Client Accounting Director - 12 month Maternity Cover FTC

Starcom Mediavest Group Germany Gmbh; London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global communications holding company is seeking a Client Accounting Director for a 12-month maternity cover in London. The role focuses on managing the Spark Client Accounting team, overseeing financial operations, and ensuring compliance. Candidates should have proven media agency finance experience and strong leadership skills. This position offers a hybrid working pattern with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Hybrid working model

Inclusive benefits

Qualifications

• Proven media agency finance experience.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of delivering KPIs.
• Expertise in financial operations, compliance, and process optimisation.
• Excellent communication, organisation, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Spark Client Accounting team.
• Oversee financial operations for key Spark client accounts.
• Develop, implement, and standardise finance operations.
• Lead assigned projects ensuring accurate financial management.
• Provide ongoing support to shared service centers.

Skills

Media agency finance experience

Leadership skills

Financial operations expertise

Excellent communication

Problem-solving skills

Tools

Prisma

MediaOcean

Job description

Client Accounting Director - 12 month Maternity Cover FTC

Company description

OVERVIEW
Publicis Groupe is one of the world's largest communications holding companies, present in over 110 countries and employing about 100,000 professionals.. The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation.

HELPING OUR CLIENTS UNLOCK GROWTH IN THE PLATFORM WORLD
Our clients compete in the platform world, a horizontal marketplace between creators and consumers, between speakers and listeners, between buyers and sellers. To thrive in the platform world, companies must continue to innovate their products and business models. Four imperatives (1. Real Identity, 2. Dynamic, Diverse and Disruptive Creativity 3., Smart Media and 4. Direct Relationships) via our suite of world-class agencies, are necessary for modern brands to win in the platform world. At Publicis Groupe, we've invested in capabilities across these four imperatives our clients need to unlock growth. As the only one who can architect, build and orchestrate end to end solutions, not only do we have a proven record of building bespoke models for clients and leading expertise across all major industry categories, we are able to offer our talents more opportunities to grow and benefit from a richer learning experience. We call this Power of One. Powered by a 100,000-strong network via Marcel, our AI-based platform, we are also able to provide our clients and talents instant access to resource, knowledge for any need, any time, in any market.

THE SPIRIT OF VIVA LA DIFFERENCE
Viva La Difference is deeply rooted in everything we do. It has always been in our DNA. From the birth of Publicis, 94 years ago, when Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, our founder, invented French advertising. Viva La Difference expresses how we value and respect each individual and recognize what makes us distinctive. This is the charge that inspires our teams to celebrate the differences in identity, background, culture, and experience of all of us. It is how we behave with each other and our clients, and it is deeply rooted throughout our work, to elevate and bring to life our differences throughout the platform world.

Overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join Spark UK, as Client Accounting Director (12 month FTC). You will partner with our Media CFO UK,

Head of Media Finance Operations, Client Accounting Leads and Agency Leadership teams to deliver improved media

finance controls, reduce financial risk, improve account billings/payment processes and ensure standardisation across

the media landscape within the group.

You will be collaborative and proactive with a growth mindset, focused on delivering our strategic objectives across

growth, commercial and process optimisation to maximize our collective business impact.

Responsibilities

Team Management and Leadership:

• Lead and manage the Spark Client Accounting team. Focus on training, development, diversity, inclusion, and
• performance management. Motivate and inspire the team to deliver key KPIs, and manage workloads.
• Act as the lead finance contact for Spark Agency, fostering strong working relationships with internal and
• external stakeholders.

Financial Operations & Compliance:

• Oversee the financial operations for key Spark client accounts, ensuring smooth booking, billing, and reconciliation processes.
• Ensure all teams adhere to financial best practices, including onboarding new clients and addressing global billing challenges, withholding taxes, etc.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure the timely resolution of trade working capital queries, ensuring KPIs are met (Unbilled Media, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, WIP).
• Serve as a key escalation point for any finance-related challenges impacting Spark Agency finance, offering timely solutions.
• Collaborate with internal and external auditors to ensure compliance with Group obligations and Client Contract Compliance commitments.

Process Improvement & Automation:

• Partner with the Head of Department to develop, implement, and standardise finance operations and processes
• across Publicis Media UK
• Lead automation initiatives to streamline manual workflows, enhancing operational efficiency.

Project Management & Strategic Oversight:

• Lead assigned projects, ensuring accurate financial management and reporting.
• Prepare, monitor, and analyse key finance reports

Collaboration and Support:

• Provide ongoing support to shared service centers, ensuring they align with best practices and operational
• standards.
• Work closely with the Commercial and Revenue teams to manage fee and commission billing, ensuring accuracy
• and timely completion.
• Partner with the Head of Department to manage credit insurance risks for Spark clients.

Qualifications

What we're looking for:

• Proven media agency (or related industry) finance experience.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of delivering KPIs.
• Expertise in financial operations, compliance, and process optimisation.
• Excellent communication, organisation, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with Prisma or MediaOcean is a plus.

Additional information

Publicis Groupe operates a hybrid working pattern with full time employees being office-based three days during the working week.

We are supportive of all candidates and are committed to providing a fair assessment process. If you have any circumstances (such as neurodiversity, physical or mental impairments or a medical condition) that may affect your assessment, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner. We will discuss possible adjustments to ensure fairness. Rest assured, disclosing this information will not impact your treatment in our process.

Please make sure you check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG's (Employee Action Groups).

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