Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis at Adidas · Location…

PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANISATION:

This is a high-impact commercial finance role at the centre of adidas Pacific’s Retail and Marketing Activation teams. As the lead FP&A partner for Retail, and a key partner to Marketing Activation, the position turns financial insight into action by shaping strategy, influencing investment decisions and helping stakeholders deliver sustainable business performance.

The role combines strategic business partnering with hands-on ownership of forecasting, budgeting, reporting and critical analysis. It offers broad exposure across the Pacific business, regular engagement with senior stakeholders, and the opportunity to constructively challenge thinking, identify cross-functional impacts and improve how financial decisions are made. Success requires strong commercial curiosity, a detailed understanding of business drivers and the confidence to bring clarity, accountability and practical recommendations to a fast-moving environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as the key FP&A business partner to the Retail team, providing financial rigour, commercial insight and clear recommendations to support business performance.
• Develop a strong understanding of the Retail strategy, its financial implications and its impact on the wider adidas business, partnering with stakeholders to support execution and delivery against financial targets.
• Analyse monthly performance across the store fleet, identify key trends and opportunities, and provide recommendations to improve commercial and financial outcomes.
• Prepare robust business cases for potential store openings and complete the related financial and administrative requirements for new store setups.
• Independently prepare accurate monthly store bonus calculations and ensure they are completed within required timelines.
• Prepare and submit detailed Retail budgets and forecasts, ensuring accuracy, completeness and alignment with business assumptions.
• Constructively challenge assumptions and undertake ad hoc analysis to support sound commercial decisions and actionable business recommendations.
• Contribute significantly to the preparation and submission of Pacific rolling forecasts and the annual budget to regional and global headquarters, including uploading financial information into global reporting systems.
• Act as the key FP&A business partner to the Marketing Activation team, monitoring sports marketing and campaign expenditure accurately and efficiently.
• Maintain Marketing Activation budgeting and forecasting files, support timely submissions, and provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness of marketing investment.
• Provide clear financial guidance and technical support to non-financial stakeholders, translating complex information into practical business actions.
• Consolidate and analyse total operating expenditure by cost centre and expenditure type, comparing actual performance against forecast and identifying material variances.
• Prepare accurate OPEX forecasts and projections and meet all related reporting requirements.
• Continuously improve FP&A processes to increase efficiency and accuracy, including identifying opportunities to use AI and automation tools.
• Act as second-in-command within the FP&A team and support the broader Finance team with ad hoc analysis and other priorities as required.

KPIS:

• Accuracy and timeliness of rolling forecasts, annual budgets and financial reporting submissions.
• Quality and commercial impact of financial insights, recommendations and business cases provided to Retail and Marketing Activation stakeholders.
• Effective management and analysis of Retail performance, marketing expenditure and total operating expenditure against forecast and budget.
• Delivery of process improvements that increase the efficiency, accuracy and automation of FP&A activities.
• Stakeholder satisfaction and effectiveness of financial partnership across Retail, Marketing Activation and the wider Finance team.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

• Director, FP&A
• Senior Director, Finance
• Senior Director, Retail
• Director, Brand Activation
• Cross-market FP&A team

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Strong financial planning, forecasting, budgeting and management reporting capability.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret large and complex data sets and translate findings into clear commercial recommendations.
• Strong commercial acumen and understanding of the financial drivers within a retail or consumer-focused business.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to explain financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders and constructively challenge assumptions.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and deliver accurate outputs within tight reporting deadlines.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Power Query, with working knowledge of SAP and Microsoft Power BI.
• Curiosity and confidence in using AI and automation tools, including Microsoft Copilot, to improve the efficiency and accuracy of finance processes.
• Collaborative and proactive approach, with the ability to build effective relationships across Finance, Retail, Marketing Activation and regional teams.

REQUISITE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE / MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Tertiary qualification in accounting, finance, commerce or a related discipline.
• CPA or CA qualification.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience across financial planning and analysis, commercial finance, management accounting or a comparable finance role.
• Demonstrated experience managing budgeting, rolling forecasts, management reporting and performance analysis, with the ability to translate complex financial data into clear commercial recommendations.
• Proven experience partnering with senior non-financial stakeholders, constructively challenging assumptions and supporting commercially sound decision-making.
• Experience working in a complex, cross-functional organisation with multiple reporting requirements and competing deadlines.
• Experience supporting a retail or consumer-focused business is highly regarded.