The Senior Business Controller is a key strategic finance partner within Moët Hennessy UK, playing a critical role in steering business performance, protecting profitability, and supporting high-quality decision-making across the organization.
Working closely with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, HR, Accounting, and Commercial Planning, this role has broad responsibility across financial closing, planning, forecasting, gross margin management, overhead control, and performance analysis. The position requires not only strong technical finance expertise, but also the ability to challenge assumptions, influence stakeholders, and provide actionable insight to senior leadership.
The Senior Business Controller will lead the financial oversight of gross margin, distribution costs, overheads, and inventory-related provisions, while also contributing to topline forecasting and wider P&L performance management. This role is expected to drive continuous improvement in reporting, planning, and internal control processes, ensuring both financial rigor and operational efficiency.
Financial Performance Management & Business Partnering:
- Act as a senior finance business partner to key functions across the business, providing robust financial insight and constructive challenge to support strategic and operational decision-making.
- Take ownership of key areas of the company P&L, ensuring risks and opportunities are identified early, clearly communicated, and reflected in forecasts and action plans.
- Support the delivery of financial targets through proactive performance monitoring, analysis, and recommendations for corrective action.
Monthly Closing, Reporting & Gross Margin Oversight:
- Lead relevant aspects of the monthly closing process across Gross Margin, Variable Selling Costs, Fixed Selling Costs, and selected balance sheet accounts.
- Ensure the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of financial reporting through journal preparation, system validation, reconciliations, and close coordination with Accounting teams.
- Deliver clear and insightful variance analysis versus budget, forecast, and prior year, with strong commentary for management reporting.
- Partner closely with Commercial Planning to monitor, analyze, and challenge gross margin performance across brands, including key drivers such as volume, mix, pricing, duties, and cost of goods sold.
Cost Control, Forecasting & Resource Planning:
- Lead forecasting, reporting, and control of overheads and distribution-related costs, ensuring disciplined cost management across the business.
- Act as the primary finance partner for Supply Chain, with oversight of warehousing, logistics costs, and environmental tax impacts.
- Partner with departmental stakeholders to monitor and challenge spending across travel, expenses, facilities, and other overhead lines.
- Manage the submission, reporting, and analysis of FTE and headcount data, working closely with HR to ensure accurate workforce cost planning.
Balance Sheet Review, Risk Management & Financial Control:
- Conduct regular reviews of key balance sheet positions to identify financial exposure, accounting risks, and potential P&L impacts.
- Collaborate closely with Accounting on inventory depreciation and other judgmental areas to ensure appropriate financial treatment and transparency.
- Maintain a strong focus on financial control, compliance, and adherence to accounting standards and internal policies.
- Support internal control initiatives through the documentation and strengthening of finance procedures.
Process Improvement & Strategic Support:
- Drive automation, simplification, and continuous improvement of reporting and planning processes to enhance efficiency and insight generation.
- Support strategic discussions through scenario analysis, performance modeling, and forward-looking assessment of risks and opportunities.
- Promote best practices in financial planning, reporting, and business partnering across the finance function.
Education/Background:
- University degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related discipline.
- Fully qualified or actively studying towards a recognized professional accounting qualification such as CIMA, ACCA, ACA, or equivalent.
Professional experience & know how:
- 6-7 years of experience in Controlling, FP&A, or Financial Analysis roles, with a strong track record of business partnering and performance management.
- Solid finance foundation combined with the ability to translate data into strategic business insight.
- Experience in FMCG, luxury, consumer goods, or similarly fast-paced commercial environments is highly desirable.
- Proven ability to work effectively across functions and influence stakeholders at different levels of seniority.
Technical skills:
- Advanced Excel skills and strong financial modeling capability.
- Proficiency in Power BI or similar data visualization tools.
- Experience with SAP, Hyperion, Topaz, Anaplan, or equivalent financial systems is an advantage.
Personal & interpersonal skills:
- Strong commercial acumen and strategic mindset.
- Excellent analytical capability with high attention to detail.
- Confident communicator with the ability to present financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
- Strong interpersonal and influencing skills, with the credibility to challenge constructively.
- Highly organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities to tight deadlines.
- Hands-on, resilient, and adaptable in a dynamic business environment.
- High level of integrity, professionalism, and accountability.
- Curious and solutions-oriented, with a continuous improvement mindset.
Languages
Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
