Financial Controller

Financial Controller

Company Overview

BFL Group is one of the world's leading off-price retailers of fashion and homeware. With headquarters based in United Arab Emirates, we serve over markets across the region and Southeast Asia.

Our goal is to delight customers and entice them back with the promise of exceptional pieces that excite – all at up to 80% off the original retail price for fashion designer brands. Our unique Treasure Hunt model ensures there is always something new to explore, desire and discover within our stores. Our customers walk out with new items every time they visit any of our stores.

Role Purpose

The Financial Controller – Buying & Merchandising is a key contributor to BFL Group's commercial and financial performance, acting as the primary Finance Business Partner to the Buying and Merchandising teams.

The role owns the financial steering of sales, margin, inventory, and Open-to-Buy (OTB), ensuring that buying and trading decisions are aligned with budget, forecast, and liquidity targets. It provides forward-looking insight, challenges commercial assumptions, and drives accountability for performance.

Beyond classic FP&A, this role connects financial planning with real trading and buying activity, ensuring that decisions made by buyers and merchandisers translate into profitable and cash-efficient growth.

Key responsibilities:

Business Partnering & Stakeholder Support

• Act as the lead Finance Business Partner for Buying, Merchandising, and Planning teams.
• Translate financial and operational data into simple, actionable insights for non-finance stakeholders.
• Prepare and present regular trading and performance reviews to senior management.

Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting

• Lead the budget, forecast, and rolling outlook for sales, gross margin, markdowns, inventory, and intake.
• Own and control Open-to-Buy (OTB), ensuring buying decisions align with sales forecasts, margin targets, and working capital constraints.
• Ensure high quality, consistency, and transparency of buying, sales, and inventory data used in planning and reporting.

Performance Management & Analysis

• Provide clear analysis on performance versus Budget and Forecast, explaining variances and driving corrective actions with the business.
• Monitor and steer inventory, sell-through, stock cover, and markdowns to protect margin and liquidity.

Commercial & Pricing Decisions

• Support pricing, promotion, clearance, and exit strategies with financial and commercial analysis.
• Build and review business cases for new brands, categories, store openings, and market expansion.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Business, Economics, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in FP&A, Commercial Finance, Business Controlling, or Merchandise Finance, ideally in retail or consumer- driven environments.
• Strong understanding of retail economics, including sales, gross margin, markdowns, inventory, OTB, and working capital.
• Proven experience acting as a Finance Business Partner to commercial, buying, or operational teams
• Strong analytical and financial modelling skills.
• Comfortable working with BI tools, ERP systems (Oracle preferred), and planning systems.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to challenge and support senior commercial stakeholders.
• Commercially minded, hands-on, and comfortable working in a fast-moving trading environment.
• Experience in off-price or discount retail is highly desirable.

If you think you are fit for this job position, then apply right away. You are steps away from joining a Great Place to Work© and we would love to meet you soon!