Sephora Financial Controller – Product Offering

Employment
Contract
Seniority
Mid-Level
Posted
Jul 16, 2026

About Sephora

Sephora is a global prestige beauty leader, renowned for redefining the retail experience through creativity, inclusivity, and expert service. Founded in France and now part of LVMH, the company brings together an exceptional portfolio of beauty brands with a distinctive culture of discovery and innovation. As an employer, Sephora offers a dynamic, customer-centered environment where talent is encouraged to learn, experiment, and grow across retail, digital, merchandising, operations, and corporate functions. Its teams are united by a passion for beauty, entrepreneurship, and belonging, making Sephora a compelling workplace for professionals seeking impact within a fast-moving international brand.

Sephora seeks Financial Controller – Product Offering in Neuilly-sur-Seine. CDD hybrid role managing revenue, margin, and inventory analysis for beauty retail.

Role & Responsibilities

  • Lead monthly closing procedures encompassing revenue, cost of goods, inventory valuations, and stock depreciation analysis
  • Prepare documentation and chair inventory depreciation committees, synthesizing closure analyses and structuring strategic discussions
  • Partner with Supply Chain to forecast financial timing and impacts of stock initiatives (supplier returns, donations) and ensure legal compliance with inventory regulations (AGEC, Egalim)
  • Collaborate with Category Directors to establish sales objectives, brand-level forecasts, and monthly budgets including rolling forecasts and budget revisions
  • Validate accuracy of sales and purchase forecasting through consensus meetings with operational stakeholders
  • Monitor and ensure adherence to commercial terms negotiated annually (invoice discounts, RFA, promotional operations) and lead RFA governance committees
  • Partner with European counterpart to standardize and track KPI performance within group centralization framework
  • Co-lead markdown preparation initiatives from conception through report publication
  • Develop annual budgets for assigned product portfolio (revenue, gross margin, inventory, depreciation, sell-in)
  • Support ad-hoc projects impacting the product offering domain

Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Business Administration or equivalent Bac +5 tertiary qualification in Finance, Audit, or Management Accounting
  • Minimum 5 years of professional experience in financial controlling or management accounting
  • Demonstrable expertise in revenue analysis, margin management, and inventory control
  • Ability to operate as a credible business partner with operational leadership
  • Analytical mindset with solution-oriented and proactive approach
  • Strong organizational and information management capabilities with attention to formalizing workflows
  • Excellent interpersonal skills with strong pedagogical communication
  • Advanced Excel proficiency
  • Synthesis and presentation capabilities

Skills

Excel (Advanced) SAP (preferred) Data Analytics tools (preferred) Financial analysis and modeling Budget forecasting Inventory management Commercial terms analysis

Experience

Minimum 5 years of professional experience in management accounting or financial controlling, ideally with exposure to retail, merchandising, or FMCG margin and inventory dynamics.

Education

Master's degree (Bac +5) in Finance, Audit, Management Accounting, or equivalent specialist qualification from a recognized business or engineering school.

Workplace

This position is based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France, within easy reach of Paris.

Culture

Sephora fosters a dynamic, inclusive workplace where creativity, curiosity, and a passion for beauty are encouraged at every level. As an employer, it is distinguished by its focus on empowerment, continuous learning, and a collaborative retail culture that celebrates individuality and client-centric innovation.

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.

Frequently Asked Questions

A.

The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Sephora, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Planning Controller», «Business Analyst – Merchandising Finance», «Cost Control Specialist», «Commercial Finance Partner», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.

Sephora

Sephora Financial Controller – Product Offering

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

Continue to the application.