Rutherford Cross is delighted to be partnering with a global drinks business on an exclusive basis to appoint a Commercial Business Partner.  This an exceptional career opportunity for a recently qualified accountant to join an exciting company and sector, gaining a wide range of exposure.

The Commercial Business Partner is responsible for providing a timely and accurate commercial information to the Sales & Marketing functions within the business. This includes planning, budgeting/forecasting, reporting, analysis, and general commercial and financial support.  This role should add value to the wider business through strong analytical skills and commercial insight.

Key duties include:

Commercial Reporting

• Ensure integrity of the P&L for own area of responsibility from the revenue (and Sales volume) line through to brand contribution.
• Ensure the completeness and accuracy of financial accruals.
• Prepare and review detail variance analysis at month-end to ensure any movements versus plan and prior year are fully understood across Finance, Sales & Marketing functions
• Provide Sales and Marketing with accurate financial analysis to enable them to effectively measure performance of customers and brands.
• Support on ad hoc data and analysis requests from Head of Commercial Finance, Sales and Marketing

Commercial Support

• Attend/Support at Quarterly Business Review meetings with all senior stake holders & Executive Board. Present performance including full year forecast along with associated risks & opportunities.
• Attend/Support at regional Leadership Team meetings as required
• Support Sales and Marketing teams in customer negotiations, new product proposals, analysis of promotional mechanics, and ongoing customer data requirements
• Support Sales on new pricing proposals clearly illustrating the impact on both on the business and the customer

Commercial Planning

• Co-ordinating the planning processes for annual budgets, quarterly forecasts and strategic 5-year plans for area of responsibility.
• Challenge the Sales and Marketing team inputs as appropriate to drive accurate and realistic forecasting at all times.
• Provide detailed variance analyses to explain impact of movements in volume, price, and cost on the P&L versus plan & prior years.
• Presentation of financial plans at the quarterly business review meetings

Strategic Marketing

• Work closely with brand teams to monitor strategic marketing spend versus signed off plans.
• Ensure the completeness and accuracy of strategic marketing accruals.
• Provide timely reporting of monthly spend, highlighting any variances to budgets.

Projects & Continuous Improvement

• Lead and take part in strategic projects across the business from a Finance perspective.
• Continually review processes in the department to ensure they are at their most efficient within Finance and Sales and Marketing

Candidate Requirements

• CA/CIMA/ACCA qualified
• Robust communication skills both verbal and written. Must be comfortable to engage with stakeholders across all levels of the business and convey financial information to non-financial colleagues
• Organised, methodical with a high attention to detail and the ability to prioritise in a busy working environment
• Highly analytical and able to examine and utilise data to provide key insights to a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to build strong relationships across all areas of a business
• Excellent Excel skills to advanced level are a must

On offer:

• Opportunity to build a career in an exciting sector and business
• Salary circa £40,000
• Bonus 5% of salary
• 35 days holiday inclusive of stats
• Excellent company pension
• The role will be a combination of home-based and office-based post pandemic