EVP, Group Commercial Director

dentsu•Detroit, NY

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

The purpose of the Group Commercial Director is to maximize revenue while optimising margin contribution, mitigate risk and maximize growth across both dentsu’s new and existing client business. This will be achieved by implementing a strategy of commercial excellence. The Group Commercial Director is a critical role within the region and will collaborate across brands, functions and geographies to implement commercial best practices and align with the global operations/efficiency agenda. The Director is a key business partner to growth leadership, brand leadership, practice leadership, finance leadership and the Global Commercial team. Under the Director’s leadership, the Commercial team will maintain solid client Procurement and Finance relationships to allow for the negotiation and closure of industry leading risk-mitigated commercial agreements, delivery models and pricing structures to capture the value that our dentsu partnership delivers to our clients. The role will also ensure strong governance, compliance, innovation, and talent development as well as the implementation and usage of standardized processes and tools.

Requirements

15+ years’ experience in a commercially focused client finance or accounting role
Extensive knowledge and experience in negotiating contracts and service agreements
Initiative and ability to manage multiple projects, as well as strong follow-through skills
Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills (written and oral)
Superior organizational abilities, strong attention of detail, and advanced project management/customer service skills
Relevant track record operating within large, complex global organizations, with proven commercial experience within media, creative or data including staffing, governance, risk management and financial budgetary aspects
Demonstrates executive-level maturity and ability to collaborate with multiple levels of the business and functional leaders to streamline processes and work towards resolution of challenges, constraints, and roadblocks
Experience in new business responses to client RFPs
Experience in negotiations leveraging innovative commercial construct and terms
Experience in building and managing client relationships, commercial negotiations and account profitability
Can do attitude and ability to work effectively in a matrix organisation structure with significant emphasis on collaboration, influence and persuasion, rather than relying entirely on command and control
Ability to recruit, manage and develop a high performing team of client-facing, business operation and transformation experts
High Learning Agility - unbridled curiosity and the ability to discover trends ahead of time (“look around corners”) and glean valuable insights; not merely an effective executor of initiatives, anticipatory in her / his approach and provokes senior level conversation
Making Complex Decisions - can solve even the toughest and most complex of problems; great at gleaning meaning from whatever data is available; is a quick study of the new and different; adds personal wisdom and experience to come to the best conclusion and solution, given the situation; uses multiple problem-solving tools and techniques
Getting Organized - is well organized and resourceful; effective and efficient at marshalling multiple resources to get things done; lays out tasks in sufficient detail to mark the trail; is able to get things done with less and in less time; can work on multiple tasks at once without losing track; foresees and plans around obstacles
Dealing with Trouble - fearlessly takes on all issues, challenges, and people; comfortably confronts and works through conflict; delivers negative feedback and messages without hesitation; deals promptly and fairly with problem performers; lets everyone know where they stand; thrives in crises and is energized by tough challenges; not afraid to make negative decisions and take tough action; challenges the status quo
Focusing on Action and Outcomes - attacks everything with drive and energy with an eye on the bottom line; not afraid to initiate action before all the facts are known; drives to finish everything he/she starts
Inspiring Others - skilled at getting individuals, teams, and an entire organization to perform at a higher level and to embrace change; negotiates with skill to achieve a fair outcome or promote a common cause; communicates in a compelling vision and is committed to what needs to be done; inspires others; builds motivated, high-performing teams; understands what motivates different people
Acting with Ethics, Honour and Character - Is a person of high character; is consistent and acts in line with a clear and visible set of values and beliefs; deals and talks straight; walks his/her talk; is direct and truthful but at the same time can keep confidences
Being Open and Receptive - at ease and relaxed; easy to talk to and get to know; listens attentively; is an open book; has a positive sense of humour; deals calmly with stress and gives people a chance to catch up

Nice To Haves

Dentsu 8 ways values
Leadership competencies: SET – The Direction, GROW – Our Talent, ACTIVATE – Radical Collaboration, DELIGHT – Our Clients, INSPIRE – Others

Responsibilities

Lead a community of Client Commercial Leads to support high priority global and integrated new business pitches
Optimize commercial structures and innovative offers to create highly competitive commercial offers for new business
Provide executive sponsorship for priority Global and integrated clients as assigned
Manage escalation of commercial issues to dentsu leadership
Advise and strategize on proactive client renewals
Lead a community of Client Commercial Leads to support high priority global and regional Client Leaders in developing cross-practice profitable growth agendas
Translate the global commercial excellence strategy into a RACI defined and wave-bound program to enable the business to iteratively self-serve and achieve measurable progress as the strategy is implemented
Optimize people & structure, processes and technology to support this agenda
Define and manage interdependencies with other work streams in play in dentsu
Support the business to ensure that short term commercial gains do not take precedence over long term commercial sustainability, when this would otherwise present unacceptable levels of commercial risk
Develop and manage a team of strong commercial practitioners supporting existing and potential global and regional clients
Mentor and guide junior team members on commercial practices and strategies
Codify a cross-practice program for management of contract lifecycle management including client sales approvals with relevant associated policies to ensure that both inter and intra practice/geography contract approvals have the appropriate governance by the business
Develop toolkits and frameworks to support the business in the management of important commercial negotiations both around the curation of new business, as well as the management of performance related and remediation related events
Measure and drive client financial performance on new and existing business
Provide senior commercial guidance on key client accounts when support needed by the practices or client leaders.
Create a strong environment of governance for the functions, practices and geographical leadership through which to implement and support the enterprise level commercial excellence program and to mitigate the risks associated with the delivery of services
Ensure that a clear program of commercial excellence training is scaled across the region to ensure that the business has a deep working knowledge of such policies
Assist in developing and implementing key commercial policies to govern the businesses’ management of areas such as payment terms, liabilities and indemnities etc as well as being equipped to appropriately manage negotiations around these topics
Develop methodologies and processes for client P&L reporting, business models and commercial analysis
Define benchmarks, KPIs and reporting for pricing, client financial performance and commercial success
Support dentsu in the realization of both its financial year and long term (5 year+) commercial goals through the delivery of the commercial strategy