Group Account Director (Creative + Media) - Hybrid San Francisco

Dept•San Francisco, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Group Director, Client Partnership at DEPT® leads enterprise/global multi-service portfolios. This role requires a deep understanding of clients' businesses, challenges, goals, and SWOT, and establishing senior-level client relationships to drive innovation and strategy. Group Directors represent DEPT® to senior clients, delivering strategic account management, integrated planning, client management, and commercial leadership. They are responsible for optimizing operational efficiency, designing integrated solutions across practices, and developing future-state strategies with KPIs. A key focus is developing future leaders and enhancing integrated marketing expertise within the team. Group Directors contribute to agency POVs, participate in thought leadership, and introduce innovative approaches. They act as Champions of the One DEPT® model, integrating global capabilities across media, creative, experience, data, and technology for holistic client solutions. Candidates must have experience managing teams, complex campaigns, and high-volume retainers, and be adept at handling high-pressure situations. Experience in delivering commercial success within an agency model is crucial. The role demands individuals who can generate big ideas grounded in solid strategy, insight, and deliver tangible ROI, inspiring their teams and earning senior client respect.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in roles servicing clients in an agency environment
Owns $5-7M+ client portfolio.
Runs client portfolio like an independent business unit
Owns and exceeds multi-account growth targets
Experience leading pitches and driving organic account growth
Experience managing large integrated clients, AORs, and agency teams
Executive presence: demonstrates self awareness, strategic thought leadership, excellent communication skills, and the ability to anticipate client needs and opportunities
Experience in leading a high-volume, multi-service client engagements
Experience inspiring team members and fostering a proactive, collaborative, and energized team culture
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
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
Proficient in AI enabled workflows to advance client offerings

Nice To Haves

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.

Responsibilities

Responsible for ensuring client satisfaction by regularly communicating with senior decision-makers, resulting in 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.
Proactively seeks out in-person relationship building opportunities (e.g., in-person meetings, conferences/events where the client is in attendance) to further the relationship beyond the work.
Identify and support talent, develop future leaders, and ensure high-performing team dynamics.
Designs integrated solutions across practices and innovative approaches across accounts.
Develops future-state strategies with KPIs, demonstrating a keen understanding into the clients’ business and recommending appropriate future-state solutions.
Fosters a culture of innovation leading to case-study worthy work on their client accounts.
Proactively pursues cross-sell & upsell opportunities to drive innovation, strategy, and organic revenue growth.
Demonstrates actions towards furthering their integrated marketing expertise in order to elevate work, cross-sell, and help clients achieve their business goals.
Collaborates cross-functionally between Media, Creative, Experience, and Engineering in order to solve client business challenges.
Crafts QBR outlines and owns the overall narrative for alignment, collecting inputs/content from team members for presentation and organizing pre-read with day-to-day clients.
Responsible for financial management of client portfolio revenue, including updating relevant internal financial systems accurately and in a timely manner.
Ability to forecast, reconcile, and monitor client revenue and profitability in partnership with Client Finance and Delivery.
Ability to productize our services, scope projects, and structure commercial models within budget and on brief - co-authoring scopes of work with Delivery and Legal.
Ability to effectively and rapidly negotiate SOW adjustments & expansions with clients.
Ability to lead contract negotiations and oversee the implementation of commercial agreements.
Mentoring talent to uplevel skills and build high performing teams.
Ability to lead, line-manage, motivate and inspire a team.
Responsible for ensuring teams are operating effectively and efficiently towards clients goals while meeting financial revenue targets on accounts.
Ability to successfully work with all craft teams to effectively drive strategies and work that leads clients to the next level of their business.
Responsible for ensuring all teams servicing their client(s) identify core issues, proactively develop plans to mitigate issues.
Ability to effectively handle 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).
When required, escalates interpersonal issues to the People team and collaborates on a solution.
Responsible for ensuring delivery of work is to the highest possible standard.
Must have a strong understanding of scope management, inclusive of how to track and manage, escalate account, staffing, and profitability issues.
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.
Ability to determine resolution for any cross-channel issues including performance, tracking, QA issues, etc.
Leads new business pitches and proposals alongside the Growth team - owning the development of strong strategic narratives, pricing, and team structure.
Strong understanding of DEPT's global 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 globally and how to position them for success.
Contributes to agency POVs and participates in thought leadership initiatives.
Delivers case-study worthy work and drafts case studies for Growth initiatives.