Managing Director, Commercial Finance

dentsu•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

This role is responsible for shaping financial strategy, ensuring operational discipline, and overseeing performance delivery across revenue, margin, and cost targets for a business unit within US Media, dentsu. Overarching accountability for the quality and accuracy of forecasts and budgets, providing leadership and delivering timely, reliable insight and analysis to support business decision-making. This role will report directly into the CFO of Media.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance or Accounting
15+ years in finance, client finance, or commercial finance roles, ideally within media, advertising, or marketing services.
Exceptional communication skills, able to translate complex financial matters for executive audiences.
Independent, self-starter with problem solving skills
Superior organization abilities and the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
Strong team collaborator with all levels of employees, management, and external agencies
Attention to detail
Team leadership experience and skills
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of Microsoft D365 preferred but not required

Responsibilities

Lead the development of the brand’s strategic financial plans, including long term revenue and margin outlooks, scenario planning, and investment priorities.
Collaborated with CEO, Chief Client Officer, Ops Lead, HR Lead, Chief Growth Officer, and Portfolio leads to maintain and grow a high-performing business unit.
Own the annual budgeting, monthly close, and quarterly forecasting cycles, ensuring precision, transparency, and timely insight into performance.
Reviews and provides strategic financial plans in partnership with business leaders.
Partners to provide insight and challenge through financial analysis to enable business partners to make key decisions and achieve targets.
Supports client and vendor negotiations by providing analytical insight and ensuring optimal balance of pricing, early payment discounts, rebates and volume commitments (where applicable).
Provide proactive financial guidance to the CEO, CFO Media, and brand leadership, challenging assumptions and reinforcing fiscal responsibility.
Establish financial guardrails for pricing, discounts, rebate structures, and volume based commitments.
Lead and mentor a high performing financial operations team, fostering analytical rigor, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Identifies and drives operational improvement through analysis of financial plans, management information and performance.
Works with business leaders to understand short, medium and long-term resource requirements and impact on forecasts and budgets.
Supports analysis of client profitability and identifies and supports initiatives to improve profitability/margin.
Lead brand level weekly/monthly business reviews, articulating trends, risks.
Strengthen visibility and control of staff and non-staff costs, ensuring strong discipline and accountability across the brand.
Supports the various Group initiatives to improve OP % margin delivery through the markets / LoBs by offering timely analysis and support, providing valuable insight and costed options to improve performance and deep analysis of client/revenue trends.
Lead operational improvement initiatives to optimize processes, reduce inefficiencies, and ensure scalable operations.
Improves visibility and analysis around cost management processes (staff and non-staff costs), facilitates target setting and help to drive efficiencies in partnership with CEO, CFO-Media.
Improves quality of analysis and forecasting of staff cost by using workday, time sheet and utilization data and working with business leaders/HR to ensure business has a solid framework for managing staff costs.