Commercial WIP Manager Lead

About Ogilvy 

Our vision is to inspire brands and people to impact the world. To create big ideas that make a significant contribution to the planet, society, and the bottom line. We believe in today’s world this is the best way for our clients to achieve sustainable growth. We achieve this by breaking down the barriers that restrict talent and ideas. 

Which is why our teams work fluidly across 5 capabilities: Advertising, Consulting, Experience, PR & Influencer, and Health. This allows us to not only operate but innovate at the intersection of capabilities and talent. We believe impact and magic lies at this intersection. Ogilvy scales this by seamlessly connecting and accessing the deep cultural expertise of 132 offices in 83 countries. 

The result is multifaceted ideas for our clients that drive impact and are born from the intersection of platform x culture x technology. 

We call this Borderless Creativity. 

Ogilvy was ranked the number one UK agency at D&AD and was the only UK agency to win a Glass Lions at Cannes. Ogilvy was also nominated network of the year in Cannes Lions, Campaign, Effie Awards EMEA, London International Awards, The One Show and WARC Rankings. 

 

About the Role 


This is a brand-new leadership opportunity within our Commercial Finance team, offering a chance to shape and elevate the performance of a talented group of WIP Managers. As the Commercial WIP Manager Lead, you will be instrumental in driving best practices in job management and Net Working Capital (NWC) management, ensuring the team achieves its goals, optimizes NWC, and contributes significantly to Ogilvy's financial success.

You'll be more than just a subject matter expert; you'll be a leader, a coach, and a change agent. You'll foster a collaborative environment, empower your team, and drive efficiencies across a diverse portfolio of clients. If you're a proactive, results-oriented individual with a passion for developing people and streamlining processes, this is the perfect role for you.

There are several ongoing initiatives within Ogilvy outside of client work that you can choose to get involved in including our culture and social team and our various fantastic DEI groups, created to champion diversity in the industry, our agency and our work. You will discover that we are a very friendly, non-hierarchical, eclectic team, bound together by a desire to do the best work of our lives.

Benefit from a hybrid work model designed to fuel both collaboration and individual productivity. Join us in the iconic Sea Containers office 3 days per week to connect with your team, stay up-to-date on agency developments, participate in brainstorming sessions, and take advantage of all the great social events we run on site.

What You’ll Do 

• Lead and Motivate: Manage a team of 12-13 Commercial WIP Managers, providing guidance, coaching, and support to maximise their individual and collective performance.
• Drive Best Practice: Implement and enforce robust job management processes and NWC management strategies, ensuring consistency and efficiency across the team.
• Champion Change: Lead the team through ongoing changes within the business, including client portfolio rebalancing and the implementation of new systems and processes (e.g., Workday).
• Optimise Working Capital: Drive improvements in working capital management, focusing on aged WIP and ensuring timely and accurate billing practices.
• Stakeholder Management: Build strong working relationships with Commercial Controllers (CCs), Senior Commercial Accountants (SCAs), Commercial Accountants (CAs), and agency client teams.
• Performance Monitoring: Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor team performance, identify areas for improvement, and provide regular progress reports to finance leadership.
• Process Improvement: Identify and address bottlenecks and inefficiencies in existing processes, implementing solutions to streamline workflows and improve overall team productivity.
• Ensure Financial Controls: Implement and maintain strong financial controls at month-end, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial data.

What You'll Need 

• Proven Leadership Experience: Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop a team of finance professionals.
• Change Management Skills: Experience in leading teams through periods of change and uncertainty, fostering a positive and adaptable environment.
• Excellent Communication Skills: Confident and enthusiastic communicator (written and verbal) with proven stakeholder management abilities. Able to articulate complex financial concepts clearly and concisely.
• Strong Interpersonal Skills: Ability to build rapport, influence others, and collaborate effectively across different teams and departments.
• Resilience and Assertiveness: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and to confidently challenge the status quo.
• Solid Understanding of WIP and Billing: Familiarity with billing, WIP, and Net Working Capital management principles.
• Strong Organizational Skills: Excellent organization and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities effectively.
• Excel Proficiency: Strong Excel skills are essential (sumifs, vlookups, etc.).
• Media/Service Industry Experience: Experience in a media agency or other service-oriented business with a commercial focus is preferred.

Benefits 

• 25 days annual leave + 1 Volunteer Day 
• Bupa Healthcare
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave
• We have a Flexible Working Model with core working hours: 10am – 4pm
• A 1.5:1 Matching Pension Structure
• Wellbeing and Health: Up to £25.00 per month towards physical or online exercise class membership, Unmind membership, LifeWorks tool and annual eye tests and development budgets and Wellbeing incentives and activities throughout the year 
• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work Scheme
• Life Assurance

Our ambition is to attract the very best diverse talent to Ogilvy, and to be the employer of choice in the UK. We want everyone to feel welcome when they join us, and once they’re here, for them to want to stay with us, grow their career, and to feel they belong with us.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we’re committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone who wants to work at Ogilvy. For us, diversity, equity and inclusion is integrated into everything that we do. We believe that for creativity to flourish, everything about how we work must have diversity at its core. Your race, colour, ethnic, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, have no bearing on our hiring decisions, but we encourage everyone to feel free to express their true selves in an environment we are consistently striving to make as inclusive as possible.

We aim to facilitate an accessible and positive application experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments from us to support you through the process or expect to require any adjustments to working conditions to be able to best perform in the role, please let us know. We are happy to consider all reasonable adjustments.

If you live with a disability and you would like to take advantage of our offer of a guaranteed interview under the Disability Confident Scheme, please ensure you fill out our voluntary Equal Opportunities Questionnaire when applying.