SEM Budget Operations Specialist, Paid Search Activation

Citi • New York, NY

2d • $78,320 - $109,280 • Hybrid

About The Position

Citi is looking for a Paid Search Budget Operations Specialist to take full ownership of budget governance, invoicing, and financial operations across paid search programs within the U.S. Consumer Cards Paid Media team. This role is central to ensuring every dollar of paid search investment is accurately tracked, reconciled, and optimised to support agile, data-informed decisions across campaigns and business lines. You will collaborate closely with Strategy, Ad Operations, Finance, and external vendors to deliver financial accuracy and operational control in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.

Requirements

• 4–7 years of experience in budget operations, financial management, or media operations within a digital marketing or advertising environment.
• Demonstrated ability to own end-to-end invoicing and reconciliation processes, including invoice validation, discrepancy resolution, accruals, and coordination with Finance and external vendors.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets, with hands-on experience building and maintaining financial models for pacing, forecasting, and reconciliation.
• Practical experience with advertising platform billing systems, including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, or SA360, combined with familiarity with procurement processes, purchase order management, and month-end close.
• Track record of managing large-scale budgets within complex, cross-functional organisations while maintaining a high standard of accuracy and financial control.
• Clear understanding of financial controls, audit requirements, and governance frameworks, with experience operating within a regulated environment.
• Ability to translate financial data into clear, actionable insights that inform budget allocation and business decision-making across multiple stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• A Master's degree in a relevant field such as Finance, Business, or Marketing.
• Experience working within a matrixed organisation where budget decisions span multiple business lines and require cross-functional alignment.
• Familiarity with workflow automation or tooling that supports financial operations, reconciliation, or reporting at scale.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end budget pacing across paid search campaigns on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to ensure spend aligns with forecasts, purchase order constraints, and approved allocations.
• Own the full invoicing process across all paid search platforms and vendors, covering invoice validation, discrepancy resolution, and payment coordination to maintain financial accuracy.
• Lead monthly and quarterly reconciliation cycles, ensuring alignment between platform spend data, vendor invoices, and internal financial records.
• Develop and maintain forecasting models for spend, cost per acquisition, and return on investment across brands, product lines, and channels to support quarterly and annual planning.
• Coordinate purchase order tracking, accruals, and month-end close activities in partnership with Finance, ensuring all processes meet audit standards and procurement controls.
• Build and maintain dashboards and reporting frameworks that give stakeholders clear visibility into budget health, pacing performance, and financial outcomes.
• Identify and implement opportunities to streamline budgeting, invoicing, and reconciliation workflows through automation and tooling, improving the efficiency and scalability of financial operations.
• Act as the primary point of contact between Marketing and Operations for all paid search budget governance, ensuring consistent communication and alignment across teams.

Benefits

• medical, dental & vision coverage
• 401(k)
• life, accident, and disability insurance
• wellness programs
• paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level