Job Description

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world.



JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.



We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

Job Title:

Head of Finance, Group FP&A

Department:

Finance

Location:

Bury

Reporting To:

Group Finance Director

Contract Type:

Permanent

Closing Date:

tbc

Internal/External:

External

About JD Group

Founded in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, JD Group has grown into a leading global omni-channel retailer in Sports Fashion, Outdoors, and Gyms. Our diverse and dedicated teams operate across a portfolio of renowned retail brands in multiple international markets.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1996 and a proud member of the FTSE100 since 2019, JD Group continues to expand both in the UK and globally driven by a commitment to innovation, excellence, and possibility.

Our vision is to become the world's most trusted and dynamic omni-channel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to join us in shaping this future. If you're passionate about contributing to an inclusive, people-first, and customer-centric organisation and are motivated by continuous growth and operational excellence we'd love to hear from you.

Role Overview

This role will report to the Group Finance Director and will play a key role in driving operational and strategic financial planning, delivering insightful business performance analysis, and support external IR communication for JD.

This team has responsibility for managing all Group FP&A processes, as well as the Finance systems team that is managing our key Cloud based Group Finance systems.

This role will work closely with the following key stakeholders: CFO; Investor Relations Director; Director of Corporate Development; Business unit FDs and their FP&A teams; Chief Property Development Officer and his teams; Group and External reporting finance teams.

The Group FP&A team has grown over recent years to the scale required for the size of Group that JD has become. This team now needs to take the next step to deliver best in class Group FP&A support to the Group FD and CFO, as well as other stakeholders and this role will be the catalyst for this to happen.

Key Responsibilities

This role has 2 direct reports, and an overall team size 10 who have distinct responsibilities:

Senior Finance Manager, Group FP&A who leads the Group FP&A team of 6 colleagues who are responsible for operating the Group FP&A processes of:

Lead Group wide budget and quarterly forecasting cycles to deliver actionable insights and analysis Produce Monthly Group management accounts including KPIs and performance analysis Produce Monthly Capex reporting by project, and annual budgets and forecasts for Capex Produce Monthly Store open/ closed reporting and updated full year forecasts Provide standard and ad-hoc Financial analysis for investor relations communication Maintain and develop driver based 5YP financial model that supports Group Five Year Plan strategy and scenario outcomes

Senior Group Consolidation & Planning Systems Developer who leads a team of 2 who are responsible for managing our 2 Group Finance systems:

IBM Planning Analytics: a Store Management P&L and Business KPI reporting cube. Oracle FCC: (Financial Consolidation and Close) Group Consolidation reporting tool

Skills & Experience Required

Qualified Accountant with 10 years+ PQE, ideally within global organisations Significant FP&A experience in a globally complex, fast paced plc environment with experience of bringing insight to P&L, cash and working capital performance Significant unit finance experience working in a business partnering role bringing insight and analysis to P&L business performance Strong financial modelling skills, and intuitively gets scenario planning considering internal and external factors Experience of converting aggregated numbers into an understanding of performance An ability to act as a bridge between the internal detailed story and the external narrative required for investor relations High attention to detail, and rigorous on process and timetables Experience working with and developing planning / reporting tools and leveraging these systems to make forecasting and reporting processes more efficient. Team leadership and development to continue to develop a high-performance team Drive collaboration and 2 way communication with Business Unit FDs and their FP&A teams Needs to be able to collaborate across the business and be resilient and adaptable under time pressures

Desirable Attributes

Significant finance experience in retail environment Experience with IBM Planning Analytics

What We Offer

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a workplace where every colleague is valued, respected, and empowered. We celebrate the diversity of our teams and strive to ensure that all colleagues regardless of background, identity, or lived experience can thrive and contribute meaningfully.

As a part of our successful and continually evolving company, you'll be encouraged to embrace and uphold our strategic priorities: putting people first, at the forefront of digital innovation, staying deeply attuned to our customers, and pursuing operational excellence. We are always exploring new avenues for growth, and we welcome individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact every day.

We know our employees work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits:

Incremental Holiday Allowance Staff Discount on qualifying purchases across Group retail stores and online Exclusive Colleague Bike Discount scheme Discounted Gym membership Personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work Access to Apprenticeships and accredited qualifications

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.



Thank you for your time



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