VP, Client Finance, Media

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Real Chemistry is looking for a VP, Client Finance, Media, to join our growing team!

The Vice President, Client Finance, Media will serve as the senior financial leader for our Media business unit, responsible for ensuring fiscal integrity, transparency, and performance across client portfolios. This role will provide strategic financial oversight, enabling data-driven decisions that support operational excellence, profitability, and long-term business sustainability. The ideal candidate is a strong financial operator with deep expertise in agency finance and media revenue models, someone who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment balancing rigor, partnership, and accountability.

This is a hybrid role, based in any of our US offices—including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Carmel, or San Francisco—or remotely within the US, depending on team and business needs.

What you’ll do:

• Lead financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting for the Media business unit.
• Manage revenue recognition and month-end close-in alignment with corporate accounting standards.
• Partner with our accounting and offshore team on client and media billings.
• Maintain accuracy and compliance across financial systems and reporting.
• Ensure proper cost allocation, accrual management, and margin analysis.
• Oversee financial controls and compliance with client and corporate policies.
• Partner with client leads to manage client profitability, including scoping, estimating, and budget tracking.
• Review and approve client statements of work and media budgets from a financial governance perspective.
• Identify financial risks and opportunities within client portfolios and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Support contract compliance and audit readiness for key clients.
• Provide regular financial reporting and performance insights to the Media leadership team and the Finance leadership team.
• Analyze business performance drivers and recommend strategies to improve operational efficiency and profitability.
• Prepare financial summaries and presentations for executive reviews and business planning sessions.
• Serve as the liaison between the Media business unit and corporate FP&A, ensuring alignment on key metrics and reporting standards.
• Foster strong collaboration between Finance, Media Operations, and Client Management teams.
• Champion continuous improvement in financial processes, tools, and systems to enhance accuracy and efficiency.

This position is a perfect fit for you if:

• Our Company values – Best Together, Impact-Obsessed, Excellence Expected, Evolve Always and Accountability with an “I” – really speak to you.
• You are adaptable, resilient, and OK with adjusting your scope, responsibilities, and focus as we grow. When things change, so do we. We’re always evolving.
• You are proactive, driven, and resourceful with strong prioritization skills and a desire to dive into the data.
• Are adaptable, proactive, and comfortable navigating a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• You are highly organized self-starter, able to work independently and under tight deadlines

What you should have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field; MBA or CPA a plus.
• 6-8 years of progressive experience in client finance, commercial operations, or FP&A within an advertising, media agency, or marketing services environment.
• Deep understanding of media pricing models, programmatic media buying and tools including demand side platforms (eg DSPs), and agency-client commercial structures.
• Experience managing global client contracts and financials in healthcare, pharmaceutical, or regulated industries preferred.
• Proven success driving profitability and operational excellence in a high-growth, fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence senior levels.

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting global commercial deals or multinational client engagements.
• Familiarity with media commercials and cross-channel pricing models.
• Understanding of healthcare compliance and contract nuances within pharma or biotech industries.

Pay Range: $180,000 - $230,000

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 job-related, non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, skills, certifications, and geographical location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile here.

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and support and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning.  Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at: www.realchemistrybenefits.com.

Working with Real HART: Since the pandemic, we have adapted to how our people told us they want to work. We have office locations in cities in the US, UK, and Europe with many employees and clients that serve as hubs where and when they need us. For employees who are within an hour of one of our offices, we expect attendance in the office two days per week, either at a Real Chemistry office or onsite with clients. We are also actively opening new office locations, so if one opens near you, our Real HART policy will apply. We are not looking for attendance for the sake of attendance but believe that the opportunity to coordinate in-office team meetings, 1:1 meetings with managers, taking advantage of on-site learning, and connecting with client partners is a critical to delivering on our purpose of making healthcare what it should be. Outside of these offices, we have regions, where people work remotely but come together quarterly for collaboration, culture and learning opportunities. We call this our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach. Real Chemistry believes we are best together – and our workplace strategy fosters connection and collaboration in person – but also supports flexibility for our people.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.

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