Head of Commercial Finance

As a Head of Commercial Finance, you will act as a strategic business partner to the SLT, Sales, Operations, and Marketplace teams. You will drive revenue performance, pricing strategy, commercial insight, and own financial planning to support sustainable growth in a high-volume, transaction-based environment. You will play a key role in regularly presenting to and updating the Dealer Auction Board, which comprises the Joint Venture CEO and Directors from both parent companies.

We're looking for someone with a strong grounding in commercial finance, alongside the confidence and curiosity to challenge thinking, improve outcomes and help the business make better informed decisions.

What You'll Be Doing

Commercial Performance & Analysis

Partner with Sales and Product teams to analyse revenue, margins, and profitability

Monitor auction KPIs including: Conversion rates, Sold price vs. reserve, Days-to-sell, Average transaction value

Deliver weekly and monthly performance dashboards with actionable insights.

Pricing & Revenue Strategy

Develop and refine fee models across the different channels on the platform.

Develop Commercial approach for bespoke customer contracts.

Drive Customer and Sales incentive schemes.

Develop Commercial approach for new product launches (eg. Wallet payments).

Forecasting & Planning

Lead all aspects of Budgeting process.

Align with Finance functions of shareholders to achieve relevant deadlines.

Full engagement of SLT and wider business on assumption-based approach.

Build driver-based financial models linked to auction volume and pricing assumptions for rolling forecast.

Conduct scenario planning for market fluctuations in used vehicle prices.

Business Partnering

Act as finance lead for commercial initiatives.

Challenge and support Sales leadership on targets and incentive structures.

Provide financial input on supplier contracts and strategic partnerships.

Present insights to senior leadership and board stakeholders.

Cost Control

Drive cost efficiency initiatives: Identify, analyse, and implement cost-saving opportunities across the business while maintaining operational effectiveness and supporting strategic objectives.

Partner with stakeholders: Collaborate with commercial and operational teams to challenge spend, optimise resource allocation, and embed a strong cost-conscious culture across the organisation.

Controls & Governance

Ensure revenue recognition accuracy in line with accounting standards.

Maintain strong internal controls over commission and transaction reporting.

Improve data integrity and reporting automation.

Report relevant Financials to Shareholders in a timely manner.

Experienced in leading, coaching and developing people, with a genuine motivation to help people grow and succeed

You lead by example, acting as a role model for our values and ways of working, ensuring your decisions balance both people needs and business outcomes.

What We're Looking For

Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).

You will have a background in commercial finance or FP&A

Strong financial modelling ability and advanced Excel skills.

Experience translating financial data and complex datasets into commercial insight and decisions.

Experience partnering closely with senior commercial and operational leaders, providing constructive challenge and clear recommendations.

Great communication skills with the ability to share financial insight to a range of stakeholders, simplifying complexity and focusing on what really matters.

You will be commercially curious - you want to understand why performance is moving, not just report what happened.

Can balance strategic thinking with hands on delivery, especially in a fast moving, evolving business.

Desirable:

Experience in online marketplaces, e commerce or automotive.

Experience using BI tools (Power BI, Tableau or Looker) to support insight and storytelling.

Knowledge of auction economics or vehicle remarketing.

We're Committed to Inclusion

Dealer Auction is a digital business leading the way in the transformation of automotive remarketing. A joint venture between Auto Trader and Cox Automotive, Dealer Auction is the UK's largest online wholesale marketplace.

Dealer Auction's core purpose is to help automotive businesses buy and sell used vehicles online, faster, and smarter than any other platform. Customers include Manufacturer's; Fleet & Leasing companies; Franchise and Independent Retailers. Transacting over 120,000 vehicles every year, Dealer Auction attracts over 5500 buyers and 1200 sellers. As buying and selling moves away from traditional methods into online solutions, Dealer Auction is set to grow exponentially.

More about our Parent Companies: Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Atlanta based Cox Enterprises, and is the world's largest automotive service organisation, providing solutions to clients at every stage of the vehicle lifecycle. In the UK, Cox Automotive provides inventory, financial and retail solutions to its clients throughout the automotive ecosystem. Cox Automotive brands in the UK include Manheim, Movex, NextGear Capital and Modix. The group employs more than 2,100 team members in the UK and works with thousands of clients. They provide Dealer Auction with support and access to learning and development opportunities as well as several communities such as MHFA's, Diversity & Inclusion groups, and Women with Drive. Auto Trader Group plc is a 100% digital business having successfully completed the transition from a print title in 2013.

Auto Trader sits at the heart of the UK's vehicle buying process and operates the UK's largest digital automotive marketplace. Auto Trader is recognised as a leading digital business in the UK which has its people culture and values at its core. They support Dealer Auction with access to their expertise in growing a value based, collaborative culture.

As a Cox Automotive team member, you'll have access to a wide range of benefits, including exclusive discounts, cashback offers and our brilliant peer to peer recognition scheme. And there's even more to enjoy:

Option to buy additional holiday days

Your birthday off every year - paid

One annual Well-Being Day for you to relax and recharge

One paid Charity Day to give back and support a cause that matters to you

Opportunities for career progression across the Cox Automotive network

Competitive pension scheme