Manager, Budget Project Management

About Hearts & Science

Hearts & Science is a data-driven marketing agency inspired by confident marketers seeking business advantage in a world of personalized digital marketing, where CRM and addressable channels converge. The agency informs brand strategies with real-time insights and offers expert media planning and buying capabilities, alongside services including shopper marketing, marketing innovation, and content activation.

About the Role

This position plays a key role as the day-to-day liaison between the client, internal teams, and vendor partners. It oversees and coordinates all aspects of client budget management and acts as the relationship and account manager for all financially related client matters.

Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end billing cycle including pre-billing, billing, and post-billing processes across all media types
• Maintain budget trackers using client-approved media plans as the source of record and translate media plan budgets into proprietary billing platform
• Conduct variance analysis to reconcile planned versus actual spend, identifying and resolving discrepancies before billing is submitted
• Process and submit client billing accurately and on time in accordance with contractual deadlines and billing cadences (e.g., 30-day and 60-day terms)
• Support agency fee billing and production billing as needed
• Manage vendor statement reconciliation, ensuring all vendor accounts are current and in good standing to prevent any disruption to media activity
• Oversee vendor communications and resolve invoice discrepancies in a timely manner
• Manage calendar including sending billing reminders and meeting invites
• Review and approve insertion orders for priority vendor partners
• Manage purchase order creation, tracking, and maintenance to ensure budget compliance and operational visibility
• Partner with media reconciliation teams to ensure all vendor spend is cleared and accurately reflected in financial records
• Provide accounts receivable (AR) commentary on account balances and payment status and assist in resolving outstanding balances to support healthy cash flow
• Support monthly forecasting, accrual reviews, and annual audit processes
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all client budget management deliverables, troubleshooting issues to meet client expectations
• Partner with strategy, planning, and investment teams to ensure budget changes and plan updates are accurately reflected in financial records
• Communicate with agency finance teams on working capital, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and media reconciliation matters
• Handle client requests including plan or budget changes and ensure timely resolution and communication
• Take responsibility for all activity related to budget status, overage/underage investigations, and payment inquiries

Qualifications

• Experience: 3–5+ years in media finance, budget management, or a related financial operations role, preferably within a media agency environment
• Technical skills: Intermediate to advanced Excel proficiency required, including VLOOKUPs, XLOOKUPs, and pivot tables. Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, PowerPoint, SharePoint)
• Analytical abilities: Strong analytical and organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Project management: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and priorities in a fast-paced, client-service environment
• Communication: Strong interpersonal and communication skills with experience working cross-functionally across internal and external teams
• Industry knowledge: Familiarity with media billing processes, vendor operations, and reconciliation workflows
• Preferred experience: Experience with media or financial management platforms (e.g., MediaOcean/Prisma, D365, IBM TM1). Prior experience in an entertainment or media agency environment
• Work style: High sense of urgency, proactive mindset, and a positive, solutions-oriented attitude

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation Range: $50,000–$95,000 USD

Compensation will be determined based on relevant experience, other job-related qualifications/skills, and geographic location (to account for comparative cost of living). The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Benefits include:

• Health insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• 401(k)
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Vacation days
• Sick days
• Personal days
• Paid parental leave
• Paid medical leave
• STD/LTD insurance benefits

Work Arrangement

This role is hybrid, requiring three (3) days per week in the office. The remaining two (2) days may be worked remotely. Specific in-office days will be discussed during the interview process, with flexibility to align with team needs. Please note that the number of required in-office days may be adjusted over time, potentially increasing based on business needs.