IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) Developer at JD Sports Fashion

Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world.

JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.

We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.

Job Title: IBM Planning Analytics (TM1\) Developer

Department: Finance

Location: Finance Transformation / Finance Systems Team

Reporting To: David Szabo

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 29 May 2026

Internal/External: Internal \& External

About JD Group

Founded in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, JD Group has grown into a leading global omni-channel retailer in Sports Fashion, Outdoors, and Gyms. Our diverse and dedicated teams operate across a portfolio of renowned retail brands in multiple international markets.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1996 and a proud member of the FTSE100 since 2019, JD Group continues to expand both in the UK and globally driven by a commitment to innovation, excellence, and possibility.

Our vision is to become the world’s most trusted and dynamic omni-channel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to join us in shaping this future. If you're passionate about contributing to an inclusive, people-first, and customer-centric organisation and are motivated by continuous growth and operational excellence we’d love to hear from you.

Role Overview

We are looking for a high-calibre IBM Planning Analytics (TM1\) Developer to join our Global Finance Systems team during a period of significant transformation. Initially, you will be the technical lead for the global rollout of our flagship forecasting tool, ensuring a seamless deployment and providing expert long-term support and system evolution.

However, this is not just a "TM1 role." As we modernize our finance architecture, you will have the unique opportunity to become a multi-platform expert. We will provide dedicated investment and cross-training to help you master the Oracle EPM Cloud suite, specifically focusing on Financial Consolidation and Close (FCC), Account Reconciliations (ARCS), and our upcoming Oracle Tax reporting module (TRCS).

This role is designed for a forward-thinking developer who wants to move beyond a single technology and become a comprehensive EPM Architect, bridging the gap between IBM’s powerful modelling capabilities and Oracle’s robust statutory reporting solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Initially, this role will be the technical lead for the rollout of our global forecasting tool, building the financial planning forecasting tool that provides bottom-up financial modelling of all the elements that drive our primary financial statements.

* Partnering with finance and business stakeholders, you will design, build and implement a robust driver based forecasting model within IBM Planning Analytics (TM1\), aligned to business planning and forecasting requirements.

* Develop and maintain cubes, dimensions, hierarchies and rules to support scalable and auditable forecasting.

* Support testing, validation and reconciliation of forecast outputs during the project.

* Design user friendly Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) dashboards, input templates and reports to support planner adoption.

* Ensure integration of the forecasting tool with source systems where applicable and downstream reporting outputs.

* Support forecast governance, including security, control checks, auditability and documentation.

* Provide knowledge transfer, documentation and user support to ensure sustainable ownership post implementation.

* Identify opportunities to enhance forecasting accuracy, automation and usability through continuous improvement.

As we modernize our finance architecture, you will have the unique opportunity to become a multi-platform expert:

* Develop deep functional and technical expertise in Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close (FCC), Account Reconciliation Cloud Service (ARCS) and the Oracle Tax Reporting module (TRCS) through structured investment and cross training.

* Partner with Finance, Tax and Accounting stakeholders to understand business requirements and maintain applications to support period end close, consolidation, reconciliation and tax reporting processes, ensuring accuracy, control and compliance.

* Actively identify opportunities to improve efficiency, control and insight through process simplification and increased automation.

Skills \& Experience Required

* Engine Mastery: Expert proficiency in writing and troubleshooting TurboIntegrator (TI) processes and complex Rules/Feeders.

* Modern Interface Design: Hands-on experience building user-centric dashboards in Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) and reports in Planning Analytics for Excel (PAfE).

* MDX Proficiency: Strong ability to write MDX for dynamic subsets and PAW-based reporting.

* Architecture \& Design: Ability to design "Best Practice" dimensionality and multi-cube data flows (e.g., Opex, Capex, and Revenue models).

* Performance Tuning: Proven track record of optimizing model performance.

* Great Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to bridge the gap between technical system constraints and senior Finance leadership requirements.

* Analytical Mindset: The ability to translate complex business logic into lean, high-performance technical code.

* Financial Literacy: A solid grasp of financial planning and analysis (FP\&A) processes, including budgeting, forecasting, and actuals reconciliation.

* EPM Evolution: A strong desire and aptitude to cross-train into the Oracle EPM Suite (specifically FCC, ARCS, and Tax).

* Global Rollout Experience: Experience supporting or leading global software deployments, including managing UAT, user training, and post-go-live stabilization.

* Retail Insight (Preferred): Prior experience in a Retail environment is highly advantageous—specifically understanding store-level drivers, inventory cycles, and margin analysis.

What We Offer

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a workplace where every colleague is valued, respected, and empowered. We celebrate the diversity of our teams and strive to ensure that all colleagues regardless of background, identity, or lived experience can thrive and contribute meaningfully.

As a part of our successful and continually evolving company, you’ll be encouraged to embrace and uphold our strategic priorities: putting people first, at the forefront of digital innovation, staying deeply attuned to our customers, and pursuing operational excellence. We are always exploring new avenues for growth, and we welcome individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact every day.

We know our employees work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits:

* Staff Discount on qualifying purchases across Group retail stores and online

* Exclusive Colleague Bike Discount scheme

* Discounted Gym membership

* Personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work

* Access to Apprenticeships and accredited qualifications

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.

Thank you for your time

\#JD