Strategic Business Partner

Primark is an international fashion retailer employing more than 80,000 colleagues across 17 countries in Europe and the US. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the Penneys brand, Primark aims to provide affordable choices for everyone, from great quality everyday essentials to stand-out style across women’s, men’s and kids, as well as beauty, homeware and accessories. With a focus on creating great retail experiences, Primark has 473 stores globally and continues to expand. Every person impacts culture at Primark. Our values are Caring (we always strive to put people first), Dynamic (we bravely push the boundaries to stay ahead) and Together (we learn more, laugh more and achieve more as a team) and these behaviours outline what we expect of our people as we work with each other, our customers, our suppliers and our partners. Let’s see what impact you can make!

Strategic Finance Business Partners operate at a strategic level, focused on partnering with key stakeholders across Primark to protect and drive sustainable growth in the business. As a key member of the strategic finance team, you will work with leadership and senior stakeholders from across the business, advising and critically challenging strategic and operational decision making. You will bring analytical, commercial, and strategic insights to drive performance and value creation.
At Primark, we aim to create maximum joy at minimum cost so that we can continue to provide unbeatable value to our customers. This role will be central to driving Transformation at Primark with a particular focus on how we accelerate existing cost base efficiencies and seek out future optimisation opportunities. This is the perfect time for an ambitious individual to join the strategic finance team as we prepare for the next chapter of the Primark growth story.

Key Responsibilities:

Business Partner - Act as lead strategic finance partner for all aspects of the multiyear cost programme, working side by side with business stakeholders to design & deliver value at a strategic and operational level.

Collaboration - Work collaboratively to construct compelling pieces of analysis, outlining issues, opportunities, and solutions.

Relationships - Lead by example by developing trusting and collaborative relationships with stakeholders of all levels of seniority.

Innovation - Bring new ideas to the business, solving issues and shaping financial and business strategy. Challenges self and others to think creatively.

Value creation – Future focus, forward looking activities to help maximise opportunity to create long term value.

Financial advisor – Guides and influences key stakeholders and customers to achieve Primark’s desired financial outcomes.

Commercial approach - Using deep business & commercial understanding, enable, challenge & influence strategic/business plans, identify areas of risk & opportunity.

Strategic mindset – Approach decision making by finding appropriate balance between financial analysis and strategic bigger picture thinking.

Investment appraisals – Drive financial appraisals of initiatives working cross functionally to deliver investment outcomes.

Technical & Behavioural Competencies:

1. Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders strategically within a commercial context and strong track record of business partnering with a senior-level client base.
2. Strong communication skills. Ability to structure/present compelling stories to support decision making. Uses data, analytics and insights to corroborate opinions.
3. Strong commercial and financial acumen with the ability to quickly assimilate the implications of our performance or various strategic options and be able to communicate these clearly.
4. Strong organisational, planning and delegation skills to balance many responsibilities simultaneously.
5. Self-motivated with the ability to be comfortable in an agile, unstructured role.
6. Promotes a positive culture and displays resilience when devising and implementing change. Ability to work independently and pro-actively.
7. Demonstrates strong leadership skills and ability to build collaborative working relationships

Successful candidates will meet the following criteria:

1. Background in a top-tier consulting firm or internal business partnering/strategy/transformation team with 7+ years’ experience working in a strategic, financial or commercial capacity.
2. Strong grasp of financial concepts (e.g. budgeting, forecasting, cost analysis, financial models & metrics) and ability to partner with finance teams to interpret data and build business cases.
3. Has previously held a key role in delivering a successful multiyear cost out programme or similarly large-scale transformation programme, preferably within a fast-paced retail/FMCG environment.
4. Action orientated with the ability to identify and drive innovative opportunities for growth, working cross functionally, not just identifying a problem or solution but making the change.
5. Strong work ethic and very comfortable working in an ‘unstructured’, consultative setting, with a focus on value creation.

Our fashion isn’t one-size-fits-all and neither is our culture. Primark promotes equal employment opportunity, we strive to create an inclusive workplace where people can be themselves, access opportunities and thrive together.