Business Controller

Business Controller

Location: Leiden - Hybrid working options
Sector: International B2B Retail

We are currently partnering with a leading, global B2B organisation operating within the Retail and Wholesale sector to appoint a Business Controller in a newly created role within the finance team. This is a high-impact role within the Commercial Finance function, offering significant exposure to senior stakeholders and commercial leadership across multiple markets.

The Role

The Business Controller plays a pivotal role in driving financial performance management, planning, and insight across the commercial organisation. Acting as a key business partner, this position sits at the heart of budgeting, forecasting, and monthly performance cycles, translating complex financial data into clear, actionable insights that support strategic decision-making.

Reporting to the Commercial Finance Director, you will be supporting the business cross-functionally including C-Suite and VP level stakeholders to make key business decisions and support the growth of the organization.

Role & Responsibilities

• Own and continuously improve the monthly financial and commercial performance cycle
• Lead the preparation and coordination of monthly performance review materials for senior leadership
• Ensure accuracy, consistency, and robustness of data, KPIs, and financial narratives
• Translate financial and operational data into clear insights and recommendations
• Partner closely with BI and Data teams to enhance automation and standardisation of reporting
• Encourage and implement a data-driven, self-service BI culture across commercial functions
• Lead the execution of the annual budgeting process, including timelines, assumptions, and stakeholder coordination
• Own rolling forecasts, scenario modelling, and in-year outlook updates
• Drive greater granularity, analytical depth, and accuracy in planning processes
• Act as the primary finance contact for commercial stakeholders on budget and forecast matters
• Ensure financial plans align with commercial initiatives and strategic priorities
• Act as a key finance partner to various stakeholders including;- Sales, Pricing, Category Management and Operations teams
• Deliver profitability analysis across products, customers, channels, and geographies
• Evaluate commercial initiatives, promotions, and pricing decisions
• Lead performance discussions with commercial teams, driving accountability and action
• Proactively identify financial risks and opportunities related to revenue, margin, and costs
• Build and maintain financial models to support business cases, new initiatives, and optimisation projects
• Monitor financial KPIs and trends, highlighting variances and recommending corrective actions
• Support ad-hoc strategic analysis for senior management and leadership teams

Education & Experience

• Educated with a degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related discipline
• Professional finance qualification (CPA, CMA, ACCA or equivalent) is highly advantageous
• 5-7 years of relevant experience, ideally within an international or matrix organisation
• Strong background in financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and commercial planning
• Proven experience partnering with commercial teams in a business-facing finance role
• Solid understanding of ERP systems, BI tools, and data analytics
• Ability to translate complex financial information into compelling business presentations and reports
• Highly analytical with strong problem-solving and decision-making capability
• Proven ability to communicate and influence senior stakeholders
• Strong commercial acumen
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving, and transformation-led environment
• Fluency in English is essential
• Must be eligible to work in The Netherlands without sponsorship

What our Client Offers:-

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Hybrid working options
• Join a high-performing, collaborative and international team
• Working within a very impactful role
• Ability to add value quickly, directly and work on a number of exciting projects

If you are an experienced finance professional with a strong commercial acumen and are looking for a high impact role, then we would love to hear from you!