Career Overview
Senior managers of financial, communications and other business services create and set the goals for the organization. Since they hold a leadership position in their organization, they also develop and approve policies and programs for their departments.
People in this career can work for a wide variety of companies in the public and private sectors.
Duties
In general, senior managers of financial, communications and other business services:
- Help to determine the company’s mission, strategic direction, goals, plans and policies
- Plan, organize, direct, control and evaluate company operations
- Identify human resource needs, including promotion opportunities and creation of new positions
- Hire and manage middle managers and other staff
- Oversee budgets within their department or company
- Develop or approve policies and programs, including managing assets, staff and operations
Senior financial managers are primarily focused on the financial areas of a company while senior communications managers oversee elements such as marketing, public relations, social media and the company’s brand reputation. Senior managers in other business services may be involved with human resources, company culture and employee morale.
Earnings
Earnings is income that workers receive in exchange for their labour. Depending on the type of employment, earnings can be in the form of wages (hourly), salaries (fixed monthly or annual) or self-employed earnings.
Work Environment
# Workers Employed
8,200% Employed Full Time
67%Senior managers in financial, communications and other business services usually work in an office environment. The widespread use of technology has increased the opportunity for some people to work from a home office on a part-time basis.
Senior managers of financial, communications and other business services are usually appointed by a board of directors and often report to people who hold titles such as director and vice-president. They work alone at times and other times they work directly with the Chief Executive Officer, President or Executive Director of the organization.
Career Pathways
With experience or additional education, people in the role of senior financial manager can move up to director of finance, vice-president of finance or chief financial officer.
Senior managers of communications who gain several years of experience or with additional education, can be promoted to communications or marketing director, vice-president or senior vice-president. People in this career sometimes open their own agency.
For other business services such as human resources, being in this job means that with additional experience or education, there may be the opportunity to move into a director or vice-president position or to open their own human resources agency.
Related Careers
Occupational Interests
It’s important to understand what kinds of occupations align with your interests.
For more about occupational interests visit Skills for the Future Workforce > Characteristics.
Here are the top occupational interest(s) for this career profile:
Job Titles
Education, Training and Skills
The job requirements for a senior manager, financial, communications and other business services typically include:
- A bachelor’s degree or diploma in business administration, commerce, computer science or other subject related to the service a company provides
- Several years of experience as a middle manager in financial, communications or other business services area of focus
Senior managers in financial roles usually need a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.
Additionally, the following may be required:
- Specialization in a specific functional area or service, through university training or previous experience
- A master’s degree in business administration, communication, marketing, finance or a related field
Education programs in B.C.
The following program areas are related to this occupation:
- Business Administration/Management/Commerce
- Computer Information Systems/Science
- Computing Science/Systems Related
Skills
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 10 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Talking to others to share information effectively.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Keeping track of and assessing your performance, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Being able to solve novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Labour Market Statistics
Discover data, facts and information that have been gathered and analyzed. Learn about the characteristics of the economy and labour market in B.C.
Employment
Find out about employment types and trends by region and industry.
Employment
8,200Employment by Region
Region | Employment (2022) | % Employment of this Occupation |
---|---|---|
Cariboo | 70 | 0.7% |
Kootenay | 100 | 0.9% |
Mainland/Southwest | 8,820 | 79.3% |
North Coast and Nechako | 60 | 0.7% |
Northeast | N/A | 0.2% |
Thompson-Okanagan | 790 | 6.7% |
Vancouver Island/Coast | 1,150 | 11.4% |
Labour Market Outlook
The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is a 10-year forecast of the expected supply and demand for labour in the province. It’s usually updated every year. The purpose is to provide British Columbians with the knowledge to make informed decisions on careers, skills training, education and hiring.
Forecasted Job Openings (2022-2032)
6,700Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2022-2032)
Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
---|---|---|
Cariboo | 0 | 0.0% |
Kootenay | 30 | 1.0% |
Mainland/Southwest | 5,210 | 2.4% |
North Coast and Nechako | 0 | 1.6% |
Northeast | N/A | N/A |
Thompson-Okanagan | 540 | 2.5% |
Vancouver Island/Coast | 890 | 3.0% |
Industry Highlights
Learn about the opportunities in B.C.'s major industries, including employment trends, earning potential, locations of work and more.
Forecasted Job Openings by Industry
Industry | Job Openings (2022-2032) |
---|---|
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 148,000 |
Finance, insurance and real estate | 50,900 |
Business, Building and Other Support Services | 41,100 |
Information, Culture and Recreation | 57,300 |
Insights from Industry
In addition to the specific skills required to work in finance, communications and other business services, having good people skills is equally important. A senior manager may be called to speak to people throughout the company from the most junior employee to the chief executive officer, and they need to do that in a way that makes people feel comfortable. In addition, senior managers frequently make presentations to a board of directors, to investors or at conferences. They may also be required to attend networking events with senior executives.
Resources
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Canadian Marketing Associationwww.the-cma.org
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Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbiawww.bccpa.ca
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Chartered Professional Accountants of Canadawww.cpacanada.ca
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The Canadian Public Relations Societywww.cprs.ca