Vendor Finance Controller

It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today — ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.

The Media Vendor & Finance Operations Director will lead the global commercial partnership and financial governance for ServiceNow’s media investment, ensuring contract integrity, P&L accuracy, and maximizing partnership ROI. This role owns the commercial partnership with Media Agency of Record across their global hub structure (Americas, EMEA, APAC), ensuring contract compliance, financial accuracy, operational efficiency, and strategic value extraction from the agency relationship. You'll serve as the bridge between media strategy, finance, procurement, and agency leadership - ensuring our investment delivers maximum value while maintaining rigorous financial governance. This role reports directly to the VP of Marketing, Media and Sponsorships.

Key Responsibilities

Agency Relationship Management - Commercial & Operational

• Direct the global commercial relationship and performance of the Agency of Record (AOR), ensuring global adherence to Master Service Agreements (MSAs)
• Serve as primary point of contact for contract performance, scope management, and operational escalations
• Manage agency performance reviews: evaluate delivery quality, adherence to SLAs, value delivery against contracted terms
• Facilitate quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with agency leadership to address performance, opportunities, and relationship health
• Coordinate across Media Agency of Record’s hub structure to ensure consistency in service delivery while respecting regional nuances

Contract & Scope Management

• Manage master service agreement (MSA) and statements of work (SOWs) with Dentsu globally and by region
• Ensure agency scope is clearly defined and adhered to - manage scope creep and change requests 
• Lead annual contract renewals and negotiations in partnership with Procurement
• Track contracted deliverables (media plans, reports, QBRs, strategy sessions) and hold agency accountable to commitments
• Evaluate and optimize the agency’s global resource model; ensuring the agency deploys the correct mix of technical and strategic talent across regional markets.
• Document and enforce service level agreements (SLAs) for response times, deliverable timelines, and quality standards

Financial Operations & Budget Management

• Own financial relationship with Media Agency of Record : invoice processing, payment terms, fee structures, billing accuracy
• Collaborate with media/campaign teams to manage annual media budget tracking and reconciliation
• Reconcile agency fees (retainers, project fees, media commissions) against contracted rates and actual work delivered
• Steward the monthly financial close process in conjunction with Media team leads to validate spend, resolve billing discrepancies, ensure accurate accruals in a timely manner
• Manage the process with Media team leads to track budget vs. actual by campaign, market, and quarter - provide visibility to media leadership and Finance
• Manage agency cost structure: negotiate billing rates, volume discounts, value-adds, and partnership incentives
• Coordinate with Finance team on POs, invoice approvals, payment processing, and financial reporting

Vendor Performance & Value Optimization

• Establish and track KPIs for agency performance: delivery quality, responsiveness, strategic value, cost efficiency
• Identify opportunities to optimize agency costs while maintaining quality (process improvements, scope adjustments, efficiency gains)
• Negotiate value-adds from Media Agency of Record : proprietary research, beta platform access, training, strategic consulting
• Lead savings tracking and value add tracking in partnership with media team and agency.
• Benchmark Media Agency of Record’s pricing and performance against industry standards and alternative vendors
• Lead make-vs-buy decisions: determine when to expand/reduce agency scope based on cost-benefit analysis

Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management

• Partner with Procurement on vendor management: contract compliance, risk management, vendor evaluations
• Collaborate with Finance on budget planning, forecasting, accruals, and financial reporting
• Coordinate with Legal on contract terms, data privacy agreements, IP ownership, and liability
• Work with media strategy teams to translate strategic needs into agency SOW and resource requirements
• Support Marketing Operations on agency integration with internal tools, processes, and workflows

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Establish and maintain vendor management processes: onboarding, performance tracking, issue escalation, offboarding
• Create transparency in agency costs: what we're paying for, what value we're receiving, where efficiencies exist
• Maintain organized documentation: contracts, SOWs, invoices, performance reviews, meeting notes
• Lead process improvement initiatives to reduce friction between internal team, agency, and Finance
• Ensure compliance with company vendor management policies, financial controls, and audit requirements

Strategic Partnership Development

• Elevate the Media Agency of Record relationship from transactional vendor to strategic partner
• Identify opportunities for deeper collaboration: joint planning, innovation pilots, market insights, capability building
• Facilitate knowledge sharing between Media Agency of Record’s global network and ServiceNow's regional teams
• Advocate for ServiceNow within Media Agency of Record’s organization to ensure priority treatment and best talent allocation
• Participate in Media Agency of Record’s strategic planning sessions and agency-wide initiatives relevant to ServiceNow

Our ideal candidate: 

• 10+ years in marketing operations, vendor management, finance operations, or agency account leadership roles
• Deep experience managing large-scale agency relationships ($50M+ annual spend) with global holding companies (Dentsu, WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, IPG)
• Proven track record managing multi-market agency structures with regional hubs and matrix reporting
• Proven expertise in operational oversight and delivery validation within global agency networks. Track record of managing commercial performance within multi-market matrixed agency relationships
• Strong financial acumen: budget management, invoice reconciliation, contract negotiations, cost optimization
• Experience with media agency fee structures: retainers, commissions, project fees, pass-through costs
• Contract management expertise: MSAs, SOWs, SLAs, scope management, vendor performance terms
• Cross-functional leadership: ability to work with Procurement, Finance, Legal, Marketing Operations without direct authority
• Excellent relationship management skills: balance partnership building with commercial rigor and accountability
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities: diagnose operational issues and design scalable solutions
• Executive presence: comfortable presenting to senior leadership and agency C-suite

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in B2B tech/SaaS marketing operations or finance
• Background working within a major media agency (client service, account management, finance)
• Familiarity with media platforms and how agency billing integrates with platform costs
• Understanding of media planning, buying, and operations workflows
• International business experience managing vendors across multiple currencies and regulatory environmen
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or related field; MBA 

Key Success Metrics

• Financial accuracy: zero billing errors, timely monthly close, accurate budget forecasting
• Cost efficiency: year-over-year cost optimization while maintaining or improving service quality
• Contract compliance: agency delivers all contracted services at agreed-upon quality and timeline
• Relationship health: strong agency partnership scores, priority treatment, proactive strategic contributions
• Operational efficiency: streamlined processes, reduced cycle times for approvals/payments, minimal escalations
• Stakeholder satisfaction: Finance, Procurement, and media strategy teams rate vendor ops support highly
• Value extraction: measurable value-adds secured from agency beyond base contract (research, training, beta access)

Key Success Behaviors:

• Commercially savvy: Understand the business of agencies - how they make money, what drives their behavior, how to negotiate win-win outcomes
• Financially rigorous: Relentless attention to budget accuracy, billing detail, and cost efficiency
• Relationship builder: Balance accountability with partnership - hold agency to high standards while maintaining collaborative, respectful relationship
• Process oriented: Design scalable systems that work across complex global structure
• Strategic thinker: See beyond transactional vendor management to long-term partnership value
• Influential communicator: Get things done across functions without direct authority

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $184,100 - $287,650, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements. 

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance. 

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities. 

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