Director, Client Finance - London Publicis Sapient is a digital transformation partner helping established organisations get to their future, digitally-enabled state, both in the way they work and the way they serve their customers. We help unlock value through a start-up mindset and modern methods, fusing strategy, consulting and customer experience with agile engineering and problem-solving creativity. United by our core values and our purpose of helping people thrive in the brave pursuit of next, our 20,000+ people in 50+ offices around the world combine experience across technology, data sciences, consulting and customer obsession to accelerate our clients’ businesses through designing the products and services their customers truly value.As a member of the global Finance team, you will provide expert & collaborative financial partnership to our business leaders through accurate reporting, reliable analysis and actionable insight to support decision making for sustainable and profitable growth.You will play a pivotal role in shaping strategy and driving key initiatives within the Client Finance team. In this capacity, you will partner closely with business teams and industry leader to manage the financial operations of your industry client portfolio. This will involve working collaboratively with Market and Country leaders, Capability heads, and other executives. Additionally, you will engage with Market Finance Leads and regional finance teams across Financial Planning & Reporting and Controllership to ensure alignment and operational excellence. The Director reports to the VP, Client Finance for their respective Industry and will work in a matrix environment. You will lead a diverse team of Client Finance professionals based in multiple geographies with responsibilities across commercial finance and business operations and will be responsible for their growth and development.The individual is expected to demonstrate strong leadership presence, clearly communicate team and departmental goals, translate strategy into actionable plans, and contributYour Impact Commercial Management – Support senior level decision making to achieve short and long term commercial objectives.Partner with and Support (with Industry Leads/business teams) to deliver on annual growth and contribution margin targets for the industry client portfolioWork with commercial teams to evaluate business development opportunities in the context of strategic fit, commercial attractiveness and market riskSupport the preparation of pricing proposals and deal structure, supported by the Commercial Success Team as neededSupport commercial leadership and legal counsel in reviewing and negotiating contract terms to align with company standards, including identifying and escalating potential risks from proposed deviationsContribute to enhancing financial competence across the business team by sharing expertise and supporting learning & development initiatives Financial Planning & Analysis – Anticipate opportunities/risks and initiate actions to achieve financial objectives.Support Business Teams in the preparation of their annual strategic plansPrepare revenue scenarios and contribution margin expectations in support of annual planning cycle (Commitment and Target), taking into account business initiatives, investments, analysis of prior period trends and company financial objectivesLead and manage the preparation of rolling forecasts for revenue and contribution margin by providing analysis on changes from prior expectations and insights into assumptions impacting future projections, to inform decision-making and capacity planningCollaborate with Controllership and Revenue teams to ensure accurate and timely revenue recognition during monthly and quarterly close cycles. Provide guidance on new and complex transactions by aligning on accounting treatment and operational implementation, ensuring compliance with policy and close deadlinesSupport weekly revenue guidance process, evaluating key indicators (i.e. pipeline, sales expectations and delivery risks) to provide ongoing visibility to executive leadership and recommendations on appropriate updates to be providedLeverage key financial indicators to bring strategic, commercial and operational insights to business leads to lead discussions and drive change needed to achieve objectivesBusiness Operations – Work with delivery and business teams to maximise profitability and optimise operational performance for the industry portfolio.Leverage quarterly results and profit modeling to maintain a forward-looking view of full-year profitability across clients, regions, and industries. Analyze key drivers of performance and identify actionable opportunities to enhance industry-level profitability. Collaborate with senior leadership to develop and support execution of plans that address risks and drive margin improvementManage the team responsible for minimising the “quote to cash” time table (i.e. billing, collections) to optimise trade working capital and limit long standing overdue balances and accrued revenueIntervene in concert with business leaders and Market Finance Leads to address and resolve client related issuesOptimise ways of working and operating procedures in support of client commercial managementOtherLead and actively contribute to initiatives that strengthen collaboration, inclusion, and knowledge-sharing within the Client Finance Team and the broader local Finance Community, fostering a connected and high-performing cultureCreate and foster an environment of learning, growth and excellence by promoting learning and development initiatives and knowledge sharingAssist with any Groupe requirements including and not limited to audits, compliance, partnering with other Publicis Groupe AgenciesSkills & Experience8+ years’ experience managing a team in finance and operationsSpeak fluent EnglishStrong Excel competencyStrong interpersonal and communication skillsExperience influencing decision making in a matrixed organisational structureHighly organised and able to work according to fixed calendar cycles at a global scale (multinational across multiple time zones)Education:Bachelor’s degree, MBA or accounting qualification preferred Additional InformationSet Yourself Apart WithExperience working closely with senior leaders and contributing to presentations for executive-level stakeholdersStrong presentation/PowerPoint and PowerBI competencyExperience in Technology Consulting or other service sectorExperience working at one of the top global marketing & communications networks
