[Hiring] Group Account Director - Media + Creative @Dept

Role Description

Group Director, Client Partnership at DEPT® lead on all the cross-functional work we deliver for a key client. We expect Group Director, Client Partnership to be experts in truly understanding the clients in their portfolio’s business, challenges, goals, and SWOT, and have established relationships with the most senior levels on the client side in order to push their team outside of the box on driving innovation/strategy. Group Director, Client Partnership represent DEPT® to our clients, adding value to relationships beyond organizational skills, doing a mixture of account management, strategic planning, and serving as the commercial lead on the business.

Group Director, Client Partnership are expected to be able to develop, negotiate, and manage scopes of work as well as support in leading new business proposals and pitches.

Candidates must have experience managing teams (directly and indirectly), complex campaigns, and high-volume retainers for brands and be calm and controlled in high-pressure situations. Equally, experience with delivering commercial success in an agency model is important. We need people who can come up with big ideas as well as lots of little ones that are framed in a solid strategy grounded in insight and ultimately deliver a tangible ROI for our clients. Most importantly, we need a leader who inspires their team and earns the respect of senior clients.

Job Responsibilities

• Client Management
  • Ability to work in partnership with senior clients to develop annual strategies.
  • Ability to establish themselves as true business partners, thought leaders and innovators at DEPT.
  • Responsible for holding recurring meetings with senior leadership on the client side focused on pushing their business forward, macro goals, industry trends/updates, and new opportunities to drive growth.
  • Responsible for being the primary relationship holder for the client within DEPT®.
  • Responsible for ensuring client satisfaction by regularly communicating with senior decision-makers.
  • Responsible for high client retention and growth.
  • Ability to be a point of escalation on their accounts and effectively solve issues that arise, whether internally or with clients.
  • Ability to reach out to clients directly when service issues arise.
  • Ability to lead new business pitches and proposals alongside leadership and growth team.
• Business Knowledge and Compliance
  • Ability to forecast, reconcile, and monitor client revenue and profitability.
  • Must have a strong understanding of scope management, inclusive of how to track and manage, escalate scope pacing issues.
  • Responsible for financial management of client portfolio revenue, including updating relevant internal financial systems accurately and in a timely manner.
  • Ability to scope projects and retainers within budget and on brief.
  • Ability to productize our services within a proposal and SOW.
  • Ability to initiate conversations with clients around SOW adjustments.
  • Ability to author written SOWs, amendments, and other legal adjustments in partnership with contracts team as needed.
  • Ability to lead contract negotiations and oversee the implementation of commercial agreements.
  • Ability to proactively pursue cross-sell & upsell opportunities to drive innovation, strategy, and organic revenue growth.
  • Responsible for ensuring teams are operating effectively and efficiently towards clients goals while meeting financial revenue targets on accounts.
• Team Participation, Development & Strategic Leadership
  • Ability to successfully work with all craft teams to effectively drive strategies and work that leads clients to the next level of their business.
  • Ability to lead, line-manage, motivate and inspire a team.
  • Ability to craft strategic responses to briefs and the ability to develop a POV on media.
  • Familiarity with DEPT's service offerings & department leads with the ability to participate in conversations for complex projects or new offerings & know who to bring into the conversation within DEPT.
  • Responsible for ensuring delivery of work is to the highest possible standard.
  • Ability to contribute to the creative process by sharing their ideas and experience.
  • Ability to present work internally and externally to all levels of seniority.
  • Responsible for ensuring all teams servicing their client(s) identify core issues, proactively develop plans to mitigate issues from restructuring account teams, have hard conversations both on client and employee side, rally team to overcome challenges, and deliver high client satisfaction (validated via CSAT surveys and regular check-ins).
  • Responsible for periodically reviewing team ways of working and identify opportunities for streamlining or improvement.
  • Responsible for consistently assessing team/client fit, ensuring we have the right talent matched up to the right clients - based on expertise, communication/working styles.
  • Responsible for ensuring new team members are properly onboarded to each account, not just with day-to-day knowledge & skills development, but by providing a full deep dive into each client’s business and priorities.
  • Ability to determine resolution for any cross-channel issues including performance, tracking, QA issues, etc.
  • Ability to resolve any collaborative roadblocks between teams.
  • Ability to settle miscommunication or interpersonal issues within the group.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in roles servicing clients in an agency environment.
• Experience managing large clients, AORs, and agency teams.
• Experience managing complex campaigns and retainers.
• Experience in leading a high-volume, multi-service retainer(s) for brands/clients.
• Experience working on a global brand.
• Confident with both brand and conversion/direct-response campaigns.
• Experience leading, motivating, and coaching teams of 10+ people.
• Experience inspiring, and able to create a proactive and energized team culture.
• Must have strong delegation skills with the ability to coordinate activities between multiple projects without directly managing them.
• Ability to communicate complex messages to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to view the big picture, beyond your immediate role or department, and align projects with company strategy, values & goals.
• Ability to solve problems through collecting relevant information for assessment, understanding solutions & consequences in order to choose a course of action.
• Ability to connect each project to the business world, thinking through effectiveness, efficiency, and consistency within all interdisciplinary projects.
• Strong client relationship management skills, including experience working directly with directors, VPs, and C-level clients on strategy development.
• Excellent project management skills, able to find the most efficient ways of working.
• Excellent organizational skills and high attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills; excellent presentation skills.
• Advanced problem-solving skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Ability to react quickly within a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to remain focused under pressure and work under tight deadlines.
• Proficient in working with data.

Benefits

• Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage.
• 401K plan, plus matching.
• PTO.
• Paid Company Holidays.
• Parental Leave.