Transformation Finance Lead

Company description

Present in over 100 countries and employing nearly 80,000 professionals, Publicis Groupe is the third largest communications group in the world. Publicis Groupe is listed on the Euronext Paris [FR0000130577] and is part of the CAC 40 index. Active across the entire value chain, Publicis Groupe offers its major clients a transversal, unified and fluid model allowing them access to all the Groupe’s tools and expertise around the world through the mantra "The Power of One."

Overview

Position Summary

The Transformation Finance Lead will serve as the finance and commercial partner to the Transformation Team. They will own the full financial picture of the transformation: what we invest in people, process change and technology, whether that investment is paying off, and how we price and sell what we build.

The role covers three areas. First, owning the financial side of the transformation, from planning through value: planning the full cost of change, including the people, time and technology it takes, keeping it on budget, and measuring the value it creates, from redesigned workflows and freed-up capacity to the platforms, tools and products behind them. Second, product economics: understanding what our tools and products cost to build and run and setting how they are priced. Third, client pricing: designing new pricing and commercial models for what we sell and working with our client commercial teams on new ways to be paid that move beyond time and materials and traditional fees.

This person brings fresh thinking about how agencies make money as the way we work changes, and the practical skill to turn that thinking into models that actually work.

How this role works

The Transformation team is a small, nimble team that works through the line. This is a senior role, and it is also a hands-on one. At the start, the expectation is that Transformation Finance Lead will drive work with support from an existing finance team and build much of the analysis themselves.

They will be expected to develop recommendations with limited direction, shape them with the Chief Transformation Officer, and bring them to the CFO for approval. They will partner with finance, FP&A, IT, ICTT, data and build teams, and push to automate routine reporting and tracking so their time goes to the higher-value work. Additional headcount may be added once current capacity and team structure are assessed.

Responsibilities

Transformation Planning & financial control

• In partnership with FP&A, own planning, budgeting and forecasting for the transformation as a whole, including the people who lead and support it (transformation teams, builders, training and agency time), process and workflow redesign, and technology such as platforms, licenses, compute and partners.
• Build a clear, single view of what the transformation costs, where, and why, including what is shared versus agency-specific and what is fixed versus variable.
• Monitor spend against budget, flag issues early and recommend corrective action.
• Lead value measurement end to end, using one consistent approach across workflow and process changes, third-party platforms, internally built tools, and products we build or sell. Translate time savings and capacity gains into hiring, staffing, budget and P&L outcomes.
• Work with HR and agency leaders to model the financial impact of changing roles, skills and team structures as workflows change.
• Build and pressure-test business cases (ROI, payback, run-rate costs) and give an independent finance view on major investments before money is committed.
• Find savings across the transformation, from removing duplicate tools and unused licenses to stopping work that isn't paying off.
• Set the vision for finance tools and dashboards and work with the build team to create them, so agencies and leadership can self-serve and manual reporting is kept to a minimum.
• Find new ways to run transformation finance itself, using AI and automation, rather than recreating traditional finance processes.

Product economics and internal pricing

• Work with the build and product teams to estimate, track and manage the full cost of building and running our tools and products, from development through ongoing support and optimization.
• Measure the value each product delivers and use it to inform build, scale or stop decisions.
• Develop unit economics for each product, such as cost per user, workflow or output.
• Develop and challenge business cases including ROI, NPV, payback period, implementation costs, recurring run-rate impact and productivity assumptions.

Client pricing and commercial models

• Design innovative pricing and commercial models for the tools, solutions and products we sell to clients.
• Partner with Commercial Finance Leads to develop new remuneration models that replace or evolve time and materials, FTE-based and fee-based approaches, so that automation and AI-driven efficiency creates value for us and our clients rather than simply lowering fees.
• Join client conversations as a subject matter expert on pricing and commercial models when the agency or GCLs needs it. This role supports, and does not replace, the client relationship and commercial leads.
• Build the financial models, scenarios and materials agencies need to bring new commercial approaches to clients, and track how they perform once in place.

Qualifications

Required

• 12+ years of progressive experience in strategic finance, FP&A, pricing, commercial finance or a related field.
• Experience managing the cost of building and running technology products and pricing them.
• Experience measuring the financial impact of operational or workflow change, not only technology investments.
• Experience leading or shaping a major change in pricing or compensation models, in any industry that has gone through one.
• Working knowledge of agency service models, including retainer, time and materials, FTE-based and project-based fees.
• Strong financial modeling skills and comfort turning messy operational data into clear choices.
• Tech-savvy and an active user of AI tools. Comfortable working with builders to design tools and dashboards.
• Credible with senior leaders and clients, and able to influence without direct authority.

Preferred

• Agency, consulting or other professional services experience.
• Experience with outcome-based, subscription or usage-based pricing.

Leadership and behavioral capabilities

Inventive and practical: Imagines new pricing and commercial models and knows how to make them work in the real world.

Self-directed: Turns a loosely defined problem into a clear recommendation without needing step-by-step direction.

Hands-on: Moves easily between leadership conversations and building the model themselves.

Automation first: Looks for the tool or dashboard before the spreadsheet, and directs others to build what's needed.

Commercially minded: Connects every cost and investment to revenue, margin and client value.

Clear communicator: Explains complex financial and pricing ideas in plain language to agency leaders and clients.

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 View email address on click.appcast.io.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Veterans Encouraged to Apply.

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Compensation Range: USD $248,400.00 - USD $335,300.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. This role may also be eligible for bonus or incentive compensation. 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 1/10/2027.