Client Finance Operations Manager

Who we are:

Burson, part of WPP, is the global communications leader built to create value for clients through reputation. With highly specialized teams, industry-leading technologies and breakthrough creative, we help brands and businesses redefine reputation as a competitive advantage so they can lead today and into the future. When you work at Burson, you are part of a global community of lifelong learners who thrive at the edge of innovation.

WPP (LSE/NYSE: WPP) is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com 

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More about the role:

This existing role serves as the dedicated Senior Manager for day-to-day client finance operations across assigned Québec-based clients, with primary focus on the L'Oréal program as the largest and most complex account in the portfolio. The role provides senior-level execution, cross-client and cross-division visibility, commercial discipline, project management structure, and operational governance across high-volume campaign activity. Working in close partnership with senior finance leadership, account leadership, client-facing teams, L'Oréal stakeholders, and other assigned client teams, this role implements and maintains the operating cadence and financial discipline required to ensure campaign approvals, PO management, billing, influencer contracting, invoicing, and payment processes are connected, tracked, and escalated before gaps compound. The role also provides day-to-day direction and oversight to the Campaign Payment and Reconciliation Specialist, ensuring priorities, deliverables, reconciliations, and payment-related follow-ups are managed effectively.

Program Context: The role supports client finance operations across assigned Québec-based clients, with L'Oréal representing the largest, highest-volume, and most operationally complex program. The L'Oréal program operates across multiple divisions and brands, with approximately 60 campaigns per quarter and numerous influencers, POs, approvals, deliverables, invoices, and payment touchpoints in motion at any given time. The Senior Manager, Client Finance Operations is responsible for maintaining a reliable view of campaign and financial status across the assigned portfolio, using strong financial acumen to identify exposure early, guide priorities, and drive operational follow-through so client service commitments are protected.

Core Responsibilities

Program Governance & Operating Cadence

• Own and maintain centralized campaign, PO, billing, and payment tracking for L'Oréal and other assigned Québec-based clients, ensuring information is current, complete, and actionable by client, division, brand, campaign, PO value, billing status, payment status, owner, aging, and next action
• Drive regular finance-focused working sessions for L'Oréal and, as needed, other assigned clients with client leads, division leads, finance, and relevant account stakeholders, ensuring PO status, billing risks, owners, decisions, and next steps are clearly documented and followed through
• Act as the connective point between finance, account teams, division leads, client contacts, and influencer payment teams to ensure all parties are working from the same information, priorities, timelines, and escalation path
• Build and manage project plans, timelines, action logs, and dependency tracking for finance-related workstreams, ensuring owners, due dates, risks, and escalation paths are clearly defined and monitored
• Ensure PO status, unmatched campaigns, billing risks, and client follow-ups are included as standing agenda items in recurring client, finance, and division-level meetings
• Prepare and circulate concise pre-meeting summaries that highlight key risks, decisions required, open actions, dependencies, and recommended next steps
• Maintain cross-division visibility so the team can identify patterns, bottlenecks, naming inconsistencies, fluctuating PO values, and recurring gaps before they affect billing or payment timing
• Establish and maintain a consistent operating cadence across divisions and brands, with clear roles, timelines, escalation points, reporting expectations, and accountability

Client Communication

• Serve as the senior day-to-day finance operations contact for L'Oréal and other assigned Québec-based clients on PO, billing, documentation, and campaign-to-PO alignment matters
• Conduct timely follow-up to secure outstanding POs, clarify naming discrepancies, confirm approved values, and resolve campaign-to-PO matching issues before formal escalation is required
• Document all client interactions, commitments, and timelines in the shared tracker
• Reinforce adoption of the client-facing best practices guide by driving consistent PO naming, approval timing, budget confirmation, and documentation expectations with L'Oréal division and brand contacts

Finance Operations & Billing Governance

• Own and maintain current, complete, and accurate campaign and financial information for matching, WIP review, invoicing, billing reconciliation, and payment tracking across L'Oréal and other assigned Québec-based clients, in partnership with senior finance, billing, and account stakeholders
• Provide timely PO and payment updates from client meetings to finance to support tracker accuracy, invoicing, and follow-through
• Identify unbilled or pre-billed campaign activity, unmatched POs, and items with financial exposure, and ensure they are assigned to an owner with a documented resolution path
• Coordinate historical campaign reconciliation efforts, including research, status updates, ownership, and resolution paths for prior-year unmatched campaigns, unbilled activity, or pre-billed items requiring follow-up
• Flag items approaching the 21-day escalation threshold early, ensuring the senior client/account lead receives a concise summary, recommended action, and client-facing context where intervention is required

Escalation Management

• Monitor aging buckets, unmatched campaigns, missing POs, and billing blockers, proactively flagging at-risk items ahead of escalation thresholds and before they compromise invoicing, payment timing, or client confidence
• Prepare escalation summaries that include campaign details, division and brand, PO status, value, outreach history, financial exposure, decision required, and recommended next steps
• Drive follow-through on escalated items until resolution, ensuring decisions, owners, and next steps are documented

Influencer Contracting, Invoicing & Payment

• Oversee the influencer payment and reconciliation workstream, providing direction to the Campaign Payment and Reconciliation Specialist to ensure campaign, PO, invoice, payment, and documentation requirements are aligned, tracked, and escalated as needed
• Review payment status, reconciliation updates, and exception items with the Specialist to identify timing risks, documentation gaps, billing exposure, and required escalations
• Coordinate influencer contracting workflows, ensuring agreements are initiated, tracked, and executed within the campaign timeline
• Coordinate influencer invoice collection, review, and submission to finance for processing, ensuring documentation is complete and timing risks are surfaced early
• Monitor influencer payment status and proactively flag delays that could affect campaign delivery, client service commitments, or the broader payment chain
• Monitor the PO, invoicing, and influencer payment sequence to identify exceptions early, reduce billing exposure, and escalate timing risks before payments are issued where possible
• Help protect influencer payment timeliness as a key client service KPI by ensuring related billing and PO risks are visible to finance and account leadership

Burson Finance & Internal Operations

• Drive regular WIP and finance governance reviews for L'Oréal and other assigned Québec-based clients with key finance and account stakeholders, ensuring active campaigns, missing POs, invoicing status, unbilled exposure, and required decisions are clearly surfaced, challenged, and actioned
• Apply commercial judgment to monitor budget pacing, PO movement, campaign approvals, and financial variances, identifying risks early and recommending appropriate corrective action
• Oversee internal billing reconciliation by ensuring invoices issued to L'Oréal align with approved budgets, client POs, campaign activity, contracted scopes, influencer-related costs, and documented approvals
• Provide senior-level oversight of month-end and quarter-end finance readiness, ensuring campaign, PO, billing, WIP, and payment information is complete, accurate, and escalated where gaps create financial exposure
• Maintain audit-ready records of contracts, invoices, approvals, client documentation, payment support, and key decisions to support internal controls, compliance, and financial governance
• Provide senior finance and account leadership with concise reporting to support timely decisions on open PO issues, billing exposure, escalations, aging items, process adoption, and structural risks across divisions and brands

What Success Looks Like

• POs are secured, matched, or actively escalated within agreed timelines, with clear ownership and documented next steps
• No PO reaches the 21-day escalation mark without a documented follow-up plan
• Influencer contracts, invoices, and payments are processed on time, with exceptions identified early and communicated before they create avoidable billing exposure
• Internal timesheets, WIP, and billing records are consistently accurate and up to date
• Finance and client teams are always working from the same information
• The Campaign Payment and Reconciliation Specialist has clear priorities, effective oversight, and timely support to deliver accurate payment tracking, reconciliations, and follow-up
• L'Oréal receives the highest level of operational finance focus while other assigned Québec-based clients remain well managed, visible, and financially controlled
• Unbilled exposure is visible, tracked, and reduced through timely PO matching, client follow-up, and billing reconciliation
• Client-facing best practices are adopted consistently across divisions and brands, improving PO naming, approval timing, and billing readiness
• Account and finance teams have a single, reliable operational view of L'Oréal and appropriate visibility across other assigned Québec-based clients, including campaign status, finance status, outstanding risks, and required actions
• Senior account leadership is engaged only when escalation is required, not for routine follow-up

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

• 7+ years of experience in client finance, project finance, agency operations, advertising, public relations, integrated communications, influencer marketing, or a related environment, with experience supporting complex client accounts or client portfolios across multiple brands, divisions, campaigns, stakeholders, budgets, POs, billing, and payment workstreams
• Post-secondary education in business, finance, accounting, marketing, communications, or a related field; equivalent practical experience may also be considered
• Bilingual proficiency in English and French is required, with the ability to communicate clearly and professionally with internal teams, client stakeholders, and external partners
• Strong financial acumen, with the ability to understand budgets, POs, invoicing, WIP, billing exposure, reconciliations, and payment timing in a client-service environment
• Strategic and commercially minded, with the ability to connect operational details to broader client, financial, and account-management priorities
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence without direct authority, push back diplomatically, clarify ownership, escalate risks, and drive follow-through across finance, account, client, and external partner teams
• Experience managing, coaching, or providing day-to-day oversight to a direct report or small finance operations team, including workload prioritization, review of deliverables, payment tracking, reconciliation follow-up, process adoption, feedback, escalation support, and continuous improvement
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with strong written and verbal communication skills, sound judgment, and the ability to manage trackers, action logs, timelines, stakeholder follow-ups, escalation paths, multiple campaigns, deadlines, and financial workstreams simultaneously
• Experience applying project management discipline within finance, client operations, or complex account environments is an asset

#LI-YA1

In Ontario, the base salary for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. This range reflects our broader group’s compensation framework across diverse agencies and disciplines. For this specific role at Burson, our offer will be determined within this range based on our internal benchmark, reflecting the specific market conditions for our discipline. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including business needs, experience, level of responsibility and qualifications.​   In addition to the salary range provided, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support our employees’ well-being and professional growth. While specific details may vary by agency, typical benefits include: private medical care, professional development opportunities, training programmes and flexible working arrangements (where applicable). Some agencies may offer additional benefits.​ ""$45,000—$95,000 CAD

You belong at Burson:

Our vision is for Burson to be the leading ‘academy company’ for creative communications professionals and emerging leaders. We provide a dynamic environment where ambitious colleagues come to elevate their skills, expand their networks, and ultimately, produce the best solutions for today’s leading brands. Our commitment to your growth is reflected in our robust benefits and people programs, which include professional development opportunities, mentorship programs with industry leaders, a vibrant and inclusive company culture fostering collaboration and innovation and packages designed to reward and retain top talent. We invest in our people because we believe their success is our success.

At Burson, we’re an agency of learn-it-alls. We recognize that the things we do best, creativity and communications, require a level of nuanced understanding. That’s why it’s imperative for us to hire extraordinarily talented people of all backgrounds and identities. Without that we can’t do the essential work of inspiring bold ideas, fostering constructive dialogue, cultivating meaningful experiences, and driving innovation and creativity for our partners. Your unique point of view—your talent—is what makes you a #BursonPerson, and it’s how we deliver exceptional results for our clients, together.

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

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