Commercial Finance Business Partner

We’re ZEISS Vision Care UK, based in Birmingham; an exciting place to work, where individuals make a real difference every day.

As the branded leader in lenses, we offer premium and pioneering products; innovation is at the heart of everything we do. Our brand enhances the lives and vision of millions of people around the world. In fact, 2 people every second put their trust in ZEISS lenses.

We're looking for a Commercial Finance Business Partner to join us on an immediate basis for a 6 month FTC.

This is a critical role within the Carl Zeiss Vision UK (CZVUK) Finance team, offering an exciting opportunity for a commercially focused, qualified accountant to partner with the business, drive profitable growth and support our customers in achieving their ambitions.

Reporting to the Head of Commercial Finance, the role will play a key part in delivering CZVUK’s commercial strategy, with a particular focus on customer financing, revenue growth and gross-margin improvement. Working closely with commercial, operational and senior leadership teams, you will provide financial insight, challenge and analysis to support informed decision-making, strengthen financial controls and maximise business performance.

The role of Commercial Finance Business Partner will involve:

• Leading customer financing activities: Act as the principal finance lead for customer lending, managing the end-to-end process from initial opportunity assessment and financial due diligence through to business case approval and ongoing performance monitoring. Work closely with customers, commercial teams, legal advisers, auditors and senior management to ensure robust financial assessments, appropriate governance and adherence to contractual covenants.
• Driving commercial business partnering: Build trusted relationships with the Commercial Director, customer account teams and customers to influence commercial decision-making. Provide financial analysis and insight to identify revenue growth opportunities, improve profitability and ensure customer financing proposals deliver sustainable business value.
• Supporting strategic planning and forecasting: Lead and coordinate financial inputs into budgeting, forecasting and short-, medium- and long-term strategic planning cycles. Partner with Commercial, Operations and Supply Chain teams to align growth ambitions with volume forecasts, supply requirements and operational capacity, providing robust challenge and clear financial rationale to support business plans.
• Delivering insightful financial reporting and analysis: Support weekly and monthly reporting, including sales performance, variance analysis and commercial commentary for the General Manager. Develop meaningful management information, scenario-based proposals and performance reporting to highlight key risks, opportunities and trends, supporting decisions on pricing, incentives and other commercial initiatives.
• Advancing business transformation and continuous improvement: Lead or support cross-functional projects aligned with CZVUK’s commercial growth and transformation agenda. Evaluate financial opportunities and risks, monitor project deliverables and benefits realisation, and work with internal and external stakeholders to improve processes, controls and business performance.
• Strengthening customer financing governance and insight: Develop a comprehensive management information and KPI reporting suite to monitor the financing pipeline, protected revenue, expected revenue growth and business case performance. Identify opportunities to improve controls, processes and reporting within this high-profile, commercially significant area of the business.
• Supporting commercial strategy and business development: Evaluate new business opportunities, product launches, portfolio reviews and other business change initiatives, providing clear financial analysis and recommendations to support strategic decisions and profitable growth.

• Degree qualified or equivalent, with a recognised professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• At least two years’ post-qualified experience in a commercially focused finance role, with a proven track record of partnering with business stakeholders to drive performance and deliver results.
• Experience in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) due diligence, financial evaluation and the development of robust business cases to support investment and commercial decisions.
• Confidence in presenting financial analysis, recommendations and complex business issues to Board-level stakeholders, with the ability to communicate key messages clearly and influence decisions.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to look beyond Finance, understand business performance drivers and translate financial information into actionable insights.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills, with experience in financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis and performance reporting.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across commercial, operational and senior leadership teams.
• A proactive, resilient and adaptable approach, with a commitment to continuous improvement, effective teamwork and high standards of delivery.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with data visualisation and business intelligence tools, such as Power BI, Tableau or equivalent.
• Experience developing financial analysis and reporting using SAP data, Business Warehouse or Business Objects.
• Experience in customer lending assessments, credit risk evaluation and credit loss considerations.

• Salary benchmarked against the 400 biggest companies in the UK
• 10% Employer pension contribution (providing a 4 % employee contribution)
• Free ZEISS lenses for you and discounted ZEISS lenses for your friends and family

Role Details

• Location: Birmingham, B12JT
• Working arrangements: Hybrid working - 3 office days per week (Tuesday-Thursday) 2 days from home.
• 6 Month FTC with an immediate start

Apply now to take the next step in joining ZEISS, where you can push technological boundaries, shape markets and contribute to the advancement of society

Your ZEISS Recruiting Team:

Abbie Walters