Head of Commercial Finance- Food

What will you be doing? Joining us in this key leadership role within our Finance team, you’ll be responsible for driving commercial performance, financial insight and decision support across our Food business. Partnering closely with our Food Leadership Team, you’ll bring pace, challenge and commercial rigour to ensure delivery of financial and strategic objectives.

You’ll work together with operational leaders to improve sales, margin and profitability across our stores, translating strategy into clear targets, KPIs and actionable insight. From pricing and promotions to cost control, supply chain efficiency and site productivity, you’ll identify risks and opportunities early and drive timely action, ensuring strong governance and performance transparency.

Leading the Commercial Finance and FP&A team, you’ll build capability in business partnering, analytics and decision support, while embedding a high-performance, accountable culture. You’ll own planning, forecasting and reporting, driving a “no surprises” approach and supporting key investment decisions through robust analysis, scenario modelling and clear business cases.

At a time of integration and growth, you’ll play a critical role in aligning teams across the business, supporting long-term investment, and delivering tangible value for members and customers — all while influencing senior stakeholders across Finance and Food leadership. Hybrid working is available for this role, with a mix of working from home and at our Support Centres in Lichfield and Warwick.

How will I know if I am right for this role? Ideally, you’ll be a Qualified Accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent) and bring strong experience in Commercial finance/FP&A roles within retail or multi-site environments. We are looking for a commercially focused finance professional who can drive real P&L impact through strong analysis, disciplined forecasting and insightful reporting.

You’ll be confident translating complex data into clear, actionable recommendations that support high-quality business decisions. You’ll bring a deep understanding of the retail landscape, including key drivers such as market trends, margin, pricing, leakage, footfall and marketing effectiveness. Naturally analytical and detail-driven, you’ll be able to evaluate and communicate insight in a clear and compelling way.

A natural influencer, you’ll excel at building strong relationships and engaging senior stakeholders. You’ll have a proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams, balancing constructive challenge with collaboration to deliver results. We are looking for someone ambitious, values-driven and energising, with high levels of integrity and emotional intelligence.

You’ll bring a positive, can-do attitude, inspire those around you and play a key role in driving sustained commercial success. Everyone is welcome here. We’re happy to make reasonable adjustments so that all our candidates can show us how they’ll perform their role. There is a section in the application form where you can provide any additional information.

Please use this section to include any reasonable adjustments you need, and we’ll do our best to support you through our recruitment process. Who are we? Our. Coop is the UK’s largest independent co-operative Society, with more than one million Members and 13,000 colleagues operating in communities nationwide. It was formed by bringing together Central Co-op, The Midcounties Co-operative and Chelmsford Star Co-op to create a stronger, member-owned organisation rooted in shared co-operative values.

The Society trades nationally through its family of businesses while remaining deeply rooted in local communities. Its footprint spans Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Bedfordshire in the South and West; the Midlands including Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire; the North including Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire; and the East of England, including Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Why join us? The enthusiasm and commitment of our colleagues is what keeps our customers coming back, and every role plays an important part in making a real difference each day. As a co-operative built on the values of equity, solidarity and community, we believe our colleagues should be recognised and rewarded for the contribution they make.

That's why we offer a competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement that increases with service, and a wide range of colleague benefits. From colleague discounts, recognition programmes and personalised learning and development opportunities to paid volunteering time and enhanced family friendly policies, we're committed to helping our colleagues feel valued, supported and able to thrive.

Wellbeing is a priority for us, and we provide a range of benefits and support designed to help colleagues look after their physical, mental and financial wellbeing. Whatever stage of life you're at, we're here to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. To learn more about our rewards and benefits, please visit Rewards and benefits

• Central Coop