Job Description

Contract : fix term contract - 1 year

Location : Dubai

Reporting : Commercial Director

Role Purpose

The Business Analyst is the analytical backbone of the Commercial team for the GCC region. The role owns the end-to-end sell-out reporting cycle across all brands and retailers, manages commercial finance operations (POs/CNs, finance requests, pricing files), and delivers the analysis behind retailer, brand, and budget decisions. The Business Analyst is the single point of contact between the Commercial and Finance teams and a key support to the Commercial Director in strategy, budgeting, and stakeholder meetings.

Key Responsibilities

Sell-Out Reporting & Data Management (~25%)

• Own the monthly sell-out cycle: collect reports from all retail partners (complete by the 10th of each month), validate data quality, and keep Qlik updated on a timely basis.
• Produce Sephora weekly and monthly sell-out reports for internal and external stakeholders, including ad-hoc additions requested by Directors, plus the weekly gross sales consolidation.
• Run the NARS reporting pipeline: consolidate sell-out from all markets (Chalhoub + internal), prepare the EMEA monthly report and the monthly performance review deck with retail and gross sales commentary.
• Deliver BOTAN EMEA monthly reporting and the quarterly Chalhoub GCC sell-out submission for market share and ranking studies.

Commercial Finance Operations (~20%)

• Issue and control POs and CNs for the region across all customers — promo claims, rebates, returns, market support, freelancer POs, price discrepancy CNs, testers, and demark charges — in full alignment with Accounting and Finance.
• Deliver monthly finance requests: Gross Sales RF, Sell-Out RF, BC productivity; consolidate YTG phasing across the team with key account and axe splits.
• Own price increase and ICF file completion for customers: populate RSP and cost prices, validate margins, and align RSPs with brand teams.
• Resolve invoicing and price issues raised by the Customer Service team.
• Act as the point of contact between Finance and Commercial: co-develop shared templates and reports and prepare the cost-to-serve analysis.

Analysis & Planning (~25%)

• Prepare stock coverage and SOH / suggested order analysis at partner level for UAE across all brands and main retailers; identify areas of improvement and recommend actions.
• Collect monthly budget packs from customers and distributors and analyse sell-in and inventory.
• Support the annual budget process: complementary files, MOC analysis, and alignment decks per brand for budgeting meetings.
• Deliver seasonal and event analysis, including Ramadan LFL reports (FSS, Sephora); maintain and improve the SISO file supporting UAE team meetings.
• Consolidate Beauty Hub and pop-up extension sales trackers; provide analytical support to the Ecom team.
• Continuously identify and implement improvements in reporting and commercial processes (automation, templates, standardization).

Presentations & Stakeholder Meetings (~20%)

• Prepare retailer strategy decks combining sell-out, market, and inventory insight with clear recommendations.
• Prepare the NARS monthly performance review, the quarterly Town Hall, and the yearly Kick-Off decks.
• Respond to urgent analytical requests from Directors, the Commercial team, and Finance (sell-out recaps, data pulls), maintaining a request log and standard recap templates.

Master Data & Administration (~10%)

• Maintain order forms with monthly updates for new launches and price changes, and upon request from CS and Marketing.
• Maintain the consolidated distribution list for all brands and markets.

Key Working Relationships

• Commercial Director and Commercial team (primary)
• Finance and Accounting (RFs, POs/CNs, cost-to-serve, joint templates)
• Brand and Marketing teams (RSP alignment, launches, order forms)
• Customer Service (invoicing, price issues, order forms)
• External: Sephora, Al Tayer, Faces, MAF, Chalhoub and other retail partners and distributors across the GCC

Candidate Profile

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or a related quantitative field.
• 1–2 years of experience as a business / commercial / sales analyst, ideally in beauty, FMCG, or retail distribution; GCC market exposure a strong advantage.
• Experience working with retailers and/or distributors (Sephora, Chalhoub, Al Tayer, MAF or similar) is a plus.

Technical Skills

• Advanced Excel (Power Query, pivot models, complex consolidations) — essential.
• BI tools: Qlik (or Power BI / Tableau with willingness to master Qlik).
• Strong PowerPoint storytelling: ability to turn data into clear, decision-ready decks.
• ERP exposure (e.g., SAP) for PO/CN flows is an advantage.

Competencies

• Rigorous accuracy with numbers and deadlines: the role carries fixed monthly deadlines toward EMEA and external partners.
• Ability to manage a high volume of parallel deliverables and prioritize between fixed-deadline reporting, transactional finance work, and urgent requests.
• Strong stakeholder skills: daily interaction with Directors, Finance, brand teams, and external retail partners.
• Process improvement mindset: drive to automate, templatize, and simplify recurring work.
• Full professional proficiency in English; Arabic or French is a plus.
• Absolute discretion: the role handles confidential retailer sell-out, pricing, and margin data.