Senior Finance Analyst - Opex

Purpose:  Provide extensive financial planning and analysis to support US Retail Brick & Mortar.

Key Accountabilities:

• Assist the Senior Finance Manager in the monthly forecast, controlling and reporting processes.
• Assist in developing processes and tools to continually improve forecast accuracy; including, among others, financial deep dives to validate actual expenses and understand key financial drivers.Contribute to the development of standardized best practices.
• Support the US Commercial Finance team in developing financial models and fiscal year budgets.
• Partner closely with the Global Retail Finance and Regional Finance organizations to help coordinate and execute planning, budgeting, and other ad-hoc requests and provide variance explanation and commentary for actuals and forecast.
• Work closely with the Accounting team to streamline the month-end close process and address systems and reporting issues.
• Assist the Bricks & Mortar Finance team in financial consulting on key strategic initiatives aimed at boosting profitability.
• Play an active role in partnering with the management team on forecasting, budgeting, financial modelling, and other various ad-hoc analyses.
• Partner with Retail Operations team to support labor budget/forecast, planning & analysis.
• Partner and support Real-Estate team with lease budget/forecast, planning & analysis.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated analytical skills, comfort with Finance and/or Accounting principles and good understanding and experience with retail math and retail financial drivers.
• Proven ability to operate cross functionally, join data from various sources and develop creative and innovative solutions within an entrepreneurial environment.
• Strong prioritization skills and the ability to accomplish assignments simultaneously under tight timelines.  
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from managers, stakeholders, sales representatives, peers, clients and customers.
• Understanding in fundamental database design and development. Ability to gather data from multiple sources and manipulate the data to develop demand-driven and action-based reporting and analysis.
• Advanced skills in Excel.  Strongly proficient skills in Access, Word, PowerPoint and Business Objects, SAP (or other reporting software).

Qualifications (Minimum required education and experience):

• Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university. MBA preferred.
• 5 years related experience and/or training.
• Industry specific experience preferred
• Solid accounting skills and experience preferred
• Advanced Excel skills required