Senior Director, Client Finance

Orchestra; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Orchestra is seeking a highly skilled Senior Director, Client Finance to lead financial operations, develop management reporting, and drive profitability across practices and clients.

Based in New York, this role requires partnering with senior leaders, managing acquisitions' financial integration, and mentoring the client finance team in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. You will oversee budgets, forecasts, AR, WIP, and vendor relations while ensuring controls and policy adherence.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in finance or accounting.
• Experience with NetSuite or similar ERP packages (SAP, Anaplan, Oracle).
• Deep understanding of financial accounting, P&L, balance sheet management and revenue recognition.
• Strong financial analysis and planning abilities with business acumen.
• Ability to manage workloads, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines with accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Develop and present monthly and quarterly management reporting and variance explanations to executives.
• Identify opportunities and provide strategic counsel to managing directors on business decisions.
• Lead integration of financial operations for acquisitions and ensure systems, processes, and controls align with strategy.
• Maintain client-level forecasts for acquisitions and digital business units; plan headcount and financial modeling.
• Create and lead reports to identify improvements across practices and clients; drive improvements beyond a single account.
• Lead annual budgets with YoY analysis and modeling.
• Review expenses, AR, pre-billing and WIP for managed practices.
• Manage vendor selection and system implementations with the finance team.
• Design and implement policy and process updates with operations and client teams.
• Mentor and train the client finance team and lead monthly revenue reviews.
• Set expectations for junior staff and drive performance.

Skills

Finance experience

Financial analysis

Revenue recognition

P&L management

Balance sheet management

Leadership

Communication

Strategic guidance

Problem-solving

Stakeholder management

Tools

NetSuite

SAP

Anaplan

Oracle

Job description

Orchestra is a strategic communications and marketing company built for today’s complex and fragmented world. From decoding audiences to designing bold strategies, Orchestra integrates people, platforms, and stories that stick to help clients build lasting influence. The company offers programs that span from the highest level strategic business counsel through to tactical execution. Orchestra brings together 700+ people with experience across consumer and lifestyle, technology, nonprofit and philanthropy, real estate, sports, travel, hospitality, and more. Made up of leading firms BerlinRosen, Civitas Public Affairs Group, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communications professionals, and Versus Media Group, a strategy-first political media team. Learn more at www.orchestraco.com.

People of all backgrounds and abilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Orchestra is committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff, and recognizes that its continued success depends on hiring and retaining high-quality creative professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Opportunities for advancement exist, and we are committed to helping all staff develop and grow.

About the Orchestra Finance Team

The Orchestra Finance Team oversees financial results and works with our teams on client finance, growth strategies and the overall financial health of the company. We are responsible for the successful integration with our new partner companies as well as any future acquisition activity.

We work with management and other key agency stakeholders to drive profitability and monitor key performance indicators. We are growing a team of experienced finance professionals, change agents, Excel masters and complex problem-solvers to collaborate cross-functionally to assess financial strategies, systems and processes in an effort to drive the full-cycle financial health of all our clients.

About this role

Orchestra is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Director, Client Finance. This is an excellent opportunity for a solutions-oriented and analytically minded individual who approaches work with a sense of possibility, sees challenges as opportunities and has a relentless passion and curiosity for process improvement.

In this role you will provide financial leadership, mitigate business risks, partner with leaders of the business and take on projects that are central to our short and long-term growth & profitability initiatives. This position is part of a dynamic team that works in a fast-paced environment where keen attention to detail and the ability to work nimbly and cross-functionally are crucial to success.

Role location

This role is based in our New York, N.Y. office on a hybrid basis. The Finance team is in-office at least 3 days per week.

Accountabilities and qualifications

As a Senior Director, Client Finance on the Finance team, you will…

• Develop and present monthly & quarterly management reporting (i.e. dashboards, P&Ls overservicing, etc.), forward projections and insightful variance explanations to executive leadership
• Proactively identify opportunities and provide strategic counsel to managing directors on business decisions—anything from capacity management and client profitability to new business proposals
• Help develop and implement an integration plan for the financial operations of acquisitions and ensure financial integration supports the overall business strategy including systems, processes and controls
• Maintain client-level financial forecasts for new acquisitions in addition to the digital business unit; indicate when new headcount may be needed and provide all financial modeling
• Create and lead reports that help identify areas of improvement across practices and/or clients; suggest fixes that would drive improvement beyond one account
• Lead annual budgets with YoY analysis and modeling
• Review expenses, AR, pre-billing and WIP for managed practices
• Actively manage vendor selection and relationships, including any and all system implementations with the wider finance team
• Work with other operations and client teams to identify, design, implement and manage policy and process updates/implementations
• Proactively drive ad hoc strategic and operational analyses or projects
• Mentor & train the client finance team while driving the monthly revenue review process
• Set expectations for junior staff and monitor delegated activities while inspiring and motivating others to perform well

Essential skills

• 6+ years of experience in finance or accounting
• Experience in NetSuite or similar accounting/ERP packages (SAP, Anaplan, Oracle)
• Deep understanding of financial accounting, P&L, balance sheet management and revenue recognition methodologies
• Strong financial analysis and planning skills with demonstrated business acumen
• Ability to effectively manage workloads, prioritize and streamline tasks while juggling deadlines to ensure accuracy
• Self-starter with a growth mindset who is equal parts doer and teacher
• History of effective team management and leadership, ideally within a high-growth and dynamic organization
• Ability to find the root cause of an issue and problem-solve for the long-term while working with or creating off-the-cuff solutions
• Consulting and client service-oriented mindset with the ability to foster positive internal and external working relationships
• Comfort working with multiple stakeholders and managing their expectations
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including experience creating executive-level summary presentations

Preferred skills

• Agency or client services experience (advertising, PR, communications, media or legal)
• Working knowledge of media finance and operations

Working at Orchestra

Salary range (commensurate with experience and skills): $135,000-$145,000