Bilingual Senior Manager, Client Finance Operations – Québec Clients

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Serves as the dedicated Senior Manager for day-to-day client finance operations across assigned Québec-based clients with primary focus on the LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal representing the largest highest-volume and most operationally complex program. The LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal 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 LOréal 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
• LOréal 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 LOréal 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

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