Paul Smith
Head of Commercial Finance
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About Paul Smith
Paul Smith is one of Britain’s leading independent design companies, driven by a spirit of curiosity, playfulness, adaptability, and passion. These values shape every aspect of the brand, whether it’s a shirt, a shop, or a special collaboration. Reaffirming the values that Paul set down in 1970, ‘classic with a twist’ remains the guiding principle of the company. Happily positioned between high fashion and formalwear, while taking reference from both, Paul Smith has always been proud to stand apart.
Head of Commercial Finance
The Head of Commercial Finance is a strategic finance business partner responsible for driving profitable growth across Retail, Wholesale, and Ecommerce. Reporting directly into the CFO and working closely with Merchandising, Production, Sourcing, Sales, and Retail teams, the role provides commercial insight, financial challenge, and robust analysis to support better pricing, inventory, promotional, and investment decisions.
The role owns the commercial performance reporting framework, identifying risks and opportunities across sales, margin, and inventory, whilst influencing decision-making to maximize profitability, cash generation, and return on investment. You will play a key role in supporting the delivery of the Group’s strategic objectives through business partnering, financial planning, continuous improvement, and the development of commercial finance best practice.
This is a new position within the company and can be based from either our Nottingham or London office.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Partner with senior leaders across Merchandising, Production, Sourcing, Retail, Wholesale, and Ecommerce to drive commercial performance.
- Provide financial insight and constructive challenge to support strategic decision-making.
- Lead financial evaluation of pricing strategies, commercial initiatives, and investment opportunities.
- Own gross margin, profitability, and commercial performance reporting across all sales channels.
- Deliver analysis of pricing, product mix, promotions, and customer profitability to identify growth opportunities.
- Drive actions to improve margin performance and maximize commercial returns.
- Partner with business teams to optimize inventory investment, stock levels, and working capital.
- Lead forecasting and planning for sales, margin, and inventory performance.
- Develop financial models and scenario analysis to support strategic and operational decisions.
- Own KPI reporting and performance dashboards, providing clear insight to stakeholders and leadership teams.
- Drive continuous improvement through enhanced reporting, automation, and finance transformation initiatives.
- Support and develop finance team capability while partnering with the CFO on strategic projects.
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Who You Are
- ACA, ACCA, or CIMA qualified, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in Commercial Finance, FP&A, or Finance Business Partnering.
- Experienced within retail, fashion, apparel, consumer goods, or other premium branded environments.
- Proven expertise in pricing, margin optimization, profitability analysis, inventory management, and commercial performance reporting.
- Strong track record of partnering with cross-functional teams including Merchandising, Retail, Wholesale, and Ecommerce.
- Highly commercial, with the ability to turn complex financial data into clear, actionable business insight.
- Advanced financial modelling, forecasting, and business case development skills.
- Confident in influencing, challenging, and building credibility with senior stakeholders and leadership teams.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and prioritization skills, with excellent attention to detail.
- Advanced Excel capability, with experience using Power BI or other business intelligence and reporting tools.
- Proactive, results-driven, and adaptable, with a continuous improvement mindset and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
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Why You’ll Love Working With Us
Working at Paul Smith means being part of a brand that celebrates creativity, individuality, and authenticity. Even though we are a global business, we’ve stayed true to who we are at heart. Our offices and shops remain welcoming and inclusive spaces built around collaboration, where we encourage our people to be themselves, reach their full potential, and play a part in creating something truly unique.
We offer a comprehensive benefits package to support your lifestyle and wellbeing, which includes a 60% staff discount and a seasonal clothing allowance. You’ll also enjoy flexi-time, 33 days’ annual leave with the option to buy or sell holiday days, private healthcare with Vitality, wellbeing support, and other perks to keep you motivated and inspired.
If you like the sound of what you’ve read so far, find out more about our company culture and the full list of benefits we can offer you.
At Paul Smith, we celebrate and encourage applications from all walks of life into our growing workforce. We are committed to empowering people from any background, belief system, or ethnicity, offering an inclusive environment where talent is recognized and valued.
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