Client Finance Manager

• Posted : one year ago

Client Finance Manager - RemoteClassification: Full-time
Team: Commercial
Reporting to: Global Commercial Director
Estimated Start: January 2022
Location: REMOTE - Anywhere, US or Canada
Work Authorization: This role is open to US or Canadian Citizens/Permanent Residents and non-citizens allowed to work for any US or Canadian employer. We are unable to sponsor any work authorizations for this role.

What’s the role?

We’re looking for a Client Finance Manager who will be the interface between our North America Commercial efforts and our Global Commercial Strategy. You'll use business acumen, leadership skills, and digital marketing industry knowledge to guide the commercial chain through from start to finish. You’ll connect the dots between new business, finance & legal, operations, and our clients - negotiating, influencing, and costing our services to ensure profitability. You will be hands-on, in the weeds, in North America partnering closely with the internal team and external client stakeholders.

So, tell me about the company

Brainlabs is on a mission to build the biggest digital-first media agency in the world. 

We hire the top talent in the industry and give them the right training, tools and culture to do the best work of their career. 

As one of the world’s leading independent agencies, our agility and client-centricity allows us to win for clients.

To learn more about what it’s like to be a Brainlabber, check out our company handbook.

What this job is: 

• Strategic & tactical - you will be responsible for executing our Global Commercial Strategy in North America
• Analytical - you’ll be evaluating margin data, profitability, and overall client commercial positions as well as pricing new business opportunities

What this job isn’t: 

• Being a good-news fairy - we love good news, but we prefer honesty. Data can be skewed in the wrong hands. We use it to analyze, test, and suggest the right solutions and this is critical for commercial strategy and ensuring its executed
• Box-ticking - you will be a commercial bastion, with the freedom and autonomy to drive decision velocity at scale and influence stakeholders

Give me a breakdown of what a Client Finance Manager at Brainlabs does:

Existing clients:

• Working with VP, Client Partner to design and implement commercial strategy for an account and provide ongoing management and support 
• Own cross-sell pricing strategies as well as be heavily involved in contract renegotiations
• Manage and forecast RFP deliveries
• Assist in profit analysis and put together commercial strategies with client profitability and contribution margin front of mind
• You will be the trusted expert on commercial matters as the most senior NAmer commercial employee 

New business pitches:

• Close collaboration with the New Business Team, Product Leads, and VP, Client Partners on a pitch to design and implement the commercial strategy 
• Assist in RFI & RFP submissions from a commercial lens. This role is the expert in commercial excellence for the NAmer business
• Work to sharpen pitch submissions - we are a data led business and you should be able to compare commercial submissions against other similar clients and model profitability
• Be at the center of all commercial considerations on a pitch. This will often mean working to tight deadlines
• Partner with Legal and review MSA's and SOW's for clarity and commercial terms
• See the process through from cradle to grave from a Commercial perspective

Other responsibilities:

• Work with the Product Leads and Global Commercial Director to build commercial models to support the development and scaling of key Brainlabs’ tools and technologies as we have our own tech stack that clients license from us
• Get stuck into our NAmer GMP pricing strategies
• Implement a commercial contract management platform 
• Driving process improvement for both new business pitches and existing clients
• Liaise with Commercial Leads in other regions

What we really want:

• This spec is all good, but there may not be anything in this that surprises you. What we really want is someone who likes having fun, does not apportion blame when something goes wrong and to really own the commercial direction for our NAmer business

What particular set of skills would suit this role?

• Experience in financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting within a digital marketing agency environment
• Have a high degree of performance knowledge when it comes to agency remuneration models, GMP, FB FMP Technical Services, Technology licensing, Consultancy and products including Paid Search, SEO, Paid Social, Programmatic, CRO, Data, Planning, etc.
• Highly analytical, we are obsessed with making decisions based on data and this is going to be critical for this role - we want our commercial decisions and strategy to be steeped in data, logic, and driven by fact, not emotion
• Ability to partner legal counsel with contracts covering GDPR, commercial and other relevant legal dimensions
• Understand how to execute against a clear Global Commercial Strategy, how to price to win and have a very good understanding of how our competitors price against each service
• Lead the commercial element of NAmer pitches - so you need to be able to pitch and comfortable presenting (f2f or on video!)
• Being able to work as a team of 1 but in conjunction with many others, to be able to have a high degree of influencing skills internally
• Experience in regularly presenting to executives with comfort and exceptional communication skills
• Ability to manage with ambiguity in a constantly evolving environment
• Ability to be organized, strategically focused, detail oriented
• Business judgment, strong conviction and confidence to communicate and influence effectively with business partners

How will I know I’m doing it right?

You will be able to show demonstrable improvement to client and NAmer operating margin, whilst successfully bringing in both new clients as well as new services for existing clients. You will have crafted innovative commercial models that balance risk and reward whilst being able to partner closely with your NAmer internal and external stakeholders!

What happens next?

We know searching for a job is tough and that you want to find the best career and employer for you. We also want to ensure that this position is the best fit for both you and us. Therefore, you will participate in a comprehensive interview process that includes skills interviews with our team. The goal of this process is to allow you to get to know us as we learn more about you.

In line with our adaptive working policy and our standard way of working in North America we do not restrict our hiring to a fixed office location therefore we hire candidates across different states in the US and indeed in other countries such as Canada. We also receive applications from, and hire, candidates with varying levels of experience for example those who have a few years experience in a role to those who are looking to make a step up. The salary levels on our job postings are set so as to account for these variable factors with decisions on the salary to be offered only made once we know the experience and location of our new hire.

The salary level for this role is $100,000 to $150,000 USD / $130,000 to $195,000 CAD annually. Within this salary level, individual offers are determined by a variety of factors including job-related experience, skills, etc. Your Talent Acquisition Partner can share more about the salary level during your hiring process. 

Beyond salary, you can learn more about our Benefits & Perks for our North America Brainlabbers here.

Brainlabs actively seeks and encourages applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and identities. 

Thank you for your interest in Brainlabs! We look forward to getting to know you!

When you apply to work at Brainlabs, we may use your application data to make employment decisions, but your data will not be distributed or used elsewhere unless you are hired as an employee. All applications ask for your consent to allow us to process your personal data. However, you have the right to withdraw your information at any point by reaching out to [email protected].

Skills

• seo
• autocad
• paid social
• budgeting