Commercial Finance Manager - Trading; Planning

Location: London Store Support Centre & Home - colleagues go into the office 2 days per week on average.

Joining the Finance team at Sainsbury's offers a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of shaping and delivering the strategic direction of a leading retail organisation. As a Finance Manager in Central Trading (Planning), you will play a pivotal role in driving financial planning processes, maximising sales, profit, and cash flow, and providing critical insights to senior stakeholders. Working collaboratively with a diverse range of teams and leaders, you will have the chance to influence decision‑making, lead transformational projects, and contribute to the ongoing success of Sainsbury's in a fast‑paced and competitive industry.

You will play a pivotal role in driving financial planning processes and decision‑making for the Food Commercial Director and the wider commercial teams. You will take ownership of all planning cycles that impact Sainsbury’s Commercial, specifically Food sales and margin, from short‑term forecasting to longer‑term budget planning, to maximise sales, profit, and return on investment while ensuring alignment with corporate objectives.

Collaborating closely with various stakeholders, both finance and non‑finance, you will lead the development of strategic insights and analysis, set consistent planning assumptions, and drive efficiency and transformational projects to enhance planning processes. Your ability to interpret complex financial data, generate valuable insights, and effectively communicate outcomes to senior stakeholders will be key in driving improved financial decision‑making and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the organisation.

You are a qualified accountant with a strong background in large FMCG, food, or retail businesses, equipped with advanced financial analysis skills and a keen ability to translate complex data into actionable insights. Your expertise in financial planning cycles and strategic decision‑making, coupled with your effective communication and stakeholder management skills, enable you to drive improved financial performance and support the strategic direction of Sainsbury's Commercial.

With a proactive and organised approach to work, you excel in delivering key financial set pieces on time, generating valuable insights for senior stakeholders, and fostering a collaborative and efficient planning environment.

• Professional accounting qualification (CIMA, ACCA, or ACA)
• Demonstrable commercial finance experience within a large‑scale FMCG, food, or retail organisation
• Advanced data and analysis capability;
  Proven ability to build and manipulate financial models in Excel, with demonstrable use of data to generate insight; evidence or curiosity with additional analytical tools (e.g. SQL‑based platforms, Snowflake)
• Stakeholder communication and influence;
  Demonstrable experience communicating financial information clearly and effectively to senior stakeholders, including the ability to translate complex financial concepts for non‑finance audiences, both verbally and in writing
• Delivery under pressure;
  Evidence of effectively prioritising workload, managing deadlines, and delivering accurate outputs in a fast‑paced or high‑pressure environment

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working.

When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and…