Commercial Finance Manager

Job Overview

Merkle is a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company. For over 30 years, Fortune 1,000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with us to build and maximize the value of their customer portfolios. Merkle is an agency of dentsu.

Dentsu is looking for an enthusiastic, self‑motivated Commercial Finance Business Partner who thrives in a fast‑paced environment. The successful candidate is comfortable having direct and thoughtful dialogue with both internal and external clients, understands the basics of revenue and expense accounting, has experience with pricing strategies to effectively advise the business on favorable commercial terms, and pays close attention to detail when reviewing and redlining complex legal contracts, including master agreements and statements of work.

• Act as a commercial advisor to the business and sales teams on pricing, revenue recognition, margin improvement, client disputes, and other ad‑hoc financial issues.
• Partner with the business on development of complex pricing commercial models.
• Understand Merkle’s primary service offerings and IFRS revenue principles as they relate to related revenue streams.
• Develop innovative pricing models with clear and concise messaging.
• Review material client contracts for overall earnings and risk management considerations and act as the primary escalation point for risk considerations identified by team members.
• Collaborate with legal and the commercial contracts team on corporate risk management.
• Lead client negotiations of contracts, pricing and general finance matters.
• Escalate economic risk issues to senior and executive management as they arise.
• Monitor project‑level profitability and coordinate with delivery on margin improvement.
• Build deep, trusted relationships with sales, client team, and capability leaders to ensure honest and efficient conversations occur regarding revenue recognition and contract management.
• Regularly identify opportunities to improve current processes, policies, procedures and controls to enhance delivery of world‑class service to both internal and external customers.
• Ensure the identification of opportunities to minimize contract risk and coordinate commercial risk mitigation measures.
• Prepare contract/commercial risk assessments and deliver contract briefings to business unit/service line leadership, as required.
• Responsible for timely processing of pricing and contract activities against established service levels through Salesforce tool and manage dashboard metrics.
• Develop, implement, and ensure compliance with appropriate strategic commercial approach, based on contract type (i.e. Retainer, Deliverables, T&M).

• BA/BS from a four‑year college or university and 5–10 years of Finance, Accounting, and/or Contract related responsibilities.
• Experience managing financial and business operations in a customer‑focused service firm.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, specifically Word and Excel.
• Ability to build strong relationships and earn respect quickly across the organization.
• Ability to collaborate with other groups such as Legal, Accounting, Sales Support, and to motivate and negotiate effectively with key employees, top management, and external clients.
• Ability to comprehend, analyze, and interpret complex business documents and respond effectively to sensitive issues.
• Ability to prioritize and complete daily workload and projects with minimal supervision and in accordance with deadlines and shifting priorities.
• Ability to interact and communicate professionally with all levels of management, multiple geographies, internal subject matter experts, legal staff, vendors, and clients.
• Ability to synthesize information from a variety of sources and present it in a meaningful and concise way.

Salary range: $94,000–$152,375. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and/or other benefits.

Columbia, MD

Full time, Permanent, Mid‑Senior level, Finance and Sales

Employees who live within a commutable distance…