Commercial Finance Manager - Central Trading (Planning)
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Finance & Business Development
Closing date: 10 March 2026
Requisition ID: 400051017
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. For a FTSE business, we move incredibly fast. When we’re not handling projects, we’re helping all corners of the wider group with what they’re trying to achieve. And around here, you can see the results of your work as soon as you walk into a store, which gives you a real sense of purpose and responsibility. Better still, the team around you will listen to your ideas and opinions, and you’ll have every chance to try something new. The sheer scale and complexity of our set-up means there’s always something else around the corner, and we’ll help and support you every step of the way. We’re trusted to get on with it. So get ready to make things happen here.
Location: London Store Support Centre & Home - colleagues go into the office 2 days per week on average.
Why join us
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.
What you'll do
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.
Who you are
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.
Essential Criteria
- 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
#LI-CE1
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: Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
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 life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
