Analyst: Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) (Food) at Massmart

Summary:

• The Analyst: FP&A is responsible for supporting financial planning, forecasting, reporting, and performance analysis processes for an assigned portfolio by delivering reliable data, preparing reports, and providing foundational insights to support strategic and operational decision-making.

FUNCTIONS / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Business Partnership

• Provide analytical support to enable financial insights for strategic business reviews and operational decision-making.
• Assist in translating commercial trends into financial implications.
• Prepare standardised reporting packs and dashboards for performance reviews.
• Monitor key financial KPIs and surface early signals or anomalies with supporting commentary.

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)

• Prepare first-cut inputs for monthly rolling forecasts, annual budgeting cycles, and long-term financial planning.
• Build and update basic to moderately complex financial models and scenario analyses for portfolio areas.
• Conduct trend analysis, variance investigations, and forecast accuracy reporting.

P&L Ownership and Performance Management

• Populate and validate financial performance templates for assigned P&L lines.
• Support cost centre reviews with line managers and functional leads.
• Track key revenue and cost drivers impacting portfolio performance.
• Raise flags on potential variances, risks, or anomalies to the Manager/Senior Manager.

Gross Margin Enhancements

• Monitor pricing, discounting, and cost trends to support margin analysis.
• Assist in evaluating the impact of category mix, supplier income, and markdowns on gross margin.
• Prepare input for gross margin tracking dashboards or reports.

Business Innovation and Format Testing

• Capture baseline metrics and financial indicators before innovation pilots or format tests are launched.
• Prepare early-stage ROI assessments or financial feasibility summaries for manager validation.
• Track test performance and support post-implementation financial reviews.

Cost Improvement and Efficiency

• Identify and monitor baseline costs across key expense lines.
• Support cost benchmarking and cost-to-serve analysis.
• Track progress against identified savings opportunities.

Stakeholder Management

• Liaise with portfolio-specific teams to collect planning and performance inputs.
• Respond to data, report, and insight requests in a timely and professional manner.
• Ensure financial insights are tailored to each stakeholder's level of understanding

Minimum Academic, Professional Qualifications & Experience required for this position

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance / Economics/ Accounting related qualification.
• Honours degree in Finance / Economics/ Accounting related qualification preferred.

Experience:

• 3+years FP&A/ management reporting/ financial modelling/ finance business partnering preferably with some exposure to financial planning and analysis.
• Experience with financial reporting tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, SAP Analytics Cloud) advantageous.

Competencies & Skills

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, lookups, advanced formulas).
• Understanding of ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, or similar).
• Ability to build basic financial models.
• Familiar with budget, forecast, and financial consolidation processes.
• Able to interpret financial data and identify key trends.
• High accuracy and quality in reporting and calculations.
• Clear, concise communication of financial data.
• Able to meet multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Works effectively within a team and across functions.
• Proactively seeks to understand the “why” behind numbers.