Finance Assistant

About Ogilvy

Ogilvy, part of WPP, was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy. David created a culture that deeply respects and cares about its people and clients. Our mission is to inspire people and brands to make an impact and we are committed to attracting, growing, and retaining the best talent in the industry. 

Ogilvy Health UK is made up of healthcare communication specialists across the disciplines of medical education and communications; brain sciences; brand promotion; digital and social; strategic planning; public relations; and creative/design. We believe we are like no other: we blaze new trails; we encourage a culture of creativity and innovation; we challenge, and we change; and we recognise and reward our team. 

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

 

Department: Finance
Location: Sea Containers - hybrid working 3 days in office
Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Contract: 12 Month Fixed Term Contract 

The Opportunity

At Ogilvy Health UK, we combine the science of health with the art of communications to make a real difference. As our Finance Assistant, you'll play a crucial role within our dedicated Finance team, based in the heart of London. You'll be instrumental in supporting the financial management of our client projects, from initial setup through to billing and reconciliation. This 12-month FTC offers a brilliant chance to develop your skills, work closely with diverse teams, and contribute directly to the smooth running of our agency's financial health and client success. If you thrive on precision and want to be part of a leading global agency, this is the role for you! 

What you'll do

As our Finance Assistant, you'll be at the heart of our project financial lifecycle. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Project Setup & Maintenance: Setting up new client projects in our ERP system (Workday) with accurate budgets, rates, and documentation. You’ll also assist with ongoing project updates, ensuring financial records are precise and audit-ready.
• Billing & Invoicing: Taking ownership of processing client invoices accurately and ensuring they align with contracts and internal policies. You'll maintain billing logs, gather necessary details, and coordinate approvals.
• Credit Control Support: Liaising with shared service teams on invoice finalisation and credit control matters, and efficiently resolving billing queries from both clients and internal stakeholders.
• Revenue & Reconciliation: Supporting our month-end and year-end processes by assisting with reconciliations of Work In Progress (WIP), accrued revenue, and debtors.
• Reporting & Analysis: Producing key revenue and project-related reports from our ERP system and providing ad hoc financial analysis to support the team.
• Compliance & Documentation: Maintaining meticulous financial records, ensuring compliance with internal policies, SOX controls, and accounting standards. You’ll take full ownership of your tasks, seeing them through to completion.

What you'll need

We're looking for someone who is not only excellent with numbers but also a great team player:

• Experience: Previous experience using an ERP system is essential (Workday experience is a plus!). Billing or finance experience, especially within an agency environment, would be highly beneficial.
• Technical Skills: Strong proficiency in Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, and data cleaning techniques.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to build rapport and work effectively with multiple stakeholders across different teams.
• Attention to Detail: An exceptional eye for detail and a commitment to accuracy, coupled with the ability to manage your workload efficiently to meet tight deadlines.
• Proactivity: A self-starter who takes initiative and ownership of tasks, ensuring they are completed to a high standard.

Benefits & Culture 

At Ogilvy Health, you'll be part of a non-hierarchical, eclectic team united by a shared commitment to doing the best work of our lives (its one of our values!). Beyond client work, you'll have opportunities to engage with our vibrant culture and social teams, and contribute to our fantastic DEI initiatives, championing diversity across our agency and industry.

We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package, including:

• 25 days annual leave, with the option to purchase up to an extra 5 days per year, plus your birthday off and a paid volunteering day
• Generous enhanced parental leave policies
• A robust pension scheme (up to 17.5% total contributions after probation)
• Choice of Private Medical Cover (Bupa from day one), Dental cover, or a monthly £45 leisure allowance for your health & wellbeing
• A fantastic Employee Assistance Programme (Telus) offering support, advice, and specialist counselling
• Help at Hand: quick, free access to a remote GP, mental health support, physio, or a medical second opinion
• Free 1-2-1 Coaching through Thrive Partners for professional or personal growth
• A comprehensive Learning & Development programme to support your career trajectory

 

Our ambition is to attract the very best diverse talent to Ogilvy, and to be the employer of choice in the UK. We want everyone to feel welcome when they join us, and once they’re here, for them to want to stay with us, grow their career, and to feel they belong with us.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we’re committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone who wants to work at Ogilvy. For us, diversity, equity and inclusion is integrated into everything that we do. We believe that for creativity to flourish, everything about how we work must have diversity at its core. Your race, colour, ethnic, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, have no bearing on our hiring decisions, but we encourage everyone to feel free to express their true selves in an environment we are consistently striving to make as inclusive as possible.

We aim to facilitate an accessible and positive application experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments from us to support you through the process or expect to require any adjustments to working conditions to be able to best perform in the role, please let us know. We are happy to consider all reasonable adjustments.

If you live with a disability and you would like to take advantage of our offer of a guaranteed interview under the Disability Confident Scheme, please ensure you fill out our voluntary Equal Opportunities Questionnaire when applying.