Finance Business Partner

  • Full-time

Company Description

Publicis Groupe UK is a marketing and digital transformation business made up of 5,000 talented and versatile people with expertise in media, creative, influence, technology and data, working across 21 agencies.

Publicis Groupe UK creative agencies include Saatchi & Saatchi, BBH, Digitas, Leo Burnett and Publicis•Poke. Also, within the stable are PR agencies MSL and Kekst CNC and sustainability consultancy, Salterbaxter. Publicis Media is home to Zenith, Starcom and Spark Foundry as well as specialist practices PMX, Performics, Publicis Sport & Entertainment and Publicis Content, providing expertise across media strategy, investment, data and technology.

Langland, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and Digitas Health serve clients across health and wellness, science and medicine. They combine expertise across advertising and branding, clinical trial experience, data and analytics, technology, medical strategy and education and public relations and policy. 

At the core of Publicis Groupe’s data and technology offering sits Epsilon which provides personalisation at scale through CORE-ID, its proprietary data tech platform. Publicis Sapient is the business transformation arm of Publicis Groupe, marrying technology, data sciences and business consulting with engineering and creativity, it helps clients transform digitally.

Publicis Groupe UK clients include BT, McDonald’s, ASDA, Tesco, L’Oreal, P&G, Kellogg’s, VW UK, Reckitts Benckiser, Samsung and Disney among others, encompassing six of the UK’s top 10 advertisers. Employees share a common purpose, consistent ways of working and a financial structure that encourages collaboration.

Publicis Groupe UK has offices in Chancery Lane, Television Centre in White City, Baker Street, Turnmills in Farringdon, Windsor, Teddington and Dublin, and people based in Edinburgh. Publicis Groupe has a presence in more than 100 countries and employs nearly 84,000 people worldwide.

Our Commitment
As part of our dedication to create an inclusive and diverse workforce, Publicis Groupe UK is committed to equal access to opportunity for people without regard to race, age, sex, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion. 

Job Description

Client Finance:

  • Review business cases and scopes of work for Client accounts and identify any associated risk/ issues
  • Understand the agencies clients
  • Manage the budgeting and short term forecast cycles, identifying risks and opportunities
  • Manage the improvement of Client Account Profitability, proactively seeking ways to grow business or improve profitability in collaboration with Client Teams
  • Identify and communicate risks and opportunities
  • Manage Financial reporting
  • Responsible for driving and leading team meetings 

Business Partnering:

  • Build strong trusted partnerships with members of the Agency teams, ensuring you are providing them with the tools, direction and information to increase their commercial mindset to work collaboratively to support the growth of the business.
  • Proactively lead and drive change in leading meetings
  • Able to challenge and influence Stakeholders at all levels

Financial Reporting:

  • Coordinate the timely reporting of actuals to Agency Management and Groupe
  • Consolidate and review actuals reporting pack and prepare monthly analysis for Country Finance
  • Consolidate ad hoc requests for submission to Country Finance
  • Work with FM team to ensure revenue recognition, accruals and deferrals are in accordance with Janus (Publicis Groupe Policies)
  • Working with FM/MA team to ensure yearly Budgeting & monthly Forecasts for Management and Paris are accurate and delivered on time
  • Overall responsibility for Balance Sheet meetings with ReSources (Publicis Shared Service Centre) and follow ups (monthly) with assistance from FM/MA team

Compliance:

  • Ensure compliance with Publicis Groupe Operational and Financial policies
  • Able to execute strategies to enforce internal controls
  • Manage Internal, FMC and external audits to ensure completeness and compliance

Business Optimisation: 

  • Identify opportunities  for the business to drive revenue growth, while controlling costs
  • Assist in managing company risk to FX exposure, working with Treasury to execute Hedging.
  • Support all departments for all financial and operational issues.
  • Identify opportunities to create efficiencies, streamline processes and leverage resources to reduce costs wherever possible.
  • Translating cost reduction strategies into operation by managing communication and implementation.
  • Oversight of monthly cost reports to assess success of strategies & implementation

Qualifications

  • Fully Qualified Accountant ACCA/CIMA/ACA
  • Able to demonstrate strong commercial acumen and experience
  • Strong understanding of P&L and Balance Sheet
  • Media, advertising, or digital industries background
  • Be a proactive, highly adaptable individual who thrives in a fast-paced and agile environment
  • Able to bring a customer-service mindset to your interactions, both internally and externally.
  • Excellent Planning and organisational skills - Able to work on multiple projects at one time
  • Strong communication skills with the ability to effectively work with both internal and external stakeholders
  • Able to build strong relationships across the agency at all levels and across the finance teams
  • Experience of managing a small team or exposure to coaching and mentoring
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