Director of Finance

Position Overview

Cox Media Group is seeking a Director of Finance to join our storied, 122-year-old media organization, now backed by one of the world’s leading private equity firms, Apollo Global Management. We believe that local media is an essential contributor to a healthy and informed community, and together we’re poised to blaze a new trail, investing in growth to build the future of the industry around our dozens of beloved consumer brands.

The Director will be a key member of the CMG Finance leadership team, working with leaders within multiple departments and supporting business transformation and organizational effectiveness initiatives.  The Director will also train and mentor current financial analysts on the team.

Applicants should have a degree in business or another relevant field, and 5+ years of demonstrated professional success with significant exposure to managing projects and change management efforts.  Experience in a digital media environment is a plus.

We are seeking a candidate with a high level of intellectual curiosity, outstanding work ethic, strong attention to detail, and a continuous improvement mindset.  Someone who is proactive, organized, resourceful, and determined to succeed.  He or she should be an expert in Microsoft Excel, knowledgeable in a variety of analytical tools and methods, and able to intuitively grasp complex business problems.  Given that this role is heavily team-oriented with significant exposure to senior executives, a consistently positive attitude and excellent interpersonal skills, including written and oral communication skills, are a must.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with business leaders and key stakeholders to support business transformation and organizational effectiveness initiatives. 
• Responsible for all financial aspects of CMG, including controllership, reporting and analysis. 
• Reconcile Balance Sheet accounts monthly, resolve issues timely and ensure balances are properly supported and explained.  
• Perform general ledger activities such as journal entries for accruals or expense account reclassifications.  
• Perform account research and analyses to determine trends, estimates, and significant changes.  
• Review and analyze monthly activities for accuracy providing recommendations when opportunities for improvement are presented.  
• Review and analyze budgets/forecasts and recommend changes when appropriate, anticipating industry and market trends. 
• Responsible for overall project tracking and updates to leadership regarding project budgets, milestones, deadlines, and deliverables. 
• Identify and apply structured methodologies that support change management activities required by strategy initiatives and projects.
• Facilitate the assessment and diagnosis of business needs to help design and implement interventions that enhance the effectiveness of teams, functions, programs, and entire business areas. 
• Leverage data and analytics for design, implementation and evaluation of change programs. 
• Work with cross-functional teams to identify, define, and advance both short and long-term goals. 
• Guide role clarity initiatives across multiple stakeholder groups, including the alignment between leaders, teams, and individuals. 
• Develop exceptional relationships and strong lines of communication across all businesses to allow for effective, on-going collaboration. 
• Manage multiple organization development projects of varying degrees of complexity simultaneously. 
• Develop new ideas, seeing issues from multiple angles, acting with a sense of curiosity and urgency to transport innovations from other areas, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement. 
• Other duties and projects as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• You have a degree in Business or another relevant field 
• You have 5+ years of demonstrated professional success with significant exposure to managing projects and change management efforts; Experience in a digital media environment is a plus 
• Understanding of GAAP and financial practices and procedures is a plus 
• Must be comfortable working within a quarterly financial reporting regime and can manage multiple tasks under aggressive deadlines  
• You have the ability to define, communicate and execute on a strategic vision for the business 
• You have proven success working in a matrix organization, influencing stakeholders across multiple business units and on all levels of management 
• You are proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point, Visio, MS Project and other related tools 
• You might have experience with agile methodologies and tools 
• You might be familiar with the latest BI/data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI, Qlik) 
• You might be familiar with ERP/Planning (e.g., SAP S/4HANA) and/or CRM systems (e.g., Matrix/Monarch)