Manager, Revenue Recognition (Billing & Contract Setup)

Company Description

At Nielsen, we are passionate about our work to power a better media future for all people by providing powerful insights that drive client decisions and deliver extraordinary results. Our talented, global workforce is dedicated to capturing audience engagement with content - wherever and whenever it’s consumed. Together, we are proudly rooted in our deep legacy as we stand at the forefront of the media revolution. When you join Nielsen, you will join a dynamic team committed to excellence, perseverance, and the ambition to make an impact together. We champion you, because when you succeed, we do too. We enable your best to power our future.

Job Description

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled and analytical Team Lead to oversee our Order-to-Cash (OTC) financial operations, specifically focusing on complex contract setup, global billing, and revenue recognition compliance. In this role, you will lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing team of 10 to 15 professionals, ensuring operational excellence, strict adherence to global accounting standards, and tight internal controls.

The ideal candidate possesses deep functional expertise in ASC 606, an intricate understanding of General Ledger (GL) accounting, and a proven track record of handling complex reconciliations and driving process efficiencies.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Performance: Manage, coach, and develop a team of 10 to 15 billing and revenue analysts. Establish performance metrics (KPIs), conduct regular reviews, and foster a collaborative, high-accountability environment.
• Contract Setup & Billing Operations: Oversee the end-to-end contract ingestion and billing setup process. Ensure complex commercial contracts are accurately translated into the financial systems for seamless invoicing.
• Revenue Recognition & Compliance: Act as the subject matter expert for ASC 606 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers). Ensure the team correctly applies revenue policies to multi-element arrangements, performance obligations, and variable considerations.
• Reconciliations & Month-End Close: Lead month-end close activities for the OTC function. Review and approve complex reconciliations between billing systems, revenue sub-ledgers, and the General Ledger (GL) to ensure zero discrepancies.
• Audit & Controls: Maintain robust internal controls (SOX compliance where applicable). Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external auditors regarding revenue and billing workflows.
• Process Automation: Identify bottlenecks in the current billing and revenue recognition workflows and implement automation or process improvements to scale operations.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field.

• Experience:
  • Minimum of 7 to 10 years of progressive experience within Corporate Finance/Accounting, specifically inside an OTC or Revenue Operations function.
  • At least 2 to 3 years of experience in a supervisory or team lead capacity, directly managing a team of 10+ employees.

• Technical Accounting Skills:
  • Strong foundational understanding of General Ledger (GL) architecture and double-entry accounting fundamentals.
  • Expert, practical knowledge of ASC 606 / IFRS 15 frameworks and policies.
  • Proven experience executing and reviewing high-volume, complex financial reconciliations.

• Systems: Proficiency with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and specialized billing/revenue modules (e.g., Zuora, RevPro). High proficiency in Advanced Excel is required.

Key Competencies

• Analytical Thinking: Ability to dissect complex commercial contracts and identify financial risks or operational impacts.
• People Management: Proven capability to motivate, balance workloads across a medium-sized team, and manage conflicting priorities under tight month-end deadlines.
• Communication: Exceptional communication skills to explain complex accounting treatments to cross-functional teams like Sales, Legal, and FP&A.

Additional Information

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