Director of Account Management

Hello Mainland • Chicago, IL

2d

About The Position

Mainland is looking for an experienced Director of Account Management to lead, grow and protect a portfolio of client relationships while developing a high-performing Account Management team. This is a senior leadership role with direct accountability for client health, retention, growth, strategy and portfolio performance. The Director is responsible for ensuring Mainland understands what winning means for every client, translates those business objectives into clear strategies and ensures the full Mainland delivery team is working against those objectives. The Director will lead key client relationships, develop and hold Account Managers accountable, proactively identify risks and opportunities, and ensure every account is planned at least 60 days ahead. This person is expected to identify problems before they become client problems, bring solutions rather than explanations, and create clarity and accountability across Account Management, Content, PR, Digital and Creative. This is not simply a client-service role. The Director of Account Management is expected to operate as a business leader — protecting revenue, growing relationships, developing people and ensuring Mainland's work creates measurable value for its clients.

Requirements

• 7–10 years of progressive experience in account management, client services, marketing, communications, public relations or an integrated agency environment.
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Proven track record of managing and expanding client account portfolios, alongside a strong capacity to cultivate executive-level client trust.
• Proven experience managing and developing direct reports.
• Strong track record of client retention, relationship development and account growth.
• Experience contributing to business development, pitches, proposals and new client opportunities.
• Strong understanding of integrated marketing, including PR, content, social media and digital marketing.
• Strong financial and business acumen with an understanding of revenue, account growth and profitability.
• Ability to balance strategic leadership with strong operational execution.
• Ability to lead through change, competing priorities and challenging client situations.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s preferred

Responsibilities

• Own Client Health, Strategy and Growth: Own the health, retention, performance and growth of an assigned portfolio of Mainland clients. Establish a clear definition of "winning" for every client, including the business objectives Mainland has been hired to influence. Translate client objectives into clear Why You/Why Now strategies and ensure those strategies guide the work being delivered across Mainland. Serve as a senior strategic partner to key clients and build trusted relationships with client leadership. Identify account risks early and bring forward clear recovery plans before issues become client escalations or lost business. Identify and pursue opportunities to expand client relationships through additional services, scope and strategic opportunities. Lead strategic client meetings, business reviews, account resets and executive-level conversations as needed. Maintain a strong understanding of each client's business, industry, competitive environment and growth objectives.
• Own the Account Operating System: Ensure every assigned account maintains a current, accurate and strategically useful Activity Report. Ensure accounts are planned at least 60 days ahead, with clear strategies, deliverables, owners and deadlines. Use Activity Reports as active management tools to evaluate client health, delivery performance, strategy, risks and opportunities — not simply as reporting documents. Ensure commitments are completed on time and at the quality level expected by Mainland and its clients. Maintain visibility into Yellow and Red accounts and establish clear recovery plans, owners and timelines. Ensure there are no surprises by escalating meaningful client, delivery or performance risks early. Close loops. Follow through on commitments and ensure unresolved issues have clear ownership and next actions.
• Lead the Mainland Conveyor Belt: Own whether Mainland's collective work is moving the client toward its defined business objectives. Partner closely with Content, PR, Digital and Creative leaders to ensure delivery aligns with account strategy and client goals. Evaluate delivery results and data, identify what is and is not working and recommend changes to strategy. When execution falls behind or results are not meeting expectations, take ownership of driving the solution across the appropriate teams. Bring problems with proposed solutions, rather than identifying issues without a path forward. Create clarity between Account Management and Delivery regarding priorities, responsibilities, timelines and expected outcomes.
• Build and Lead a High-Performing Account Team: Lead, coach and develop Account Managers to become increasingly independent strategic account leaders. Establish clear expectations, KPIs and accountability for client service, strategy, Activity Reports, planning, execution, retention and growth. Provide direct, timely feedback and coaching when expectations are not being met. Build team capability so senior leaders are not required to intervene constantly in day-to-day execution. Evaluate team performance objectively and address performance gaps quickly. Create an environment of accountability, collaboration, urgency and solutions-oriented leadership. Model Mainland's expectation that leaders own outcomes rather than assign blame.
• Protect and Grow the Business: Maintain visibility into portfolio revenue, retention, expansion opportunities and account profitability. Identify opportunities to grow existing relationships through expanded scopes and additional Mainland services. Partner with Growth and executive leadership on pitches, proposals and prospective client opportunities. Participate in client-loss reviews to identify warning signs, root causes and improvements that can prevent future churn. Apply lessons from lost or at-risk clients across the broader portfolio. Help identify opportunities to improve Mainland's Account Management processes, tools, technology and client experience.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• Retirement benefits, if applicable
• Additional company-sponsored benefits and programs available to eligible employees

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior