Wholesale & Marketing Finance Business Partner

For a quarter of a century, the Jellycat family have brought joy, wonder and playful fun to people of all ages, in every part of the world. Utterly original and in a class of their own, they are currently among the most loved and collected toys of their kind. How has this gentle tribe endeared themselves to so many? Perhaps it is their whimsical expressions. Or the deliciously soft fabrics. Or the beautiful way in which they sit in your hand. Whatever it is, there is something magical and unmistakeable about each one of them.

We are currently seeking a Wholesale & Marketing Finance Business Partner to join our Global FP&A team. This role involves supporting senior stakeholders to create and manage business plans and budgets across both Wholesale and Marketing departments and forecast future needs using a long-term planning process to make informed decisions that improve company performance. The role also involves month end reviews, providing insightful commentary and analysis to support the management accounts pack. You are expected to build excellent working relationships across the company to be able to influence, challenge and drive decision making to improve business performance and profitability

The successful candidate will be a key contributor to our company's financial success and will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on our growth and profitability.

You'll be;

Business Partnering:
• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with senior managers and their teams across both departments to understand their needs and challenges.
• Acting as a trusted advisor, providing financial insights and strategic advice to support decision-making.

Budgeting and Forecasting:
• Owning the budgeting and forecasting of the Wholesale and Marketing P&Ls.
• Developing and managing the annual budgeting process, including setting timelines, coordinating with various teams (global and regional), and consolidating inputs.
• Coordinating and working closely with the budget holders and regional FP&A teams for submissions to create global reporting for presentation to senior management.
• Implementing, preparing and updating rolling forecasts to reflect current business conditions.
• Assisting with presentations & production of a formal budget and forecast packs.
•Building and setting up forecasting models where needed and doing sensitivity analysis and scenario planning.
• Working closely with Wholesale and Merch team for sales planning by customer, region and product with focus on building blocks analysis to present to senior management.
• Working closely with Merch & Operations teams to forecast stock covers, stock intake and closing stock position for Wholesale channel.
• Working closely with the global and local Marketing teams across multiple marketing pillars to deliver a financial marketing calendar.

Channel and Departmental P&L Reviews:
• Leading the preparation of the Wholesale channel and Marketing departmental monthly P&Ls with variance analysis. Ensuring balances are reviewed for accuracy.
• Working closely with the Financial Accounting team at month end on transactional queries.
• Reviewing departmental spending, analysing actuals against budget/forecast, and provide insightful commentary on variances to budget holders.
• Analysing financial data to identify trends, discrepancies, and opportunities for cost optimization.
• Preparing monthly reporting pack, on a timely and accurate basis, with insightful analysis and commentary on channel and department P&Ls for Global Head of FP&A and Financial Controller review.
• Acting as a key point of contact for financial queries and support.

Financial Analysis and Reporting:
• Providing the department teams with ad hoc financial analysis to support departments or key projects to ensure good cost control practices and/or enable operational decision-making.
• Conducting in-depth variance analysis to provide actionable insights to management.
• Supporting the Global Head of Commercial Finance team with project business case analysis and data.
• Working closely with the global BI and BA teams in developing reporting.
• Overseeing reconciliation of sales and margin reporting to BI reports and investigate discrepancies.
• Providing insights and recommendations for cost reduction, revenue enhancement, and profit optimization.
• Ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations. Prepare reports for internal and external stakeholders as required.
• Reporting on Monthly/Quarterly tasks including KPI's.

Other Areas:
• Support the financial accounting team with the audit process, providing necessary support or documentation.
• Get involved with other various projects and ad hoc work requested by senior management or other departments to assist the wider business.
• Continuously improve financial processes and reporting systems to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and the overall effectiveness of financial operations.

You'll have;

• The ability to translate complex financial data into clear, actionable insights for non-finance stakeholders.
• The Ability to present financial information that is easily understood by different audiences, ensuring alignment with business goals.
• To collaborate on cross-functional projects to drive business performance, key reporting and achieve strategic objectives.
• To challenge and support business decisions with robust financial analysis and strategic thinking.
• The ability to influence key business decisions by providing financial expertise and strategic guidance.
• To negotiate and resolve conflicts to ensure financial and business objectives are met.
• The ability to help set realistic targets and address business problems as they arise.
• Experience in financial planning and analysis, budgeting and forecasting, business partnering and month end reporting.
• To be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA) with post-qualification experience of at least 3+ years in FP&A or related roles.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop strong relationships across the business at all levels.
• Experience in building strong relationships with various departments and demonstrate a willingness and desire to influence their decision and objectives.
• The ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment. Sense of urgency and ability to execute quickly and efficiently.
• Experience of international wholesale (B2B) & marketing business models.
• A detail-oriented mindset with a focus on accuracy and efficiency in managing financial data and transactions.
• Proficiency in PowerBI  (preferred, not essential).