Lead Financial Planning Analyst
£33,200 - £41,500 plus excellent benefits (Grade E16)
6-month fixed-term contract
Manchester city centre. We’re currently working remotely due to Covid. The future will see us working in a hybrid way, with a mixture of home and office working.

We’re looking for a lead financial planning analyst to join Co-op and support in performance reporting and planning across our business. You’ll be consolidating reporting inputs, adding any new assumptions and updating trends into our forecasts and financial plans. We’ve got a big job on our hands to transform the way we do things at Co-op. And when we get it right, it’ll have even bigger benefits for our customers, members and colleagues.

As a lead financial planning analyst, you’ll be playing a key part in the team that’s responsible for consolidating reports, analysing performance and trends, and consolidating forecasts, budgets and plans for the future. We’ll look to you to deliver reporting against internal benchmarks and then compare with external competitors in the industry so that we can inform and optimise our business decisions. If you can bring us the financial and analytical skills that we need, we can offer you the chance to build your career with a business that always puts people at the heart of its strategy.

What you’ll do

• build financial plans across our business, using proven techniques and methods
• input data and assumptions / driver updates into the financial models, forecasts, budgets and strategic plans
• consolidate reporting inputs and tell the story of the overall performance in a compelling way
• support the weekly and monthly performance reporting
• consolidate the period results, understanding key variances and the impact it has on overall financial statements
• regularly report insights on the changes to the external economic market
• communicating and building relationships with key partners across the business
• act as the point of contact for the Cognos TM1 planning system, developing planning techniques within the tool and supporting with queries as it’s fully rolled out across the team

This role would suit people who have

• an accountancy qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent) or working towards one
• previous experience working in an FP&A (financial planning and analysis) team
• experience working with budgets and forecasts (P&Ls, balance sheets, cash flow etc.)
• strong IT skills, with confidence in spreadsheet / model consolidation (VLOOKUP’s and advanced formulas)
• great accuracy with work, analytical skills and attention to detail
• experience with IT planning systems
• the ability to produce strong presentations and tell a story through data
• confidence to present to senior leaders, challenging and influencing where necessary

Why Co-op?

Here you’ll do work that matters. We’re a commercial organisation with a purpose beyond profit, you’ll have an opportunity to help us build a stronger Co-op and stronger communities. You’ll also get a package that includes:

• competitive salary
• coaching, training and support to help you develop
• pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• annual incentive scheme
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 in line with service)
• discounts on Co-op products and services

Building an inclusive work environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and welcome applications from everyone. But simply having a diverse workforce is not enough. We aim to build an inclusive environment, where everyone can contribute their best work and develop to their full potential. We celebrate our differences and recognise the importance of teams reflecting the communities they serve.

We can make reasonable adjustments to our interview process according to your needs. And we offer a flexible working environment, so you can adjust your hours to suit your personal circumstances. You can find out more about Co-op people policies at (url removed).

As part of your application you’ll need to complete an online assessment. It will take you around 12 minutes to complete this test.