Everyone can thrive at Tesco.

 

Meet Head of Product Finance – Central Business Partners, Naomi. She’s had boundless opportunities to develop since she joined. Here, she talks about her journey and Tesco’s commitment to supporting women to thrive in their careers.

 

“My Tesco journey started back in 2015 when I completed a summer internship in Finance. It was a 10-weeks, and the hope was to be offered a role on the graduate programme which would start the following September. And the rest, you could say, is history. Today, I’m Head of Product Finance, and the support I’ve had since I began has been invaluable.

Most of Tesco’s graduate schemes last two years. But to complete a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification, you need to have a three-year portfolio of experience, and enough time to study for and complete your exams. I was exposed to so much of the business during that time, completing posts in Marketing Control, Group and Distribution.

I worked on live projects that had a positive impact on the business – I certainly never felt like I was there to book meeting rooms, make photocopies or cups of tea. There are 800 people in Finance alone, so there’s scope to network with and learn from so many different people. And there’s no need to have a degree in a finance subject either; we had marine biology, geography, and politics grads. The way Tesco works isn’t textbook – so a degree in accounting isn’t necessary to get on here.

Once I’d completed the graduate programme, I spent the next few years working in various roles including Finance Manager in the Fresh team and Buying Manager in the Wine team. My Tesco journey has been a whirlwind – filled with tasty baked goods and delicious wine. It’s also been jam-packed with support and opportunities to take my development in any direction.

Now I’m part of the Product Finance team. We’re an essential pool of business partners that support on whatever the business’ financial priorities are. This includes waste, pricing and inflation, just to name a few. Everything we do is to make sure the business delivers in line with what it said it would, whether that’s focused on value perception, the financial side or customer metrics. And it’s my job to ensure my team have what they need to be accountable for the work they deliver.

I’ve gained a breadth of experience and valuable skills every step of the way. From the day I began, I’ve had mentors and sponsors who’ve been a great sounding board and source of support whenever I needed it. I’ve been on countless internal and external training courses from Excel to negotiating to building confidence ­– I’ve been able to develop both my soft and technical skills. And I’ve also had the opportunity to mentor other grads and support their career journeys too.

I’ve been part of the Women Finance Committee, where we introduced several recommendations for the Finance Leadership Team (FLT) around creating a level playing field for people to progress. We set up a flexible working forum and helped challenge the FLT to create the right number of part-time roles in leadership positions. It’s rewarding being part of important change for the business.

My advice, especially early on in your career, is to put your hand up for everything. Say yes. Give yourself every opportunity to develop – including outside your remit. The more you do, the more people you meet, the more you learn. My motto has always been – do a great job in the role you’re in, but always consider your next challenge. Plus, the more you understand about different areas of the business, the more insight you can bring to different roles.

Building a network is easy here because everyone’s so friendly and happy to share advice. Whether you’ve worked together or not, you can reach out to people from across the business and that proactive approach will help your progression. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Showing vulnerability is a good thing, it’s respected.

There’s still work to be done when it comes diversity, but I believe every business should view it as a continuous focus. When it comes to women’s opportunity and progression, Tesco is doing great things already. We were recently listed in the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality, and women really are seen as equal in this business – as they should be. Tesco is dedicated to giving everybody every opportunity to thrive in their career. And the flexible, welcoming, and inclusive culture here proves it’s not just lip service.”

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