Client Budget Manager

Company description

DSplus is a Saatchi & Saatchi company. It was created around the idea of a “Digital Salesperson” who leads a customer through the entire lifecycle of their automobile ownership journey.

Our clients are Toyota Motor North America, and Toyota & Lexus Dealerships across the country. DSplus is also proud to be an Agency of Record for Southeast Toyota Distributors, the world's largest independent distributor of Toyotas.

Our mission is to merge the world-class branding efforts of our mothership, Saatchi & Saatchi, with the retail needs of our Dealerships. The result: an end-to-end customer experience that personifies the quality and integrity of the Toyota brand and helps sell more cars.

DSplus employs a powerful data-driven, integrated messaging platform that works across the sales and service lifecycle. This cross-tier, cross-channel system is fueled by the perfect mix of Artificial Intelligence, insightful media strategies, and stunning, high-performance creative. Always aligned to the Toyota brand and to each client’s unique value proposition, the system delivers sharp business results—while reaching the right target with the right message at the right time.

Our culture values authenticity, transparency, and collaboration, while setting the bar high in the work we do. At DSplus, we recognize and reward success, always putting our employees first.

If you bring inventive thinking, boundless enthusiasm, and tireless energy—with a passion for client service that fuels us into the future, this might be just the fit.

Employee will be required to work from the El Segundo office four days a week, and can work one day remotely.

Overview

The Client Budget Manager is responsible for independently managing the day-to-day financial operations with primary responsibility for client billing, vendor payment, project lifecycle management, reconciliations, and financial controls.

The role serves as a key operational liaison between Account teams, Client Finance, Billing, Accounts Payable, and Media Finance. The Supervisor will coordinate financial activity across SAP and media billing workflows, ensuring client billing, vendor payments, purchase orders, job estimates, and supporting documentation remain accurate and aligned throughout the lifecycle of each engagement.

The ideal candidate has strong advertising or marketing industry experience and is comfortable navigating agency financial processes with minimal oversight. This individual should be highly organized, analytical, detail-oriented, and able to independently investigate discrepancies and drive issues through resolution.

Responsibilities

Client Billing & Financial Management

• Manage recurring/scheduled and ad hoc client billing.
• Coordinate billing activity between SAP and Media Finance workflows, including activity processed through Mediaocean/Prisma.
• Ensure billing aligns with approved scopes, estimates, client purchase orders, and established billing schedules.
• Review billing activity for accuracy and completeness. Coordinates resolution of discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Provide Client Finance leadership with visibility into billing associated with jobs containing fee or revenue-generating work codes.
• Escalate changes in billing, timing, scope, or costs that may affect revenue or other financial results.

Job & Estimate Management

• Create and update job codes and estimates based on client approvals.
• Maintain required audit documentation throughout the job lifecycle.
• Review completed jobs and coordinate timely job closure.

Vendor & Purchase Order Management

• Create, maintain, and revise vendor purchase orders based on approved scopes, budgets, and anticipated costs.
• Review vendor invoices for appropriate job coding, PO/IO references, funding, and supporting documentation.
• Monitor payment blocks or other vendor-payment exceptions and coordinate resolution.
• Perform cash-flow analysis to confirm sufficient in-house funds prior to releasing vendor payments
• Manage vendor inquiries regarding invoice and payment status.
• Coordinate with Accounts Payable and Media Finance to resolve outstanding or aging vendor balances.
• Monitor purchase order utilization and identify additional funding requirements or unused commitments.

Media Finance & Cash Flow Coordination

• Serve as a key Client Finance liaison between SAP-based financial activity and media activity managed through Mediaocean/Prisma.
• Coordinate with the Media Finance team to ensure media billing and vendor payments align with approved budgets and client funding.
• Reconcile client billing, vendor costs, and approved media budgets across the applicable financial workflows.

Reconciliations & Financial Controls

• Perform media reconciliations as dictated by contract terms
• Coordinate billing corrections, credits, WIP transfers, and other operational adjustments as needed.
• Maintain clear supporting documentation and audit trails for financial activity.
• Escalate significant financial risks or unresolved discrepancies to Client Finance leadership.

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of experience working in a finance client capacity 
• Prior experience in the advertising, media, or marketing industry.
• Experience with client billing, project finance, vendor management, or similar agency financial operations.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including the ability to work efficiently with large datasets to build, update, and maintain trackers.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to independently investigate discrepancies.
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to financial accuracy.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently and manage day-to-day responsibilities with minimal oversight.
• Strong communication skills and ability to coordinate across Finance, Account, Operations, Media, and other cross-functional teams.

Preferred

• Media billing or media finance experience.
• Experience with Mediaocean Prisma or comparable media financial systems.
• Experience with SAP or comparable ERP/financial systems.
• Experience managing vendor purchase orders, invoice reconciliation, and payment workflows.
• Familiarity with agency job lifecycle management, including job setup, estimates, billing, reconciliation, and closure.

Additional information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [email protected].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.  #LI-VP1

 

Compensation Range: USD $85,000.00 - USD $105,000.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 1/4/2027.