Account Director

Account Director - 12 month Fixed Term Contract – Maternity Cover

A critical role for our fast-growing agency, the Account Director is primarily responsible for the retention and growth of an assigned portfolio of global client accounts. Additionally, you’ll support new business efforts, develop new agency solutions and assist with agency promotion. This senior client-facing role requires strategic thinking, commercial acumen and a consultative sales approach. The role will enjoy flexible working with a mix of time at home, with clients and at our offices in London. The role requires attendance at our London office every Wednesday with additional in office days as required by client needs. Regular domestic and international travel is required (up to 25–30% during peak periods).

About Us

Cheerful Twentyfirst is a leading creative brand experience agency based in London & New York. Strategic communication is at the heart of what we do, using innovative thinking to engage audiences through game-changing content and experiences. www.cheerfultwentyfirst.com

Client Services

• Lead an assigned portfolio of existing client accounts and secure confirmed business from those clients in line with agreed revenue and margin targets
• Lead new business pitches for qualified new client accounts and secure confirmed business from those clients in line with agreed revenue and margin targets
• Work with assigned clients to identify opportunities for new projects and secure repeat briefs for existing projects, both of which should meet the agreed agency qualification criteria
• Collaborate with agency heads of departments to assign project teams that suit the client and project needs in terms of capabilities, experience, brand fit and capacity
• Brief the assigned project team on project requirements and lead the internal discovery and ideation process
• Lead the assigned project team through the project scoping phase to produce proposals that meet the needs of the brief, the brand, the timeline and the budget
• Manage the client contracting process (Master Services Agreement, Statement of Work, Service Level Agreement and other contract needs as necessary) and secure POs as needed
• Work with clients and the agency finance team to ensure projects are contracted, invoiced and paid in the agreed timelines to support positive agency cashflows
• Provide ongoing support to the client and agency project team as required throughout the delivery phase
• Lead the post project debrief process, identifying successes and opportunities for improvement, and support the project team and wider agency to act on lessons learned
• Lead client account reviews at agreed intervals, tracking agreed metrics across all projects delivered for that client during that period, and identifying opportunities for improvements

Client Strategy

• Be a respected and trusted strategic advisor to our clients, build positive relationships with relevant contacts and represent their brands within our agency
• Build a detailed strategic understanding of our clients’ businesses, industry sectors, customers, revenue models and competitors, tracking these insights through account plans
• Apply strategic thinking to define client communications objectives, profile target audiences, design solutions that optimise audience engagement, and measure their effectiveness
• Contribute specifically to developing the content, messaging and engagement elements of our solutions, working with our internal experts in creative, video, production and logistics
• Create measurement plans for our client’s projects, mapping agreed objectives to relevant metrics, KPIs and data sources, analyse reporting data to draw conclusions about effectiveness and make strategic recommendations for future communications activities
• Demonstrate a strategic understanding of our agency channels and services and be confident in efforts to upsell and cross-sell where opportunities arise
• Use your client and commercial acumen to contribute to the future agency strategy

Commercial

• Be an ambassador for the Cheerful Twentyfirst brand and keep abreast of industry news, trends and insights relevant to our agency, our clients and our competitors
• Attend and host clients at industry events, exhibitions, awards and networking functions and consider relevant industry association engagement
• Identify and support opportunities to promote the agency and our offering through print/online PR and event speaker presentations
• Record all client interactions and insights in the agency CRM. Track calls, emails, meetings and events and capture company, contact, opportunity and sales data ensuring all records are accurate and all necessary fields completed
• Provide agreed management reporting on revenue, costs, margins, overheads and agency time alongside analysis of successes and areas for improvement

Team

• Collaborate with the commercial department colleagues to share successes, learnings and best practices wherever possible and provide guidance and training to the wider agency
• Act with integrity and be a mentor to junior colleagues

Skills and Competences

• Exceptional communication skills and able to develop and maintain excellent personal relationships with senior clients and external stakeholders
• A strategic outlook with consideration for client objectives and online performance intrinsically written into every decision
• A problem solver, curious in nature and able to independently offer pragmatic and effective solutions to problems
• Analytical with a high attention to detail and able to spot trends and glean insights from raw data

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum 6 years’ experience in a client-facing role in a communication, brand experience, or event agency environment
• A successful record of delivering client retention and growth, preferably also with prior experience of pitching for new business
• Robust operational experience across one or more of our agency channels, including live and virtual events, moving image, exhibition experiences and content creation
• An awesome attitude that always finds possibilities and solutions
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally, anticipated 25-30% of the time at peak

What we offer

We’re a global team that champions a culture of creativity and ideas sharing. As part of the team, you can expect to learn from the best, experience an array of interesting projects and work with leading global brands. We offer 25 holiday days, comprehensive health care through Bupa - alongside excellent social perks, a positive focus on mental health, financial wellbeing service amongst others. We encourage applications from all backgrounds. Cheerful Twentyfirst are an equal opportunities employer and will make all reasonable adjustments required at interview and throughout the recruitment process.

To apply, please send a cover letter outlining why you are suitable for the role along with your CV to Careers@cheerfultwentyfirst.com.