Financial Operations Manager

The Advanced Specialist, Financial Operations is a senior individual contributor within Global Rights & Royalties. The role owns complex royalty data analysis, supplier and royalty reconciliations, database integrity, advance and earnings payments, and the accurate application of agreement and product structures across multiple geographies. 

Working with a high degree of autonomy, you will lead payout-based projects, make standard and non-standard operational recommendations, and provide trusted advice on royalty processing, product structures and payment setups. You will partner with business and technology stakeholders to resolve complex issues, strengthen data quality and ensure that royalty outcomes align with contractual requirements and business objectives. 

You will also work closely with the Manager to monitor critical deliverables, maintain transparent progress reporting, lead quality and validation activities, prepare preliminary transaction reporting, and improve the capability of the wider team through mentoring and technical guidance. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES 

1. Royalty Data Integrity and Calculation Assurance 

• Analyse complex royalty data and validate the integrity of the royalty calculations database and connected operational records. 

• Ensure royalty calculations, statement outputs, advances and earnings payments reflect approved agreement terms, product structures and payment setups. 

• Conduct routine and risk-based quality checks, control reviews and data validation exercises across high-value or complex royalty activity. 

• Identify data gaps, anomalous results and processing risks; assess root causes and coordinate corrective action before release or payment. 

• Maintain clear, audit-ready evidence of analysis, validation, decisions, approvals and adjustments. 

2. Reconciliations, Supplier Accounts and Payments 

• Lead the reconciliation of royalty supplier accounts, statements, advances, earnings and related balances, identifying and resolving discrepancies promptly. 

• Maintain supplier and payment-related records and ensure accurate, authorised and complete system entries. 

• Oversee complex royalty statement and payment processing, ensuring compliance with contractual terms, operating procedures and relevant controls. 

• Review unusual, high-value or non-standard payment scenarios and make recommendations within delegated authority. 

• Escalate legal interpretation, tax, policy or commercial decisions to the accountable specialist or business owner with a clear statement of facts and impact. 

3. Global Payout Projects and Operational Delivery 

• Lead or provide senior specialist support for payout-based projects across multiple geographies, from analysis and planning through validation and controlled delivery. 

• Define operational requirements, dependencies, risks, control points and acceptance criteria in partnership with the Manager and project stakeholders. 

• Monitor milestones, exceptions and actions, communicating progress and decision requirements clearly and early. 

• Coordinate cross-functional inputs to ensure project outcomes align with business objectives, contractual requirements and operational readiness. 

• Conduct post-implementation review and translate lessons learned into stronger processes, controls and documentation. 

4. Advisory Support on Agreements and Product Structures 

• Provide expert operational advice on royalty payouts, product structures, agreement terms and payment setups to support accurate processing and informed business decisions. 

• Assess the operational impact of proposed or existing structures and highlight dependencies, limitations, risks and downstream consequences. 

• Partner with Portfolio, Editorial, Rights, Royalties, Finance, Legal and other owners to clarify requirements and support correct system treatment. 

• Distinguish operational application from formal legal or commercial interpretation and route decisions to the appropriate accountable owner when required. 

• Promote consistent application of approved standards across markets, products and royalty processes. 

5. Stakeholder, Author and OneCRM Escalation Management 

• Provide timely, clear and evidence-based responses to complex stakeholder, author and agent inquiries. 

• Ensure prompt and high-quality action on OneCRM tickets, prioritising material, aged or recurring escalations and driving them to resolution. 

• Analyse escalation trends to identify systemic issues, control weaknesses and opportunities to improve author experience. 

• Build trusted relationships across internal and external stakeholder groups and influence resolution of complex operational matters. 

• Communicate risks, trade-offs and recommendations in a way that enables timely decisions. 

6. Technology Partnership and Sustainable Issue Resolution 

• Partner with technical teams and business stakeholders to investigate data inquiries, system defects, interface issues and processing anomalies. 

• Translate operational and contractual requirements into clear business scenarios, expected outcomes and validation criteria. 

• Support root-cause analysis, solution design, testing and implementation validation to ensure issues are resolved sustainably. 

• Challenge temporary workarounds where they introduce control or scalability risk and recommend practical long-term solutions. 

• Contribute to automation, reporting-tool development, data governance and process standardisation initiatives. 

7. Reporting, Controls and Audit Readiness 

• Prepare preliminary reports, summaries and analysis of royalty transactions, reconciliations, exceptions and payout activity for team and management review. 

• Work with the Manager to monitor key tasks, service levels, risks, backlogs and project progress, ensuring accurate and transparent reporting. 

• Maintain adherence to policies, procedures, approvals, contractual requirements, data privacy obligations and regulatory standards. 

• Prepare complete documentation and work papers for author audits, internal reviews, external audits and control testing. 

• Identify and communicate emerging risks or unusual circumstances, supported by impact analysis and recommended actions. 

8. Technical Leadership and Team Capability 

• Provide day-to-day technical guidance, mentoring and constructive quality feedback to junior colleagues and peers. 

• Help ensure the quality of tasks, analysis and advice provided by self and others without formal line-management accountability. 

• Share specialised knowledge through coaching, process documentation, case reviews and learning sessions. 

• Promote strong ownership, customer focus, control discipline and continuous improvement across the team. 

• Support the Manager in prioritising complex work and building resilient operational capability. 

Essential Qualifications and Experience 

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Commerce, Business Administration or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience. 

• Substantial relevant experience in royalty operations, financial operations, publishing, rights administration or a comparable complex transaction environment. Experience in publishing, rights or royalties is strongly preferred. 

• Demonstrated expertise in royalty or financial data analysis, reconciliations, payment processing, database validation and complex discrepancy resolution. 

• Experience leading projects, workstreams or material operational deliverables across multiple stakeholders or geographies. 

• Experience providing technical guidance or mentoring to colleagues and improving the quality of team outputs. 

• Strong experience managing internal and external stakeholders and communicating complex information, risks and recommendations. 

Preferred Experience 

• Knowledge of royalty calculations, author agreements, product structures, advances, earnings payments and intellectual property management tools. 

• Experience with supplier account maintenance, OneCRM or comparable case-management workflows, author inquiries and escalations. 

• Experience supporting audits, control testing, system implementation, data migration, automation or reporting-tool development. 

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience with royalty, ERP, workflow, database or business intelligence tools. 

• KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS 

• GRR Management and Royalty Operations | Portfolio and Editorial | Rights and Intellectual Property Management | Finance and Controllership | Tax and Accounts Payable | Technology and Transformation | Legal and Compliance | Internal and External Audit | Authors, Agents and Other Approved Stakeholders