Job Description

Retail Stock Accountant

£50,000 - £60,000 plus great benefits (Work Level 5)

18-month fixed-term contract

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

We're looking for a Retail Stock Accountant to join our Finance team and help us maintain accurate, reliable reporting of store inventory across our business. You'll play a key role in ensuring our stock records are correctly valued, reconciled and controlled within SAP, giving colleagues across Finance and the wider business the information they need to make informed decisions, manage risk and support strong financial performance

Why this role matters

In this role, you'll take ownership of financial controls for store inventory, helping to ensure our reporting is accurate while identifying risks, resolving issues and improving processes. It's a great opportunity to work with a wide range of teams across Finance, Supply Chain, Retail Loss and IT, using your expertise to influence decisions, drive improvements and make a visible impact on how we manage stock across Co-op.

What you’ll do

• Own and maintain end-to-end financial control of store inventory within SAP

• Ensure inventory is accurately valued, posted and reconciled across the balance sheet and profit and loss account

• Complete and oversee monthly close activities, including stock reconciliations and adjustments

• Analyse inventory variances, including stock loss, write-offs and revaluations, identifying trends and areas of risk

• Investigate and resolve inventory and data integrity issues in partnership with Finance, Supply Chain, Retail Loss and IT teams

• Support internal and external audits by providing clear evidence of controls and reconciliations

• Deliver insights on inventory performance, risks and opportunities to support business decision-making

• Drive continuous improvements to SAP processes, reporting and data quality

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 (ACA, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent), or actively working towards one and in the final stages of completion

• Experience in an accounting, financial control or stock accounting role

• Strong understanding of balance sheet reconciliations, month-end processes and financial controls

• Experience analysing financial and operational data to identify issues, trends and risks

• The ability to investigate problems, identify root causes and implement effective solutions

• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to maintaining high levels of accuracy and compliance

• Great communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across multiple teams

• A continuous improvement mindset, with a focus on enhancing processes, controls and data quality

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

• Private healthcare

• 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.