Commercial Finance Manager

The Body Shop

When Anita Roddick founded The Body Shop in 1976, she had a vision. Business as a force for good – that’s us. Over 40 years later, we’re proud to be pioneering cruelty-free beauty every step of the way. We’re the original ethical beauty brand. We’ve got a thing for empowering people and enriching our planet. We’re all about keeping it real, in every way possible. Our activist roots remain a huge part of everything we do, from our iconic window posters to our vegetarian products to our infamous campaigns. We’re never afraid to stand up and speak the truth. We like to do things a little differently around here. 

The Body Shop is committed to generating positive economic, social and environmental impact. We’re fighting for what we believe in now more than ever. No holding back. Breaking the mould has always come naturally to us, and we need someone who’s not afraid to mix things up. 

Your role in a nutshell

The Body Shop Australia is seeking a Commercial Finance Manager to drive our budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis efforts, supporting strategic decision-making across the organization. In this role, you will collaborate closely with senior management, fostering strong relationships and positioning yourself as a subject matter expert. Your responsibilities will include developing comprehensive budgets, conducting financial modeling and variance analysis, and producing insightful reports to optimize operational performance. You will support the local Head of Finance in business transactions and provide critical market research and competitor analysis. The ideal candidate will possess a CA qualification, 6+ years of relevant experience, and a proven track record in corporate finance or consulting. You should demonstrate strong financial acumen, advanced Excel skills, and a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset. Join us to influence key business decisions and drive growth while ensuring data integrity and compliance with internal standards.

More about the role

Business partnering

▪Lead the development of budgets and forecasts

▪Support forward looking business simulations for sound business decision making.   This includes business case development supporting new investment and business decisions

▪Develop effective relationships with the senior management team and develop a reputation as a subject matter expert

▪Collaborate with the finance team to ensure high-quality data inputs to all reporting and analysis

▪Work closely with respective teams and budget owners for budget controls and variance analysis

▪Produce ad hoc reports and develop key indicators required to manage ongoing operational performance

▪Ensure that an economic balance is maintained between allocated resources (budget/trend) and expenses of a functional department. (e.g.: Marketing, Employment costs, Supply Chain, etc.)

▪Delivery of competitor analysis, market trends and associated commentary supporting any business developments

Business transaction support

▪Support Finance Director – ANZ and General Manager in the acquisition and sale of business units

▪Financial Analysis: Conduct financial modelling, financial due diligence, including valuation analysis, and scenario analysis to support decision-making

▪Market Research: Perform industry and market analysis to identify trends, opportunities, and risks

▪Presentation and reporting: Prepare presentations, reports, and other materials for senior management and board meetings

Month end and variance analysis

▪Review the month end close with the Finance Director – ANZ together with the Financial Accounting manager

▪Produce monthly business report and other ad hoc reports, analysis to support the forecast, budget functions

▪Manage the Plan/Budget/Trend processes of the area of activity and analyse, arbitrate and completed an ongoing forecast till the end of year

▪Continually develop and maintain an excel based forecasting and budgeting tool and upload into a BW business tool

▪Leverage broad business knowledge in shaping the monthly P&L by ensuring reporting consistency and providing robust analytical review

▪Together with the Finance Director - ANZ prepare timely analysis and commentary of results for the Senior leadership and monthly management meetings

Compliance and business excellence

▪Optimise the costs and efficacy of actions undertaken in accordance with Internal Control Standards and good practices

▪Propose and implement all initiatives in systems and process improvement to ensure data integrity, advanced analytics to improve productivity

▪Propose and implement all initiatives that aim to improve productivity in the process of providing financial information at both the financial information system level and the information flow level (automated templates for update etc.)

▪Ensure reporting deadlines set by the Group (Global and APAC) are being fulfilled

▪Assist as required with External Audit functions and internal Audit functions

▪Liaise with key global stakeholders to ensure information is shared between all parties

What we look for

PROACTIVE BUSINESS PARTNER

▪Work closely with respective stakeholders to understand, improve and challenge overall effectiveness

▪Able to collaborate and communicate effectively with your demonstrated interpersonal skills

MODELLING, PLANNING & BUSINESS PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

▪Strong financial modelling skills to develop and maintain financial models to support strategic planning, transaction evaluation and valuation

▪Calculates & interprets financial results

▪Anticipates and identifies opportunities, risks and solutions to close the gap

▪Recommends changes in a strategic direction

▪Detailed in your approach with excellent attention to detail

BUDGET FOR GROWTH

▪Develops budgets and financial forecasts (trends) in collaboration with business: P&L, overhead, balance sheet, and working capital

▪Understands how these elements relate to achievement of overall business & financial targets

▪Ability to navigate in ambiguous environments by initiating changes and adding structure and rigor to commercial and financial processes

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

▪Ideally CA qualified financial professional

▪6+ years’ relevant experience in a large commercial business, corporate finance, transaction services, consulting or a related field

▪Proven track record in a similar role dealing with senior executives, driving commercial outcomes and process & systems changes.

▪Strong experience with major ERP package (SAP desirable), BI and reporting tools and Advanced Excel skills

OTHER

▪Ability to manage multiple tasks, problem solve and prioritize with a passion to succeed

▪Comfortable challenging the status quo

▪Excellent written and verbal communication skills and confidence to present to key internal and external stakeholders

▪Motivated, pro-active with a ‘can-do’ attitude

▪Ability to work effectively to deadlines and support others to meet tight deadlines

Talent Drivers