Senior Commercial Finance Partner

Company description

Publicis Groupe Africa is a leading marketing, communications, and business transformation network operating across 36 African countries, combining creativity, technology, and local insight to deliver integrated client solutions.

The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation.

The Senior Commercial Finance Partner is a senior commercial leadership role, responsible for partnering with agency leadership to shape business strategy, drive profitable growth, strengthen operational performance and embed disciplined financial decision-making across the relevant business units.

Location:

Cape Town (preferred).

To work in the office as per the Business Units they are responsible for with a minimum of 3 days in the office per week.

Commercial Finance Director, Communications Practice

Reporting to the Commercial Finance Director, with a dotted line to the Managing Director for the relevant Agency/Business Unit, the Senior Finance Commercial Partner acts as a senior strategic advisor and commercial leader. The role translates the Agency/Business Unit strategic plan into clear commercial priorities, driving revenue growth, improving contribution margin, strengthening forecast discipline and ensuring that commercial decisions support Groupe targets and long-term business performance.

The role requires senior stakeholder influence and the ability to challenge, guide and align teams across the shared service centre, Agency/Business Unit leadership, regional finance, client services, talent and operations. The Commercial Partner is expected to move beyond reporting and control, actively identifying opportunities, shaping decisions and driving measurable business improvement.

The Senior Commercial Finance Partner upholds the company’s core values while building a high-performing, commercially focused and accountable finance culture that enables better decision-making and gives the business confidence to move forward.

• Senior business partner and strategic commercial advisor
• Commercial growth, profitability and business performance leadership
• Controlling, budgeting, forecasting and internal control functions
• Financial management, operational excellence and transformation
• Finance team leadership, capability building and accountability
• Senior commercial and operational support to the Financial Director for the Communications Practice
• Assist the Financial Director with strategic finance priorities & coordination of key commercial actions across the Communications Practice

• Partner with the Agency/Business Unit Managing Director to execute business strategies.
• Act as a senior commercial advisor to the Managing Director and leadership team, providing clear, evidence-based recommendations that support growth, margin improvement, investment decisions and operational focus.
• Assist the business with pricing, client contract management, supplier management, resource planning and all other financial and operations issues.
• Support business in negotiations by providing financial information (pricing, cost of resources and teams, targeted profitability); working and dealing directly with clients as and when necessary.
• Assist with RFP’s to protect the company’s interests and help close the deal with all pitches.
• Provide finance training to the Client Services team for job management, client management, and revenue forecasting.
• Work with the business to monitor new business growth pipeline and client health assessment.
• Proactively identify commercial opportunities and risks across clients, scopes, pricing models, resourcing and delivery,…