Commercial Finance Analyst

Dakota Hotels are seeking a highly numerate and commercial minded finance professional for the role of Commercial Finance Analyst, reporting to our Head of Commercial Finance, based in our Manchester city centre hotel.

Our location, 29 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2JL, is centrally located in the Piccadilly Basin, close to Piccadilly Station ideally located for public transport users.

CONTRACT AND PAY RATE

This hybrid role caries a permanent contract of 40 hours per week, working office hours onsite in our Manchester hotel with the option of working up to two days a week from home. The gross annual pay rate, dependent on the candidates demonstrable experience and skillset, is up to £40,000 plus a target-based bonus.

PRIMARY ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES 

Carry out a wide range of activities to drive data-driven decision making and the commerciality of the business. This includes gathering data and organising information to analyse historical results and trends, making forecasts and financial projections. Be effective in generating Excel models, applying technologies to visualise data clearly throughpresentations and reports for reference across all functions of our business.

• We’re on a mission to modernise our finance function — and we want someone who thrives on data, loves solving inefficiencies, and knows how to use the Microsoft Power Platform to its full potential.
• Business partner with the Hotel Operations teams responsible for identifying opportunities for growth and performance improvement.
• Weekly performance review – diagnose weekly performance and provide insight-led recommendations.
• Revenue and sales reports, supporting the generation of analytical reports and delivery of presentations.
• Own and Develop scalable financial models to support commercial decision-making across the group.
• Support Budgeting, Forecasting, and Business Case analysis with clean, connected data.
• Act as the data integration and automation lead within the finance team by driving change and challenging the status quo. Making automation the norm, not the exception.
• Have a full understanding and be able to comprehensively use all relevant systems within the organisation (including understanding reporting modules, improve system integrations etc.).
• Support the revenue team by conducting comprehensive data analysis to identify trends, forecast future revenue, and provide actionable insights for optimizing pricing strategies and maximizing profitability.
• Within the Commercial Team, work closely with the Data Analyst to enhance and streamline the reporting processes through automation. Carry out any other analysis or tasks as requested by the Head of Commercial Finance, Group Financial Controller or Finance Director.

BENEFITS  

In addition to being part of a culture infused with positivity and opportunity for ongoing development, tangible benefits you could enjoy when you join our team include: 

• 40 per cent off stays at any Dakota  
• 25 per cent off drinks and dining at any Dakota 
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program which includes  
  - free private mental health support and counselling sessions 
  - video GP consultations and private prescription services 
  - access to daily rewards to be cashed out for shopping vouchers 
• Access to discounted gift card platform 
• Support from our inhouse Mental Health Champions 
• Additional holiday day on the first anniversary of your employment. 
• Family-friendly flexible working options  
• Meals on duty and uniforming 
• £200 bonus to recommend a friend to join our team  
• £10 bonus every time you are mentioned on Trip Advisor  
• Free bi-annual eye testing for users of display screen equipment 
• Accredited, certified compliance training given on employment such as in Food Hygiene, Alcohol Responsibility, Data Protection, and Health & Safety 
• Access to a suite of external, certified resources via our Learning Management System 
• Supportive continuous professional development culture with an annual appraisal and objectives, or a Personal Development Plan.
• Opportunities to undertake both internal and external training courses, including potential for in-house Apprenticeships.
  
  Full terms on our benefits can be found in our Handbook. 

ABOUT DAKOTA HOTELS 

Dakota is a growing UK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserie Grills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutique hotels on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in South Queensferry, and Glasgow, in Eurocentral. We have now expanded into prime city centre locations in Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester, Newcastle and more in our pipeline. 

Dakota is synonymous for delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard-working individuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and have been voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last five years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the 2024 Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK, as well as being awarded the Spotlight Award for Best Places to Work for LGBTQIA+ employees.  

As recent winners of The Cateys ‘People Team of the Year’, we have award-winning internal training programmes within Dakota Academy fostering continuous development and ongoing training. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for four consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Caterer to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent. 

Eurocentral | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Leeds | Manchester | Newcastle 

Our location, 29 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2JL, is centrally located in the Piccadilly Basin, close to Piccadilly Station ideally located for public transport users.

We are home to 137 luxury bedrooms, including 27 suites - the most in the city, a destination cocktail bar with champagne room, and a brasserie style grill with private dining rooms as well as a spectacular terrace.

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS 

Successful candidates must demonstrate having researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of our team. The successful applicant will have/be:

• Experience in a Commercial Finance Analyst role [required]
• Minimum of two years in a finance or analyst based role which included in preparing analysis, delivering insight, and turning this into recommendations. [required]
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Power Platform (Power BI [required], Power Automateand Power Apps [preferred])
• Minimum of two years working with Excel at an advanced level and comfortable manipulating complex data [required]
• Strong communication skills; verbal and written. Adept at communicating in a succinct and straightforward way to non-finance colleagues with a willingness to understand hospitality and operational ways of thinking [required]
• Demonstrably possess commercial acumen; the ability to analyse complex data sets, identifying the key messages, communicating the output [required]
• High level of numeracy and the ability to spot trends, discrepancies, and opportunities within complex data sets [required]
• Have a proactive and problem-solving approach to maximise profitability [required]
• Working experience in a hospitality or retail setting, or experience in procurement [beneficial]
• Will and able to work onsite, at Dakota Hotel in Manchester three days a week [required]
• Be task oriented with a great pride for the work they do and attention to detail [required]
• Demonstrably effective communications skills, able to work well within teams across the business, collaborating with different business functions, including finance and non-finance stakeholders [required]
• Hold a finance-based degree or similar qualifications [beneficial]

APPLY 

Please send us your up to date CV.  

Visit our Careers page to learn about current opportunities and find your #DreamRolesAtDakota – we’d love to hear from you! 

 For more information on our luxury hotel, please visit our:

• Website
• Dakota Hotels Instagram or Dakota Manchester Instagram
• Trip Advisor
• Facebook page