inventory reporting — while presenting your findings at executive‑level meetings.

Other responsibilities include monitoring key performance metrics to assess promotional effectiveness and trading activity while highlighting areas for improvement; supporting strategic initiatives such as new product launches or acquisitions with thorough financial evaluation; managing an Analyst within your team and coaching them towards success; and collaborating widely with colleagues in Birmingham. Upholding compliance standards is essential as you maintain rigorous controls over reporting accuracy.

Success in this role requires not only technical expertise but also strong interpersonal skills to build trust with stakeholders at every level.

• Partner closely with Merchandising, Marketing, and Multichannel teams to provide comprehensive financial support, guidance, and challenge that drives growth and operational efficiency throughout the business.
• Lead all aspects of financial planning and forecasting for the UK division, taking ownership of sales, margin, and inventory reporting to ensure accuracy and valuable insight at every stage.
• Present detailed analysis at Executive Committee meetings and budget sessions, delivering meaningful insights that shape strategic decisions and investment priorities.
• Monitor key performance indicators such as like‑for‑like sales, average selling price, average transaction value, and margin rates to appraise promotions and trading activity while identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Support strategic initiatives by evaluating new product ranges, marketing campaigns, and potential acquisitions to ensure sound financial rationale and return on investment.
• Manage and develop talent within your team by leading, coaching, and nurturing your Analyst while fostering collaboration across the wider Finance function based in Birmingham.
• Ensure compliance with Group standards for reporting accuracy including adherence to US GAAP, Sarbanes‑Oxley controls, and internal policies to maintain high levels of integrity in all financial processes.
• Collaborate effectively with both UK‑based colleagues and Group Finance teams to drive alignment on commercial objectives and share best practices across the organisation.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives within the Finance department by identifying process enhancements that increase efficiency or improve reporting quality.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders by translating complex financial data into clear recommendations that support informed decision‑making.

To excel as Commercial Finance Manager you will bring extensive experience from previous commercial finance positions within retail or similar sectors where you have worked collaboratively alongside senior leaders. Your background should include hands‑on involvement in budgeting cycles as well as deep knowledge of margin management techniques. The ideal candidate will possess advanced analytical capabilities combined with excellent interpersonal skills‑enabling you not only to interpret complex datasets but also communicate findings persuasively at board level.

Experience mentoring junior staff members is important; your supportive approach helps foster growth within the team. Familiarity with compliance frameworks such as US GAAP or…