Job Description

Lead Financial Planning Analyst – Co-op Funeralcare

£40,000 - £50,000 plus excellent benefits (Work Level 6A)

Manchester city centre - Manchester city centre - in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the office (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We’re looking for a Lead Financial Planning Analyst to join us and support performance reporting and planning across our team. In this role, you’ll be consolidating and building reporting outputs and partnering with our finance business partners and business teams to identify any risks or opportunities that might have a financial impact, and add those into our forecasts, budgets, and strategic plans.

Why this role matters

As a Lead Financial Planning Analyst, you’ll play a key part in the team that’s responsible for analysing performance and trends, and producing forecasts, budgets, and plans for the future. We’ll look to you to deliver reporting against internal benchmarks and then compare with external competitors in the industry so that we can inform and optimise our business decisions. If you can bring us the financial and analytical skills that we need, we can offer you the chance to build your career with a business that always puts people at the heart of its strategy.

What you’ll do

• Build financial plans using proven techniques and methods.
• Update financial models, forecasts, budgets, and strategic plans with data and assumptions.
• Consolidate reporting inputs and present overall performance in a clear, compelling way.
• Support weekly and monthly performance reporting.
• Analyse period results, key variances, and their impact on financial statements.
• Provide reconciliation and variance analysis across business areas (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly).
• Build strong relationships with key partners across the business.
• Improve forecasting and reporting processes while championing planning and reporting tools, including cashflow forecasting.

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• A recognised accountancy qualification (such as ACA, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent) and FP&A experience
• Strong budget, forecast, and financial reporting (P&Ls, balance sheets, cash flow) skills
• Advanced IT and spreadsheet skills (e.g., VLOOKUP, complex formulas) and experience with planning tools
• Excellent analytical, detail-oriented, and communication skills, with the ability to present data and influence stakeholders
• Strong prioritisation in a dynamic environment, with a focus on continuous improvement and spotting new opportunities

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.