UK&I Retail Finance Business Partner

Contract: 12-month FTC

Diversity matters

We are building a brand that represents the people of the world. It’s what you do that counts, and we are always looking to expand perspectives and voices to shape our future.

We see you, we celebrate you, we want you!

Who we are You might know us as the inventors of the bath bomb, but there’s more to this great-smelling, partly employee-owned, family-run company than pioneering cosmetics. We believe our business should put more back into the world than it takes and demonstrate that capitalism can be a force for good.

The Living Wage Foundation’s statement 'a hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay' is one that we are proud to commit to in the UK. As an accredited Living Wage employer, we put our people first and fight cruel practices like animal testing, promote regeneration, and show that it is what’s inside that counts - whether that’s an ingredient in a product, or the minerals in a smartphone.

Role Overview Finance business partners provide financial insight and an overview, and support and sound financial advice for all business decisions, using, among other things, financial planning and scenario modelling tools. Communication and liaison between all parties should be regular, and Finance business partners should be proactive and strategic, using business and financial acumen to influence at all levels of the business. The role is fully integrated into the leadership team of an entity in order to support decision making with the relevant financial insight.

A successful business partnering arrangement is one where the finance business partner and operational lead or budget holder mutually trust and respect each other, work as equal partners to meet the service and organisational aims, take collective responsibility for all finance related matters and communicate regularly. Key responsibilities include providing robust financial management information and recommendations, challenging all aspects of the business to deliver improved decision support, and driving growth in Sales and/or EBITDA.

Want to see where a career at Lush could take you? Head over here to explore real stories of growth and development across the business.

Please note: We may close this vacancy early if we receive an overwhelming response or our business requirements change.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide relevant financial insight and support to the local leadership team and participate in key meetings.

• Ensure that the Retail Leadership function has access to all financial information it requires to make informed business decisions.

• Identify and take action on opportunities, such as new sales initiatives or profitability projects.

• Support the generation of long and short term business goals with financial modelling.

• Support the development of the UK&I property strategy.

• Provide direction and oversee the shop reporting and analysis function. This includes but is not limited to:

• Sales reporting (Daily, Weekly, Monthly)

• Business Drivers

• Staff Costs

• Sales mix including COGs analysis

• Own the budgeting, forecasting, and target-setting process for shop sales and staffing alongside Retail Leadership.

• Support and review major investment decisions, assessing returns and prioritisation. This includes but is not limited to:

• Sales initiatives

• Pay and bonus

• Property projects

• Systems

• Contribute to globally required reporting, such as the MA reporting pack and UK&I business updates.

• Alongside the Finance Manager, take accountability for forecast and budgeting accuracy.

• Help to develop the leadership team's understanding of key financial data.

• Proactively seek solutions to current for foreseeable issues.

• You will work closely with our Anchor shop managers to support them in running their businesses profitably.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Financial Data Analysis & Translation: Ability to accurately analyse complex financial data and distil insights for strategic decision-making.
• Commercial Acumen & Stakeholder Communication: Effectively evaluate commercial data and communicate financial concepts clearly to non-financial stakeholders and leadership.
• Strategic Influence: Leverage financial tools and scenario modelling to actively influence business decisions and drive growth.
• Systems Proficiency: Familiarity with Business Intelligence (BI) systems (preferred).
• Autonomy & Proactivity: Highly self-managed, proactive, and able to identify opportunities and anticipate challenges.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays

• 6 months of full pay for parental leave (primary caregiver must qualify for SMP)*

• Enhanced paternity leave*

• Bonus scheme

• Day off for weekday birthdays

• Holiday purchase scheme

• 50% discount on Lush products and spa treatments

• Cycle to work scheme

• Discounted rail and bus season tickets

• Employee assistance programme

• There’s a big difference between "Flexible Working " (the legal minimum) and working flexibly. What that looks like varies from role to role and location to location. We actively welcome conversations about what working flexibly could mean and look like for you.

• We’re 10% Employee Owned - all colleagues play a role in protecting our ethics, our independence, contributing ideas for the future and share in the rewards of success when the company is doing well.

• Wellbeing & mindfulness sessions

• Access to employee-led Community Networks, including Disability and Chronic Illness, Family Support, Global Majority (Race and Ethnicity), LGBTQIA+, Menopause and Neurodiversity communities.

• Tailored gender affirming care*

• Qualifying period/hours required*

• We believe that your information is yours and that it is Lush's responsibility to process your personal information in a secure, fair and accurate manner. Every individual processed by LUSH has certain rights over their data, which are detailed in our Privacy Notice here.