Commercial Systems Manager
About the Role
DS Smith is seeking a Commercial Systems Manager to join our UK Retail Cluster Commercial team. This is a key role responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and continuous improvement of the commercial systems that support pricing, margin management, and commercial decision-making.
Working closely with the Head of Finance - Sales & Commercial, Head of Finance - Retail, Site Finance Managers, Procurement, and Commercial teams, you will act as the UK commercial systems expert, ensuring costing models and commercial systems are maintained, accurate, and fit for purpose.
Key Responsibilities
Cost Model & Systems Management
Own and maintain all commercial cost models, ensuring accuracy and consistency across the business.
Partner with Site Finance teams to incorporate changes in cost structures and manufacturing costs.
Ensure costing methodologies and best practices are standardised across sites.
Commercial Systems & Reporting
Manage updates to costing factors and key commercial systems to support pricing and margin decisions.
Take ownership of monthly and quarterly Navigator reconciliations and investigations.
Analyse cost variances and work with Finance and Operations teams to resolve data and process issues.
Support reporting, data integrity, and continuous system improvements.
Stakeholder Management
Act as the UK Commercial Systems subject matter expert for CBS, CDM, Navigator, and related systems.
Collaborate with Procurement, Commercial, Finance, and Operations teams to ensure accurate and timely costing information.
Represent the UK business within EMEA costing and systems forums.
Leadership & Continuous Improvement
Support and develop a shared Systems Apprentice resource.
Drive process improvements and identify opportunities to enhance commercial systems and reporting.
Promote best practice and support capability development across the Commercial team.
About You
Experience
Experience in commercial finance, costing, pricing, commercial systems, or business analysis.
Experience working within a manufacturing, FMCG, packaging, or multi-site environment is desirable.
Proven ability to work across functions and influence stakeholders at all levels.
Previous experience leading projects, processes, or people is advantageous.
Skills & Knowledge
Strong understanding of costing principles, margin management, and variance analysis.
Experience using commercial or finance systems, ideally CBS, CDM, Navigator, SAP, or similar ERP platforms.
Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills.
Excellent reporting, problem-solving, and process improvement capabilities.
Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders.
Benefits
Competitive salary
25 days holiday plus bank holidays
Pension scheme, life assurance and income protection
Employee Assistance Programme
Employee Discounts
Cycle to work scheme
Location: home based with frequent travel to sites
Hours: 37.5 - Monday - Friday
About us
We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!
Fair recruitment at DS Smith
To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria