Senior Account Director

The Senior Account Director works within the Account Management team as the key day-to-day leader and driver of integrated communications programs - providing strategic counsel, project planning, campaign direction, financial management and team development.

They will be the lead agency role in ensuring the delivery of service excellence to our clients across the marketing communications spectrum. The imperative is to build premium relationships with clients and industry. The Senior Account Director will also be a key strategic and client business partner to the Group Account Director and will balance diverse responsibilities for client leadership, staff development and service excellence.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

CULTURE

• Leads the values and drives positive internal culture, ensuring all staff and clients understand the agency's values, and what's expected of them in their contribution to a high performing culture
• Inspire and lead in creating an environment where people are inspired, engaged and motivated
• Passionate about the agency's results and the results of their client
• Brings out the best in those around them and invests time in relationships across the agency
• Rewards and motivates direct reports by, allowing them to step up and encourages them to lead their own career development
• Be a champion of our independent CREATIVE:MEDIA agency offering

LEADERSHIP

• Actively involved with GAD and/or GM to manage client SOW and budgets and ensure suitable resource availability
• Teaches best practice account management, setting a good example and sharing strategies for success
• Leads by example when working with other team members showing initiative and demonstrating commitment
• Build individual development plans based on performance and potential
• Deliver highly creative and strategic solutions to drive commercial growth for us and our clients
• Make sure every person on their team is utilised, yet not overextended
• Ensure the performance management process within the team is maintained

FINANCIALS

• Accountable for the financial health of accounts
• Contributes to management of reporting monthly financial updates
• Ensure all project work is well planned, managed and reconcilled

CLIENTS

• Highly involved in idea generation, presentations, research thoroughness and understanding, effective agency team briefings and team building
• Is an expert in their client's category and business, and is able to anticipate issues regarding the overall health of their business
• Thinks well beyond execution and the current campaign and guides the big-picture thinking on the brand or assignment
• Inspires creativity and always works to protect the integrity of the creative idea/work
• Develops compelling, provocative creative strategies that deliver against the brand's overall growth strategy and brand architecture
• Encourages the exploration of innovative ideas, including non-traditional approaches and media options
• Uncovers opportunities to maximize current marketing plans, engage consumers in new ways, and increase customer loyalty

RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION:

• Empathy and decisiveness are core values of the role
• Create an environment where people want to stay and people want to join
• Have advanced negotiation, communication, strategic written and organizational skills
• Outstanding and convincing presentation and consultative selling skills
• Solution-oriented, assertive and resilient
• Have a positive and supportive influence on the broader team at all times

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Tertiary qualification or similar
• 8 years' agency / discipline related experience
• Proven track record in winning & growing business
• Industry expertise and credentials
• Ability to identify clients' business issues and shows evidence of proactively fixing them
• Remains calm and deliberate with work-related stress or by opposition from others
• Dynamic leadership, management and team building skills
• Strong relationship building skills and consultative approach to all business operations
• Detail oriented, with excellent follow through skills
• Strong sense of initiative and ability to work under pressure
• Knowledge of agency functional areas; including research, creative, production, media, digital, media and creative services
• Extensive understanding of creative & marketing practices and new technologies
• A creative, independent, entrepreneurial, proactive "out-of-the-box" thinker