Finance Analyst

About the Role The Commercial finance department provides business partnering to various stakeholders by bringing financial objectivity, challenge and insight to proactively support the business. A highly commercial and operational role you will support the finance manager in providing financial analysis and planning as well as assisting the business development manager on appraising new business opportunities and capital expenditure. Your key stakeholders will include the UK operations team, commercial marketing team, the group finance team as well as working closely with the wider UK finance team both in our head office in Camden and shared service centre in Birmingham. What you'll be doing: • Support the Finance Manager in the preparation of monthly management accounts, providing clear insight into variances against plan, key trends, and emerging risks and opportunities through the analysis of large and complex datasets. • Assist in the production of annual, quarterly, and weekly budgets and forecasts, utilising financial models and collaborating with key stakeholders to ensure alignment with UK and Group profitability objectives. • Partner closely with the Operations team to understand the drivers of financial performance and profitability, providing analysis and guidance on potential risks and opportunities. • Support the Business Development Finance Manager in evaluating capital expenditure and new business opportunities, including investment appraisal and post-investment performance reviews. • Develop and maintain advanced Excel financial models to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of financial analysis and reporting. • Deliver ad hoc financial analysis to support the Finance Manager and wider leadership team in informed decision-making. • Manage submissions to the Group finance consolidation and reporting system, ALEA Financial Planning Software, ensuring accuracy and adherence to reporting timelines. To be successful in this role you'll need: Essential: • Advanced Excel modelling and data analysis skills, with the ability to interpret large datasets and present clear, actionable insights. • Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes within an FP&A environment (1-2 years). • Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate financial analysis into meaningful business insights and recommendations. • Effective business partner with strong communication skills, able to influence and constructively challenge stakeholders across the organisation. • Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, including variance analysis etc. • Highly organised, detail-oriented, and able to deliver high-quality outputs in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments. Desirable: • Recent graduate or 1 to 2 years finance experience • Started or willing to start CIMA study • Bachelor’s degree from an established university, with a strong academic record • Familiarity with data visualisation and reporting tools such as Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, or similar platforms. Why join SSP? At SSP, we’re passionate about creating places people want to be - whether that’s for our customers, our partners or our colleagues.When you join us, you’ll be part of a business where commercial thinking, collaboration and ownership really matter, and where your work can make a visible difference. We Offer: • Employee discounts across our brands • Friends and Family Discount App • Award-winning training, apprenticeships and development programmes • Health and wellbeing support • Hybrid working with flexibility to support work–life balance • An inclusive and diverse workplace, with employee networks and communities Start the best part of the journey with us. At SSP, we value diversity and are committed to building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds, skills and perspectives. #LI-HH1