River Client Operations Associate Jobs in Chicago, IL

Company Description

Starcom is the world's first standalone media agency, a storied innovator that continues to lead the way for many of the world's best brands.

Starcom has long been the professional birthplace and proving ground for marketing leaders - CEOs, CMOs, sales leaders, and technology pioneers - and we continue to drive the industry with peerless talent and relentless innovation.

From the start, we've known that achieving growth for our clients requires understanding and connecting with real people where they live and work, in ways they value.

In an AI era, we remain ""Guided By Humanity,"" a phrase that describes our foundational belief that human expertise must remain in the driver's seat, supported by the best processes and technology.

With our proprietary capabilities and Publicis Media's industry-leading resources and clout, we create ideas that move people and drive transformative business outcomes for brands.

Job Description

Our Client Operations Department manages client-specific operational tasks across virtually every practice area within the agency, including: Strategy, Investment, HR, Finance, Invoice Reconciliation, and Agency Administration & Compliance. We centralize and standardize fundamental work required across all pieces of business as well as bring tactical and detail-oriented work streams together to find smarter, faster ways of working. We create a space for those whose strengths include being highly organized problem-solvers. We help differentiate Starcom from our competitors and provide a critical foundation to new hires within the company, prior to potential rotations to other practice areas.

Responsibilities

Macro Tasks

• Project management
• Process improvements
• Best practice sharing
• Quality assurance
• Reporting & Compliance
• Supervise 1-4 Associates

Daily Tasks

• Work hand-in-hand with Director or Associate Director on team roles and responsibilities, and prioritizing key projects across the team
• Manage Associates' workload
• Lead Associates' career development via teaching tasks and coaching skills
• Connect with Strategy and Investment peers on account-specific requests
• Oversee & manage Financial tasks:

• • Centralizing buy authorizations
  • Compiling ordered vs. approved reports
  • Preparing billing and budget documents
  • Answering internal & client questions related to media billing and budgets

• Ensure compliance for tasks such as:
  • Managing client-specific billing procedures
  • Product codes and other systems work
• Create/enforce workflows & processes such as:
  • Billing verification process project management
  • Budget process project management
• Manage competitive data and assemble competitive reporting process
• Ensure accuracy of data and data pulls from various systems (such as MediaOcean, Media Tools, Authorize, Marketing Explorer) 
• Compile, or guide team members in compiling, client-specific reporting (e.g. publisher spend, modeling data, diversity reporting)
• Offer administrative support, training and trouble-shooting for Media Tools and other agency systems
• Participate in and/or lead team meetings, coordinate social events client-related functions
• Assist with global billing and reporting, depending upon the client
• Provide support on new business pitches, as needed

 

What you're like:

• Able to balance numerous, simultaneous work streams
• Aligned with taking the time to teach others how to do something vs. doing it for them
• Motivated to ensure a competent team, who has fun while achieving accomplishments
• Organized, detail-oriented, good with time management, obsessed with accuracy, a strong critical thinker, and able to juggle multiple tasks
• Good at building relationships - a creative problem solver, a customer service expert, a great team player
• A strong communicator - able to write clearly, speak professionally, and translate data analysis into insights that can be acted upon by clients, strategists, planners, and buyers alike
• Excited by the idea of diving deep into data, including new technologies where benchmarks are just beginning to emerge

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree, preferably with a concentration in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business, Advertising, Marketing, Communications, Applied Mathematics or related
• Proficiency in making progress/completing work, even with overlapping deadlines
• An individual who equally cares about his/her own career as well as the Associates'
• Ability to effectively utilize Microsoft Office, particularly Outlook, PPT and Excel (where filtering, pivoting, and building charts and graphs are key)
• Quantitative and analytical skills, with willingness to embrace a role that requires a mix of art and science
• Experience developing and presenting your thoughts and ideas
• Brave voice who will suggest new ideas and challenge the status quo, but can also help carry out the smart ideas of others
• Someone who likes to thrive on a team yet can also meet tight deadlines on independent assignments
• A team player who enjoys learning, and is willing to lean in on new opportunities
• A future Associate Director with us

Additional Information

Starcom is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our employment decisions are made without regard to actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, medical condition as defined by applicable state law, genetic information, marital status, military service and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.

The Power of One starts with our people! To do powerful things, we offer powerful resources. Our best-in-class wellness and benefits offerings include:

• Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more
• Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy and Fertility
• Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption
• Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements to help you invest in your future and work/life balance
• Tuition Assistance
• Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more
• Matching Gifts programs
• Flexible working arrangements
• 'Work Your World' Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility)
• Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances

The benefits offerings listed are available to U.S. based employees, are reviewed on an annual basis, and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact USMTTACompliance@publicis.com.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

#LI-AM3

 Compensation Range: USD $75,050.00 - USD $107,835.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 8/24/2026.Employment Type: FULL_TIME