Finance Manager

What Are We Looking For

Reporting to the VP Director of Finance for Momentum US, the Finance Manager will be a key strategic resource for senior business leaders within our Chicago and St. Louis Office.

They will take a leading role in relation to the management of all financial and billing aspects of their accounts: implementation of internal operating procedures, forecasting, budget tracking, resource planning, expense tracking, monthly billing, tracking and invoicing. The ideal candidate should be very “hands‑on” and operationally oriented. The ideal candidate should have the capacity to be a “big‑picture” person who can also get into the details of very specific metrics in relation to day‑to‑day operations.

• Partner closely with senior account leads and ops/resourcing to monitor the financial health of assigned accounts, have commercial discussions with clients, and track progress towards meeting and exceeding financial targets
• Collaborate with account leads and ops/resourcing to create staff plans for annual SOWs
• Lead monthly billing meetings and invoicing
• Take part in the negotiation process for key vendor contracts or proposals, making sure that proposed and agreed upon terms are in line with agency interests
• Monitor, discuss, and analyze revenue forecasts on an ongoing basis to develop an accurate view of material risks and opportunities against financial targets
• Analyze and share monthly financial metrics, such as revenue forecasts, direct labor costs, direct client expenses, margin, utilization, and realization
• Review financial results during the monthly closes, specifically on revenue recognition and potential write‑offs
• Provide variance analysis between ongoing forecasts and actuals
• Manage specific monthly/quarterly/ad hoc client and IPG reporting requirements, such as retainer burn and deliverables tracking across multiple work streams
• Assist in managing and tracking client staffing budgets across disciplines
• Assist in reviewing and approving freelance requests while managing and tracking monthly freelance budgets and accruals
• Improve financial knowledge across disciplines through leading training sessions, resulting in an improved awareness on how actions impact agency financial performance
• Supporting Momentum’s values
• All other duties as required

• Bachelors Degree in Accounting or Finance preferred
• 5+ years finance experience
• Agency experience strongly desired
• Exceptional verbal & written communication skills and adept at communicating effectively across all levels
• Great presentation and delivery skills. Must be very comfortable in meeting and conference call situations.
• Ability to perform well in fast changing environments.
• Ability to navigate through complex financial situations to maximize results with strong analytical skills.
• Ability to think on your feet
• A passion to help and develop people – making yourself readily available to answer questions and offer support, and the ability to motivate people to succeed
• Strong work ethic – highly organized, diligent and attentive to detail
• Demonstrated leadership utilizing a “people management philosophy” that fits within the Momentum model (reviews done on timely basis, solid management skills, growing/grooming our people, etc.)

Momentum is an agency of doers. We make the industry’s most disruptive, entertaining, shareable, unforgettable experiences for our clients and their fans. We do it by bringing people closer to what they love, in original and unexpected ways. Whether it’s a physical activation, a virtual experience, or a piece of unique branded content, it’s all part of what we call the Total Brand Experience — ideas that solve business challenges, through best-in-class Consulting, Strategy, Analytics, Experience Design, and Production.

We want you to help brands do amazing, unprecedented, wild things, creating experiences that people never forget.

At Momentum, we expect our employees to embody our values!

Our Core Values of Be One, Do Great Work, Have Fun, Give Back and Grow empower an…