Commercial Finance Manager

The Walt Disney Company

About the Role & Team

This is a 12 month fixed-term contract position and requires you to work from our Hammersmith office 4 days in the working week.

The Commercial Finance team is part of the Studios Finance organisation responsible for managing the finance, planning and analysis across Studio content marketing, Stage Plays and Music.

You will need to be able to interrogate data across a variety of sources, understand the marketing landscape, have technical skills, and an overall curiosity to solve problems and improve processes. You must be confident in translating complex data into easy to understand and actionable information and have experience managing F&P cycles. You will manage 4 direct reports.

This team works across the areas within the SVP of Studio Marketing, Music and Live’s remit. This means Studio Content marketing spend and the Music Business F&P activity required by key stakeholders in both businesses. The Studio produces content for cinematic and direct to D+ releases of over 40 content drops per year across the Marvel, Lucas, Disney, Pixar, 20th Century and Searchlight brands. The team is also responsible for negotiation support with Global Media Agency and Global publishing partners, marketing spend recommendations and analysis including Publicity and event costs along with integrated marketing and franchise support.

What You Will Do

Delivery

• Analyse and interpret business information to identify high level trends and issues.
• Contribute to projects beyond the finance function using professional expertise to support, advise and guide others as part of cross-functional project teams e.g. financial analysis on the Global media agency, providing franchise reporting for key decision making, analysis of music business models/contracts.
• Ensure timely and accurate information is shared with integrated marketing team on company financials.
• Work with Publicity to control junket costs across a large product slate.
• Work with sourcing on all cost saving projects.

Advisory

• Review existing processes and provide proposals for process improvement that will positively impact business effectiveness.
• Develop and deliver financial presentations for LRP, AOP and forecast for the music business.
• Develop and deliver ‘bible’ on student content marketing.

Management

• Manage end-to-end processes within a full planning cycle (e.g. forecasting, AOP, reporting, close etc) to ensure the effective financial management of the business area.
• Manage, motivate and develop a team to deliver effective transactional, process and analytical support to the business area.
• Manage, maintain and recommend improvements to financial systems, partnering with IT to ensure systems are fit for purpose.
• Share knowledge effectively across the function to facilitate good financial management and support the development of others.
• Manage finance/accounting delivery for integrated marketing, music and studio content marketing – ensuring timely and accurate delivery.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Must be qualified CIMA/ACCA or equivalent.
• Experience of working with marketing budgets.
• Experience of managing F&P cycles.
• Must have managed a team showing evidence of developing and supporting them.
• Demonstrable track record of providing commercial support to a business partner that’s insightful, timely and responsive.
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written, flexible to all levels of the organisation.
• Ability to produce clear and insightful presentations that deliver key messaging at the appropriate level of detail.
• Proven track record of influence, persuasion and engaging communication at all levels of the organisation.
• Experience of managing multiple stakeholders.
• Numerate and analytical with a desire to think through and not only resolve problems.
• Ability to work effectively through their team motivating them through the natural peaks of work. Results focused and outcome driven.

The Perks

• 25 days annual leave.
• Private medical insurance & dental care.
• Free Park Entry: You will have the opportunity to enter any of our parks with your family and friends for free.
• Disney Discounts: you are entitled to discounts on designated Disney products, resort F&B and ticketing.
• Excellent parental and guardian leave.
• Employee Resource Groups – Disney DIVERSITY, Disney PRIDE, ENABLED, and our Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, TRUST.

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. Disney is committed to forming a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.