Finance Director

🙌 #1 Ranked Media Buying and Planning Agency on Clutch.co

🔥 Finalist 'Best AI Tool', 2024 Digiday Technology Awards

🎉 Hybrid Work Model (1 Day in Office / Week)

🥇 Winner of Waterstone Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures

Named one of Ad Age's Best Places to Work 2023, Hotspex Media is a dynamic, full-service digital media agency delivering strategic, data-driven marketing solutions for brands and agencies across North America.

Our services include comprehensive media planning, programmatic advertising, and campaign execution across paid social, display, video, and connected TV. Our award-winning emotional targeting solution, Reticle™, and advanced analytics capabilities set us apart in a competitive landscape.

As we continue our rapid growth trajectory, we are seeking a strategic finance leader to partner with our President and drive the financial infrastructure needed to scale intelligently and profitably.

The Director of Finance will be a senior leader responsible for overseeing financial strategy, forecasting, profitability, and operational finance across the agency. This role partners closely with the President, executive team, department leads, and operations to ensure Hotspex scales efficiently, maintains strong margins, and makes disciplined, data-backed investment decisions.

This is a hands-on, strategic role—ideal for someone who has scaled a services-based business and deeply understands the realities of agency economics including media margins, utilization rates, project-based revenue models, client profitability management, and the growth tradeoffs inherent in scaling a digital media agency.

• Serve as a strategic finance partner to the President and Executive Leadership Team

• Translate business strategy into financial plans, scenarios, and performance targets

• Provide clear recommendations on growth investments, pricing strategy, cost structure, and capital allocation

• Support partnerships, and strategic investments through financial modeling, due diligence, and integration planning

• Prepare materials for board stakeholders

• Own annual budgeting, quarterly reforecasting, and long-range financial planning

• Build and maintain scenario models addressing growth, margin, headcount, and pricing

• Analyze revenue mix, client concentration, and profitability by client, channel, and service line

• Develop financial frameworks that enable executive leadership to make fast, informed, data-driven decisions

• Deliver clear, executive-level reporting on actuals vs. forecast, margin performance, cash flow, AR/AP, and working capital

• Partner with Analytics/Tech teams to automate and scale financial reporting

• Own agency margin frameworks including gross margin, contribution margin, and net margin

• Develop deep visibility into project-based revenue models:

  • Media vs. fee revenue

  • Management fees, setup fees, analytics fees, and pass-through costs

  • Client profitability by account and service line

• Partner with Operations and Account Leadership to:

  • Improve utilization rates and capacity planning

  • Optimize staffing models and cost of delivery

  • Evaluate pricing, scope creep, and fee structures

  • Manage blended rates and resource allocation

• Identify opportunities for fee and scope alignment, while maintaining service quality and culture

• Oversee accounting operations (internal and external partners) including AP/AR, payroll, and monthly close

• Ensure accurate and timely financial statements, reconciliations, and management reporting

• Maintain strong internal controls, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance

• Drive continuous improvement in financial processes and systems to support scalability

• Own relationships with banks, auditors, and external advisors

• Manage cash flow forecasting and liquidity planning to support agency operations

• Optimize billing cycles, collections processes, and payment terms

• Ensure the agency maintains healthy cash reserves while funding growth

• Build scalable financial systems and processes to support year over year growth

• Develop budgeting and forecasting processes that balance growth investment with profitability targets

• Foster financial accountability and transparency across the organization

• Partner with department heads to instill financial acumen and budget ownership throughout the company

Required Experience:

• 8+ years of progressive finance experience, with at least 3 years in a senior finance leadership role

• CPA designation or equivalent accounting qualification

• Proven experience scaling a services-based business

• Deep understanding of agency economics and services-based P&Ls including:

  • Project-based revenue models and client profitability management

  • Media margins, utilization rates, and blended rate structures

  • Gross margin, contribution margin, and net margin frameworks

  • Resource capacity planning and cost-to-serve analysis

• Experience with digital media, marketing services, advertising agencies, or professional services business models

• Demonstrated ownership of FP&A, budgeting, scenario planning, and margin management in a growth environment

Skills & Technical Expertise:

• Exceptional financial modelling and scenario planning capabilities

• Ability to translate complex financial data into clear, actionable business insights

• Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution

• Strong understanding of revenue recognition for project-based and media businesses

• Experience with cash flow management, working capital optimization, and credit risk management

Leadership & Working Style:

• Collaborative, business-partner mindset with ability to influence without authority

• Comfortable influencing senior leaders and constructively challenging assumptions

• Detail-oriented without losing sight of the big picture and strategic objectives

• Calm, structured, and credible in high-growth, fast-paced environments

• Outstanding communication skills with ability to present financial concepts clearly to non-finance stakeholders

• Proven ability to build relationships and drive cross-functional collaboration

Preferred:

• MBA or relevant graduate degree

• Background working closely with C-suite executives in scaling organizations

• Track record of implementing financial systems and process improvements

• Opportunity to shape the financial strategy of a growing organization

• Direct partnership with executive leadership in a high-impact role

• Competitive compensation including performance-based incentives

• Comprehensive benefits package

• Professional development and leadership, growth opportunities

• Collaborative, inclusive culture

• Hybrid work arrangement based in Toronto

We know our people are what allows us to achieve all that we do and that’s why it’s important that everyone we bring onto our team lives our values with us. 

• 🦁 Courage

• 1️⃣ One Team

• 💪 Resilience

• 🚀 Empowerment

Hotspex Media Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in its workforce. Due to the large volume of applications received, Hotspex Media may, from time to time, use artificial intelligence to optimize screening efforts.