The Role: We are seeking a Junior Commercial Analyst to join our evolving commercial finance team located in Skipton, North Yorkshire. This is not a passive reporting role—it’s an opportunity for individuals who want to shape business outcomes and drive performance. This opportunity is ideal for a recent graduate in Economics, Finance, Business, or a related discipline who is analytically sharp, commercially curious, and eager to build a career in value-focused finance. You will work closely with the Senior Commercial Analyst to interrogate data, build financial models, and generate insights that influence strategic decisions across the business. We offer full support towards the CIMA qualification, alongside a structured development pathway. You’ll be expected to challenge assumptions, ask the right questions, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement. This role suits someone who: * Is intellectually curious and not afraid to challenge the status quo. * Has strong numerical and analytical skills, with a bias for action. * Is comfortable working in a fast-paced, agile environment where priorities shift and commercial thinking is essential. * Wants to be part of a team that is transforming finance from a reporting function to a strategic driver of value. Key Responsibilities * Financial Analysis & Modelling: Assist in collecting and analysing financial and business data to uncover insights and trends that inform decision-making. Develop and maintain financial models (e.g. revenue, cost, and profit models) to project business performance under various scenarios. Support the finance team in performing budgeting and forecasting exercises and help update forecasts based on actual performance. * Budgeting & Forecasting: Work closely with the senior analyst to prepare annual budgets and periodic forecasts. Monitor actual financial performance against budget, identify variances, and provide insights or explanations for these variances to management. This includes running monthly budget vs. actual reports and assisting with variance analysis. * Stakeholder Reporting: Prepare and deliver clear, digestible financial reports for stakeholders and senior management. This involves translating complex data into summaries and presentations that non-financial colleagues can understand and act upon. * Market & Competitor Analysis: Conduct market research and competitor analysis to support strategic planning. As part of the commercial team, you’ll examine industry trends, customer data, and competitor performance to identify opportunities or risks for the business. Your analysis will feed into strategy discussions and help refine forecasts or marketing/sales strategies. * Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with various departments (e.g. Sales, Operations, Business Development) to gather data and provide analysis for their initiatives. You will act as a link between finance and other teams, ensuring data is accurate and helping colleagues interpret the numbers. This may include helping sales teams with pricing analysis, assisting operations with cost analysis, or working with project teams on financial aspects of new initiatives. * Compliance & Controls: Ensure financial processes, policies, and controls are followed in your work. As you handle financial information, you’ll learn to maintain accuracy and confidentiality, and uphold compliance with company policies and relevant regulations. Part of your role may involve checking that reports are correct, reconciling data, and flagging any anomalies to senior team members. * Ad-Hoc Projects: Take on ad hoc analysis and special projects as required. The finance team may assign you to various projects such as profitability analysis for a new product, cost-benefit analysis for an investment, or process improvement initiatives. These projects provide the chance to broaden your experience and demonstrate initiative. Throughout these responsibilities, you will receive guidance and training to build your expertise. Over time, you’ll take on more complex tasks as your skills develop. Required Qualifications and Skills * Education: Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field (achieved or expected 2:1 honours or above). A strong academic foundation in financial principles and analysis is essential. * Analytical Skills: Proven numerical and analytical capability – you should be comfortable working with figures, spotting trends, and interpreting data. Highly developed analytical skills will enable you to delve into financial reports and extract meaningful insights. * Excel Proficiency: Solid proficiency in Microsoft Excel is required for this role. You should be able to use Excel for tasks like data manipulation, creating charts, and perhaps basic financial modelling or forecasts. Familiarity with functions, pivot tables, and spreadsheets is expected, as Excel will be a daily tool for analysis. * Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. You must be able to articulate your analysis clearly – whether it’s drafting commentary for a report or explaining numbers to a non-financial audience. Strong interpersonal skills are important, as you’ll collaborate with different teams and present findings to managers. * Attention to Detail: High attention to detail and accuracy in work. Financial analysis demands care – you will be handling reports where precision is crucial to avoid errors. You should have a diligent approach to checking your work and ensuring consistency in figures. * Motivation & Work Ethic: Self-motivated with a willingness to learn and take on new challenges. As a trainee, you’ll be expected to be proactive, ask questions, and seek to continuously develop your knowledge. A positive attitude and the ability to manage your time to meet deadlines (especially during month-end or budgeting cycles) are important. In addition to full support towards a CIMA qualification, you will be part of a dynamic team and receive the benefits expected from a market leading recruitment group. This role is based at our Skipton office, 5 days per week