Responsibilities:

• Serve as the Finance Manager on larger or more complex projects or clients including contract and pricing negotiations (with oversight).
• Supervise team of 1-2 finance professionals.
• Review and approve client budgets
• Partner with account teams in pricing client proposals, responding to Requests for Proposals/Information, and developing budgets (with oversight)
• Facilitate negotiation of client and vendor contracts between clients/vendors, account staff/senior management, and legal department, including full review of all business terms (with oversight)
• Ensure that projects are managed in accordance with contracts; create summary sheets (contract cheat sheets) for PR teams
• Ensure written client agreement is obtained (via contract, letter of agreement, signed scope of work, etc.) for all work and is appropriately archived and classified.
• Assist PR teams with monthly project budget to actual tracking and other required client reporting
• Coordinate data collection for client audits
• Communicate with clients regarding budgets, billing, and accounts receivable issues
• Maintain a catalog of required client reporting and ensure timely completion
• Review monthly fee and expense detail
• Provide commentary on variances of actual revenue to budget and forecast
• Develop annual operating budgets and maintain accurate monthly/quarterly forecasts
• Prepare management reports, identify and communicate areas of concern, and suggest improvements to account staff and management (e.g., client profitability, utilization, over/under service, missing time, revenue risk, and staffing plans)
• Review monthly fees for accuracy and compliance with Edelman Revenue Recognition policy
• Facilitate monthly billing – liaison between account staff and billing department and review billing reports.
• Review time and expense write-offs and unbilled WIP
• Accountable for timely and valuable AR collection status commentary and liaison with Accounts Receivable
• Supervise project setup process for the department and perform Business Manager role for larger or more complex projects.
• Contribute to performance appraisal process for peers and managers
• Supervise and train Finance personnel and be accountable for their work
• Train PR staff on internal finance systems, procedures, and financial project management
• Set achievable goals and tasks, delegate opportunities, and provide resources for staff to meet their goals; consistently measure and reward goal achievement
• Ad hoc requests and projects

Basic Qualifications:

• At least 5+ years of relevant experience in FIN or ACC
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
• Advanced knowledge of financial systems (e.g. PeopleSoft, SAP, or any other ERP system) and strong Microsoft Excel skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA or public accounting experience is a plus
• Professional services industry experience preferred
• Well-organized with strong time management skills and attention to detail, follows through on multiple projects and juggles conflicting priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Strong financial analysis and management skills; good business acumen
• Ability to articulate financial concepts in layman’s terms 
• Self-starter who takes initiative
• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills
• Client service-oriented and fosters positive working relationships
• Demonstrates behaviors consistent with Edelman’s values, Code of Ethics and Business Conduct
• Sets and pursues challenging personal goals and for staff
• Leads by example, demonstrates proven strong work ethic
• Committed to continuous learning and building your technical and leadership skills through training
• Helps motivate and coach teams to produce quality work and meet client objectives
• Share best practices, good ideas, and mistakes freely to establish trust, transparency, and teamwork

What you’ll get in return:

• We value our employees’ health and well-being and recognize that life’s not all about work. Our hybrid work model gives you the flexibility to create a schedule that works with your personal and professional goals.