Director, Finance Operations

Orion Worldwide; New York (NY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage

401(k) plans

Flex spending

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Employee stock purchase program

Paid family benefits

Job summary

Orion Worldwide is seeking a strategic Director of Finance Operations to lead agency, client, vendor, and centralized activity portfolios within the Finance Operations function. Reporting to the Vice President, Finance Operations, you will drive service delivery, governance, and data integrity across media workflows.

The ideal candidate brings 8+ years in Finance Operations within media, with strong leadership of Managers and Analysts, and hands-on experience with media buying, billing,

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Finance Operations, media finance, or related field.
• Media-industry experience required; billing, reconciliation, vendor payments, and financial controls preferred.
• Experience leading complex portfolios and cross-functional dependencies.
• Experience managing and developing teams including Managers and Analysts.
• Experience with shared-service models and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Proficiency with media buying systems and associated financial tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead Finance Operations service delivery across agency, client, vendor portfolios and related workflows.
• Serve as senior liaison to Investment, Finance, Accounting, Client Finance, and Shared Services.
• Provide strategic direction for portfolio priorities, workload, risk management, and performance.
• Oversee month-end close, data integrity, and reconciliations across payables, receivables, and aging.
• Partner with Accounting and Client Finance on intercompany workflows and reconciliations.
• Lead, coach, and develop Managers, Analysts, and Assistant Analysts.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Financial controls

SOX compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting

Tools

Mediaocean

PRISMA

MBOX

Job description

Orion Worldwide is a global media company that generates value for many of the world’s most well-known media owners and brands. Like our namesake, we are connectors who bring together people and businesses to unlock a mutual exchange of value. We define success through our ability to help partners achieve long-term, sustainable growth.

We look for people who possess the passion, innovative thinking, and partnership skills to join our collaborative and diverse teams. No single person, or discipline, is responsible for success at Orion. Teamwork is the backbone for how we achieve our business goals and cultivate an inclusive culture in which we can all be proud. We strive for a vibrant culture of creativity, accountability, and connection – and believe we do a pretty good job!

The Director, Finance Operations is a senior leader within the Orion Finance Operations team, responsible for leading assigned agency, client, vendor, and/or centralized activity portfolios across the Finance Operations function. This role reports directly to the Vice President, Finance Operations and is accountable for service delivery, operational governance, financial controls, stakeholder partnership, team performance, and continuous improvement across complex media-finance workflows.

The Director will oversee processes supporting client media schedules, billings, vendor payments, receivables, reconciliations, aging, month-end close, reporting, and data integrity across applicable media types. The role partners closely with Investment, Finance, Accounting, Client Finance, Master Data Management, GCC, Shared Services, agencies, clients, and media vendors to ensure clear ownership, consistent execution, timely escalation, and resolution of operational and financial risks.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, detail-oriented Finance Operations leader with deep media-industry experience. They are comfortable leading teams and cross-functional stakeholders; interpreting data across multiple systems; translating complex financial and operational issues into clear action plans; and strengthening processes, controls, capacity, and accountability in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Finance Operations service delivery across assigned agency, client, vendor, and/or centralized activity portfolios, which may include National Linear, Digital, Programmatic, Print, Out of Home, billing, vendor payments, reconciliations, aging, reporting, and data-integrity workflows.
• Serve as a senior liaison to Investment, Finance, Accounting, Client Finance, Master Data Management, GCC, Shared Services, agencies, clients, media vendors, and other business stakeholders.
• Provide strategic direction for portfolio priorities, workload allocation, service expectations, issue resolution, risk management, and operational performance.
• Establish and maintain clear workflow ownership, escalation paths, handoffs, controls, and service expectations across assigned portfolios and operational activities.
• Oversee month-end close activities, including the preparation, review, approval, and timely submission of upload files and related financial-system outputs.
• Ensure the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and compliance of financial data maintained in media systems and related operational tools.
• Oversee reconciliations across media payables, prepaid media, accounts receivable, trade owed balances, billing activity, unapplied cash, and other financial operational accounts, including Programmatic receivables, payment trackers, SSP, publisher-direct, and Orion credit reconciliations, as applicable.
• Lead the preparation, review, and escalation of aged balances, including capital and Programmatic aging; ensure regular aging reviews, action plans, and follow-up with business teams and Finance leadership.
• Partner with Accounting to ensure media-system balances reconcile to the balance sheet and that discrepancies are investigated, resolved, documented, and escalated appropriately.
• Partner with Client Finance to oversee intercompany workflows, transactions, and related reconciliation requirements.
• Oversee National Linear operational activities, including IMR tracking, affidavits, billing, invoice revisions, MBOX/live bill activity, and related reconciliation requirements, as applicable to the assigned portfolio.
• Lead or support client task forces and complex cross-functional initiatives involving billing, payment, reconciliation, cash application, data integrity, or process-related issues.
• Lead, coach, and develop Managers, Analysts, and Assistant Analysts; set priorities, allocate resources, provide performance feedback, build subject-matter expertise, and promote accountability and collaboration.
• Partner with the Vice President, Finance Operations on strategic planning, business-growth readiness, capacity planning, team design, hiring, stakeholder communications, and broader Finance Operations initiatives.
• Support ad hoc Finance Operations analyses, executive reporting, and business initiatives as needed.

Desired Skills & Experience

Experience

• 8+ years of experience in Finance Operations, media finance, accounting operations, or a related field, including progressive leadership responsibility.
• Media-industry experience required; experience supporting media buying, billing, reconciliation, vendor payment, or financial-control workflows strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex operational portfolios, financial close activities, reconciliations, aging, and cross-functional process dependencies.
• Experience managing and developing teams, including Managers and/or junior Finance Operations professionals.
• Experience partnering with shared-service organizations, offshore teams, agencies/clients, media vendors, and senior internal stakeholders.
• Experience with media buying and financial systems required; Mediaocean experience, including PRISMA and/or MBOX, is strongly preferred.
• Experience leading process-improvement, change-management, governance, operating-model, or new-business implementation initiatives preferred.

Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, data analysis, and template development; proficiency with PowerPoint and other Microsoft Office applications.
• Strong financial, analytical, problem-solving, and data-reconciliation skills, including the ability to synthesize information from multiple systems and sources.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity, identify operational and financial risks, develop practical solutions, and drive issues through resolution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex information, recommendations, and escalation plans to senior operational and Finance leadership stakeholders.
• Ability to translate complex operational and financial issues into clear action plans, ownership assignments, service expectations, metrics, and status updates for varied stakeholder audiences.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to build accountability across cross-functional and shared-service teams.
• Strong understanding of financial controls and the importance of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and company policies.
• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• High level of integrity, accountability, professionalism, and ownership.

Wage and Benefits

We offer a Total Rewards package that includes medical and dental coverage, 401(k) plans, flex spending, life insurance, disability, employee discount program, employee stock purchase program and paid family benefits to support you and your family.

The salary range for this position is posted below. Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, actual ranges for current/former employees in the subject position, market considerations, budgetary considerations, tenure and standing with the Company (applicable to current employees), as well as the employee’s/applicant’s skill set, level of experience, and qualifications.

Employment Transparency

It is the policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, veteran status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

The employer will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. The job description will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity. Essential and other job functions are subject to modification. Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

For applicants to jobs in the United States: In compliance with the current Americans with Disabilities Act and state and local laws, if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation to apply for a position, please email [e-mail].