Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Company Description

Publicis Groupe is a global leader in communication and is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation. Through a unified and fluid organization, Publicis Groupe partners with its clients across communication, media, data and technology to ensure access to the full breadth of capabilities in every market. Present in over 100 countries, Publicis Groupe employs around 103,000 professionals.

The Director of FP&A reports to the VP of FP&A and provides strategic financial leadership for a portfolio of agencies within the Creative & Health Pillars. This role leads a team of approximately 15 finance professionals through 2-3 Associate Director and Manager direct reports and is responsible for ensuring the consistent delivery of forecasting, budgeting, reporting, workforce planning, and financial analysis across supported agencies.

Working closely with Agency CFOs, Finance Directors, and senior leadership, the Director will drive forecasting governance, process consistency, and adoption of FP&A tools and best practices while developing talent and ensuring the team delivers timely, accurate, and actionable financial insights.

• Serve as the primary FP&A partner to Agency CFOs and Finance Directors, providing proactive financial insights, scenario analysis, and recommendations to support strategic business decisions, organizational changes, and growth initiatives.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and retain a high-performing FP&A team while building organizational capabilities in financial planning, analysis, business partnership, and strategic decision support.
• Lead the FP&A team responsible for monthly forecasts, annual budgets, long-range plans, management reporting, and financial analysis across supported agencies, while translating results into clear risks, opportunities, and strategic recommendations for agency leadership and executive stakeholders.
• Ensure the team delivers accurate and disciplined bottom-up forecasting, including personnel planning, workforce needs, open positions, hiring plans, terminations, attrition assumptions, compensation costs, and related staffing investments.
• Oversee planning and forecasting activities related to operating expenses, overhead costs, intercompany allocations, management fees, recharges, vendor costs, and departmental spending.
• Drive consistency across agencies by establishing and enforcing common forecasting methodologies, planning assumptions, reporting standards, and financial processes.
• Ensure the timely delivery of monthly close analysis, headcount reporting, short-term revenue forecasting, performance reporting, and executive-level results packages.
• Monitor agency performance across key financial and operational metrics, including revenue growth, headcount, staff costs, utilization, overhead, profitability, margin, and Trade Working Capital, ensuring appropriate follow-up on material variances, risks, and opportunities.
• Oversee client profitability reporting, workforce analytics, and other financial analyses that support improved business performance and decision-making.
• Partner with Accounting, Business Intelligence, Finance Systems, and agency finance teams to improve reporting quality, streamline processes, and enhance data-driven decision-making.
• Lead finance transformation initiatives across systems, planning platforms, advanced analytics, automation, AI, and digital tools to improve forecasting accuracy, productivity, decision-making, reporting capabilities, and operating effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to standardize, simplify, automate, and continuously improve FP&A processes across the organization.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive FP&A or finance experience; advertising industry experience preferred.
• Experience leading managers and teams in a multi-agency, multi-business unit, or complex organizational environment.
• Strong knowledge of forecasting, budgeting, workforce planning, financial reporting, and performance management.
• Demonstr…