Account Director - Experiential

Jack Morton Worldwide • Chicago, MA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Come shape the future of brand experience. At Jack Morton, we design and build head-turning, smile-inducing, impact-driving brand experiences that redefine what experiential marketing can achieve. We help our clients unlock the full value of experiences by turning bold ideas into meaningful connections. That takes a team that's bold, curious, and acts as one. We build on each other's ideas, challenge conventions, and show up for one another every day. Here, you'll do your best work, grow quickly, and partner across clients, disciplines, and global teams to bring new ideas to life. This is a place where curiosity drives what’s next, boldness raises the bar, and every win is shared. Where ownership is expected, egos are left at the door, and the work reflects the passion and talent of the people behind it. Experience without limits—in your work, your growth, and your impact. ability to work hybrid in an office preferred, open to US remote As an Account Director , you will lead one of our most complex, highest-profile B2B technology relationships navigating matrixed stakeholder environments with confidence, leading large cross-functional delivery teams, and holding the strategic and commercial thread across trade show activations, executive keynotes, content production, and international events. This is not a role for someone who maintains accounts. It's a role for someone who builds them. You will own the operating rhythm of your accounts. Not inherit it, but build it. You will design the process your client and program genuinely need, evolve it as conditions change, and never accept 'that's how we've always done it' as a reason to stop improving. You will work in close partnership with an Executive Producer, Creative Lead, and Strategy Lead. That partnership is central to how great work gets made here. You report directly to the VP, Group Account Director. This is a high-visibility role with a clear path upward. We are looking for future leaders of this organization, people who are building toward something, not settling into something. The person we're looking for You are a builder. You look at a new account relationship and see a system to design, not a process to follow. You ask 'what does this client actually need from us' before 'what do we normally do.' You hold strong opinions and change them when presented with better information. You understand that the best client relationships are not the ones where the client is happy with what they got, they are the ones where the client cannot imagine doing this without you. You will join a team that is ambitious, tight-knit, and building something meaningful in a market with enormous upside. If this reads like a description of where you want to be, we'd very much like to meet you.

Requirements

• 10+ years of agency-side experience in experiential marketing, brand experience, or integrated event production
• Proven track record leading complex B2B technology accounts across multiple program types including trade shows, conferences, executive events, content, international
• Experience managing $5–10M+ program budgets with full commercial accountability
• Demonstrated ability to lead large, cross-functional delivery teams across account management, production, creative, and strategy
• Deep familiarity with matrixed client environments and complex multi-stakeholder management
• Experience building or rebuilding account operating models — not inheriting them

Nice To Haves

• Direct experience on hyperscale tech clients
• International program delivery experience, including collaboration with overseas agency offices
• Exposure to global user conferences and trade shows at the scale of flagship tier one conferences, CES, Cannes Lions, Mobile World Congress, or equivalent
• Experience supporting or leading new business pitches at the agency-level

Responsibilities

• Lead large, complex and high-visibility projects across a one of our key technology clients, spanning large-scale global trade show activations, executive keynotes, media events, content programs, and international projects in collaboration with our global offices
• Build and own the operating rhythm for each account, structuring how the agency team works together, how client communication flows, and how decisions get made. Design the process the situation requires; optimize it continuously
• Develop deep fluency in your clients’ business: their organizational structure, their stakeholders, their strategic priorities, and the internal dynamics that shape how decisions are made and how work gets approved
• Serve as the primary creative and strategic champion for the account. Not the person who relays client feedback, but the person who shapes how the agency responds to it
• Collaborate with a cross-functional team of creatives, strategists, and production experts to ensure that all work aligns with brand guidelines, strategic goals, and high standards for quality. Maintain an uncompromising standard for output quality across every touchpoint, from the first status email to the final on-site execution
• Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging formats, and competitive activity relevant to your clients’ sectors, bringing perspective and provocation to client conversations rather than waiting to be asked
• Elevate the role of events within your clients' broader marketing strategy, challenging conventional approaches to measurement and effectiveness, and guiding clients toward creative experiences that set the standard in their category
• Own the organic growth of your accounts, identifying opportunities to deepen Jack Morton’s footprint, expand program scope, and increase strategic value before the client thinks to ask
• Manage account revenue and profitability with rigour: project-level financial oversight, scope management, and commercial discipline that protects margin without compromising the work
• Proactively map the stakeholder landscape within each client organization to identify where Jack Morton’s relationships are strong, where they are thin, and how to close the gap
• Support new business pitches as a senior contributor, bringing client intelligence, account experience, and presentation confidence to the pitch process
• Identify and activate partnership opportunities across Jack Morton’s practices and capabilities to unlock integrated solutions for clients and grow the breadth of what we deliver
• Lead large, cross-functional delivery teams with clarity and intention, setting expectations, removing blockers, and fostering an environment where people do their best work
• Coach and develop junior account team members through meaningful assignment, honest feedback, and active investment in their growth trajectories
• Serve as a model for how to operate at the client-agency interface: strategic, composed, prepared, and always adding something beyond what was asked
• Contribute to a team culture defined by high standards, genuine collaboration, and the shared conviction that the work can always be better
• Foster a team environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, where different perspectives are sought and different working styles are supported

Benefits

• We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at [email protected].

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed