Marketing Financial Planning Manager

General Summary

The Marketing Financial Planning Manager is responsible for overseeing the financial planning aspects of Marketing initiatives, ensuring that marketing campaigns and programs are prepared promptly. This role reports under the Marketing division but works very closely with Finance leadership. This role establishes and manages review milestones, maintains strict adherence to timelines, and enforces change control procedures so that requests and modifications are submitted accurately and within designated timeframes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Priority One – 30%: Financial Review & Approval Preparation

• Oversee the financial review of marketing initiatives, ensuring that comprehensive scopes, well-documented assumptions, accurate budgets, and complete documentation are prepared for approval.
• Review campaign/program requests to validate scope, assumptions, cost structure, timelines, and required supporting documents.
• Present well-defined recommendation options and specify approval criteria to facilitate informed decision-making.

Priority Two – 20%: Review and Documentation Process & Timeline Discipline

• Develop and manage a unified schedule, with Finance and Marketing, of review milestones and an integrated calendar for planning, approvals, and key events.
• Track dependencies and proactively manage timeline risks (late inputs, missing documentation, scope changes) with early escalation.
• Proactively mitigate potential issues by thoroughly identifying and addressing gaps in documentation, coding, and change communication at the outset.

Priority Three – 20%: Budget Planning, Forecasting & Change Control

• Support annual/quarterly/monthly planning and forecasting by validating reasonableness of assumptions and variance drivers.
• Coordinate month-end and year-end reporting for Executive Management after close.
• Manage the budget change process: receive, review, recommend, assess impact, and maintain detailed change logs.
• Evaluate how budget changes affect invoicing, reconciliation, and close readiness.

Priority Four – 15%: Budget Structuring, Coding & Compliance Advisory

• Conduct program audits to ensure that program results are documented, and performance/goals are achieved as stated on request.
• Provide guidance on appropriate budget structure and coding (accounts, cost centers, program/campaign codes) to enable clean tracking and close.
• Integrate company policies and internal controls into marketing operations to minimize rework and lower audit risks.
• Work with program owners to ensure efficient invoice reviews and reconciliation.

Priority Five – 15%: Executive Documentation & Stakeholder Alignment

• Create materials for executive leadership that highlight essential assumptions, potential risks, conditions for approval, effects on the timeline, and necessary actions.
• Facilitate alignment with internal stakeholders and external agencies regarding submission criteria, deadlines, and key decision milestones.
• Present regular updates in governance forums (such as budget control meetings) on pipeline status, associated risks, and upcoming decisions.

Personally Performed Duties 

• Manage campaign and program financial reviews, budget planning, forecasting, and change control processes.
• Oversee project timelines, milestones, risk mitigation, and stakeholder coordination to ensure approval readiness and compliance.
• Provide financial analysis, budget recommendations, and governance support for executive decision-making.
• Maintain planning calendars, budget change logs, and risk/issue tracking to support operational efficiency and accountability.
• Ensure accurate financial reporting, timely month-end close activities, and coordination of quarterly and annual business plan reviews.

Qualifications/Education

• BS in Finance/Accounting, or equivalent experience required
• MBA preferred

Job Requirement

• 5+ years in Management role overseeing corporate budgets.
• Automotive Industry experience preferred.
• Experience with SAP strongly preferred.
• Experience communicating and coordinating with multiple departments.
• Experience working with Marketing/Advertising spend preferred but not required.
• Physical Requirements: Ability to sit or stand for extended periods and perform routine office tasks.
• 0% of (domestic and/or international) travel.
• Operates under the direction of the Marketing Leadership and partners closely with Finance, channel owners, and agencies.
• Prioritizes timeline discipline and standardized submissions to reduce rework and downstream close risk.
• Maintains fact‑based, transparent reporting and early escalation of risks and dependencies.
• Independent judgment is required to establish financial assumptions to thoroughly review a project or proposal. 
• Must be able to maintain focus and attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to analyze information and make sound decisions under time constraints.
• Problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently
• Ability to handle competing priorities effectively and with composure.
• Other duties as assigned.

Specialized Skills and Knowledge Required

• Advanced Excel skills – experience with v-lookup functions and pivot tables.
• Excellent communication skills – Oral and written.
• Demonstrated analytical skills that allow for interpretation of Finance related matters.
• Ability to work with multiple data sets to identify financial trends and behaviors.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and discretion, especially with regards to sensitive or confidential personnel or organizational matters.