Finance Analyst - Central Trading
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Finance & Business Development
Closing date: 15 August 2025
Requisition ID: 400011816
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. For a FTSE business, we move incredibly fast. When we’re not handling projects, we’re helping all corners of the wider group with what they’re trying to achieve. And around here, you can see the results of your work as soon as you walk into a store, which gives you a real sense of purpose and responsibility. Better still, the team around you will listen to your ideas and opinions, and you’ll have every chance to try something new. The sheer scale and complexity of our set-up means there’s always something else around the corner, and we’ll help and support you every step of the way. We’re trusted to get on with it. So get ready to make things happen here.
Please note, this role is based out of our London Store Support Centre & Home. Colleagues go into the office 2 days per week on average.
Why join us
Joining the Sainsbury's Finance team as a Finance Analyst - Central Trading means being part of a forward-thinking organisation that values collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. You will have the opportunity to work closely with diverse stakeholders to shape the direction of our business and drive meaningful impact through financial insights and analysis. With a focus on maximising performance and delivering strategic objectives, you will be empowered to develop your skills, drive transformation, and contribute to the success of a company dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of our customers every day.
What you'll do
You will play a vital role in improving the accuracy and efficiency of the Commercial performance insights, contributing to the strategic direction of the business. You will collaborate across Finance functions to drive consistency and enhancement in reporting and insights, utilising analytic tools such as Snowflake and MicroStrategy to provide fresh perspectives on performance drivers. Your responsibilities will include developing deeper insights on volume and inflation trends, conducting Mix, Rate, Volume performance analysis, and providing ad-hoc analysis for commercial teams. Additionally, you will support the Finance Manager with period-end preparation, performance commentary, and cover for their absence, ensuring that stakeholders receive valuable and actionable insights to drive business decisions and financial performance.
Who you are
You are a professionally qualified accountant or actively studying towards qualification, ideally with a strong background in large FMCG, Food, or Retail businesses. Your expertise in financial analysis and reporting, coupled with your strong Excel skills and numerical proficiency, enables you to translate complex data into valuable insights that drive business performance. With your effective communication and influencing abilities, you excel in collaborating with stakeholders at all levels, challenging the status quo, and influencing decision-making processes to achieve financial objectives. Your proactive and self-motivated approach, combined with your commitment to continuous learning and development, position you as a valuable asset in shaping and delivering the strategic direction of the business.
Essential Criteria
- Professionally qualified accountant (ACCA, ACA, CIMA) or actively studying towards qualification
- Demonstratable experience in financial control within a commercial environment
- Proficiency in Excel and numerical analysis, with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
- Working knowledge of Snowflake or SQL, or clear evidence of a willingness and aptitude to learn data tools
- Proven ability to communicate and influence stakeholders across varying levels of financial and commercial understanding
#LI-CE1
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:
Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 10% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme.
Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
