Head of Finance - Audio Gross Margin

Head of Finance - Audio Gross Margin

You New Role: Head of Finance

The Head of Finance, Audio sits at the heart of Global's Audio business, acting as a core member of the Audio leadership team.

This role is accountable for gross margin performance across the Audio portfolio, working in lockstep with Commercial leadership to drive our business forward.

As a trusted partner and constructive challenger, you will be in the room for the decisions that matter — influencing strategy, challenging trade-offs and ensuring financial discipline and commercial ambition are fully aligned.

You will combine strategic insight, financial rigour and commercial judgement to drive better decision-making, delivering sustained improvements in profitability, revenue quality and margin efficiency.

As the Head of Finance at Global, you will:

Key Responsibilities

• Operate as an embedded member of the Audio leadership team, shaping commercial strategy and influencing key business decisions

• Own Audio gross margin performance, driving accountability across revenue, pricing, cost of sales and investment decisions

• Lead performance planning and forecasting, setting robust budgets, forecasts and long-range plans that underpin strategic decision-making

• Lead the development and evolution of pricing strategy, using data and market insight to optimise yield and strengthen market positioning

• Play a leading role in shaping commercial trading deals and commission models, ensuring incentive frameworks align with Global's strategic and financial objectives

• Lead financial evaluation and rigorous challenge of revenue initiatives and investment decisions, influencing decision-making to drive the best business outcomes

• Drive cost optimisation across the revenue-linked cost base, embedding strong cost discipline and value for money

• Ensure high-quality financial governance and data integrity, establishing a single source of truth for Audio performance and performance metrics.

• Partner with Group FP&A to ensure consistency of targets and performance tracking

• Establish a seamless partnership with the Reporting Hub with clear RACI and efficient delivery of core financial reports and processes

• Lead and continue to develop a high-performing finance team, maintaining strong capability across modelling, analytics and commercial decision support

• What You'll Love About This Role

• Think Big: Shape the future of Audio by driving pricing innovation, trading strategy and market leadership

• Own It: Take accountability for gross margin performance and the financial outcomes of one of Global's most strategic business areas

• Keep it Simple: Translate complex commercial and financial dynamics into clear, actionable insights that drive better decisions

• Better Together: Work at the centre of a highly collaborative ecosystem across Commercial, Operations, Finance and external partners

• What Success Looks Like

In your first 6-12 months, you'll have:

• Established yourself as a core member of the Audio leadership team, consistently influencing key commercial and investment decisions

• Shaped trade-offs between revenue, pricing, cost and investment, ensuring decisions are both commercially ambitious and financially disciplined

• Established a clear, data-led view of Audio gross margin drivers

• Delivered enhanced forecasting and performance visibility, enabling faster, better-informed commercial decisions

• Strengthened trading deal frameworks and commission structures, improving alignment with Global's commercial objectives

• Established a robust pipeline of value-accretive revenue and investment decisions, with clear governance over deals and initiatives

• Improved data quality, governance and accessibility, creating a single source of truth for Audio financial and commercial metrics

• Maintained a high-performing, engaged team aligned to Audio priorities, delivering consistent, high-impact insight

• Incrementally strengthened team capability and bench strength, raising the bar on analytical rigour and commercial influence

• What You'll Need

• Proven experience in a senior finance leadership role, ideally within a similarly commercial, subscription or advertising-led environment

• Credibility to operate as a peer to senior commercial leaders, influencing high-impact decisions with confidence and authority

• Clear and confident communication style, able to distil complex concepts into compelling, outcome-focused narratives

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with proven ability to influence at Executive and Board level

• Strong track record of driving financial performance, margin improvement and value creation

• Advanced financial modelling and analytical capability, able to translate complex financial and operational data into strategic insight

• Deep understanding of pricing strategy, commercial models and cost optimisation levers

• Experience evaluating revenue initiatives, trading deals and commission structures

• Strong strategic thinking capability, comfortable operating in complex and ambiguous environments

• A collaborative leadership style, with the ability to build high-performing teams and work cross-functionally

• Commercial awareness of media, advertising and audio / podcasting markets