Director Business Management - New York - The Bloc

Description

We are The Bloc. We believe great brands aren't born – they're built. Our singular mission is "Cementing Healthy Change" and everything we do to affect that change is centered around our proprietary behavior change platform, BECOMMS.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Business Manager serves as the operational connector across departments—driving efficiency, visibility, and collaboration throughout the agency. The business manager ensures that business operations run smoothly across client work, internal teams, and global offices, aligning resourcing, financial management, and cross-functional communication to support both project success and agency profitability. This role requires a detail-oriented leader who thrives on coordination, data-driven insights, and optimizing performance in a dynamic, fast-paced healthcare advertising environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & DELIVERABLES

Business Operations & Financial Management

• Oversee day-to-day operational and financial performance for assigned client business.
• Maintain up-to-date revenue forecasts, monitor account burn, and ensure staff forecasts are in line with financial targets.
• Demonstrates understanding of client business, project types, and agency disciplines.
• Provide analysis and recommendations to improve performance, margin, and utilization.

Client Support

• Partner with Account, PM, and Finance to manage SOWs and track budgets.
• Partner with Account PM, and Business Affairs to ensure that agency commitments stay within contractual and financial obligations.
• Flag risks or patterns that AM and PM are not seeing at the project level.
• Long-term goal: Partner with RM and BD to align staffing needs across current client work and new business.
• Act as a key connector between Account, Creative, PM, RM, Strategy, Production, and Finance.
• Facilitate seamless communication to ensure alignment on timelines, deliverables, and priorities related to financial milestones and performance.
• Support the development and implementation of operational processes that drive consistency and scalability across the agency.

Performance Optimization

• Help identify and resolve operational challenges that impact efficiency or quality.
• Make financial risk visible and ensure that leadership has a full picture.
• Track KPIs (utilization, project margins, billability) and develop actionable insights for leadership.
• Liaise between New York and global offices to align creativity visibility and utilize shared resources.
• Partner with global ops leads to facilitate cross-office staffing, knowledge sharing, and project planning.
• Partner with global operational and resource management leads to establish systems/processes to enable transparent resource tracking across the network.
• Ensure global teams can access relevant information, priorities, and timelines to optimize productivity.

KPIs

• Revenue: Helps deliver committed revenue – annually, quarterly and monthly.
• Profit: Manages and ideally exceeds identified margin of each Client(s).
• Utilization: Drives Agency resources to achieve agreed utilization targets.

Key Behaviors

• Connector: Anticipates needs, builds bridges, and ensures alignment before issues arise.
• Calm Under Pressure: Composure and clear thinking in high-stakes or time-sensitive situations.
• Collaborative Diplomat: Builds relationships across departments and offices through empathy, transparency, and active listening.
• Analytical Problem Solver: Uses data to make informed decisions and present actionable insights.
• Detail-oriented: Balances tactical precision (numbers, schedules, processes) with big-picture goals.
• Agile: Adapts quickly to evolving priorities without losing focus or enthusiasm.
• Influential Communicator: Clearly articulates in ways that influence without authority.
• Accountability: Takes full responsibility for outcomes, not just assigned tasks.
• Culturally Curious: Openness and adaptability when collaborating with international colleagues.
• Continuous Improver: Regularly looks for ways to optimize tools, systems, and processes.
• Solution-oriented: Can always find a way.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 4–6 years agency experience in operations, project management or resource management.
• Strong understanding of agency workflows, financial systems, and utilization metrics.
• Proven experience managing budgets, forecasts, and staffing allocations.
• Strong proficiency in Excel and familiarity with PM and resourcing tools (Workfront, Smartsheet etc).
• Experience working with fast-paced global teams a plus.