Group Account Director, House Lead

Iris North America•Atlanta, GA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Iris is seeking a Group Account Director to lead one of its Houses, with responsibility for client relationships, commercial performance, and team leadership. The role has full accountability for a client portfolio and P&L, leads a cross-functional team, and contributes to agency-wide priorities. The House Lead also serves as the #2 for the Atlanta office under the Managing Director, helping maintain high morale and a positive workplace. The role develops strategic client partnerships by understanding clients’ businesses, categories, and competitive landscapes; providing strategic counsel; leading quarterly business reviews; identifying opportunities; and cultivating senior and C-suite relationships. It drives organic growth and new-business contribution, identifies cross-selling and upselling opportunities, and owns financial forecasting, pipeline visibility, project burn, procurement conversations, and monthly finance reviews. The Group Account Director leads cross-functional teams, supports team development and morale, delegates effectively, and contributes visibly to agency culture and priorities. The role champions creative quality, partners with creative leadership to support work through client presentations, and pursues recognition through case studies, awards, and press. It also encourages thoughtful experimentation and adoption of AI in workflows, research, briefing, and reporting. The position is based in Atlanta, GA, with a hybrid schedule requiring office attendance Tuesday through Thursday and availability for client travel as needed. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States; Iris does not currently sponsor or assist with work authorization.

Requirements

15+ years of account leadership experience at an agency.
Direct P&L or budget ownership experience.
Experience as a Group Account Director.
Experience developing 360 campaigns, including production shoots.
A track record of building senior client relationships beyond day-to-day briefs.
Experience leading and developing cross-functional teams, including people outside a direct reporting line.
Strong financial fluency in forecasting, scoping, burn management, and pricing conversations.
A clear point of view on creative quality and confidence advocating for it with clients.
Curiosity about AI and a track record of adopting new tools and ways of working.
Composure and sound judgment under pressure, with the ability to protect trust and morale in difficult situations.
Ability to work in-office at least three days per week and travel for clients as needed.
Authorization to work in the United States for any employer; the company does not sponsor or assist with obtaining work authorization.

Responsibilities

Lead a House and own its client relationships, commercial performance, portfolio, P&L, and cross-functional team.
Serve as the #2 under the Managing Director for the Atlanta office and help maintain high morale and a positive work environment.
Develop strategic client counsel based on clients’ businesses, categories, market shifts, and competitive landscapes.
Lead quarterly business reviews, demonstrate impact, surface opportunities, and build senior and C-suite client relationships.
Drive organic growth across accounts, contribute to new business, and identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities across the network.
Own forecast and pipeline visibility, manage project burn with Operations, lead procurement conversations, and report performance against plan in monthly finance reviews.
Lead and develop the full cross-functional client team, establish clear roles and shared accountability, delegate, and monitor workload and morale.
Manage risks upward early and contribute visibly to agency culture, standards, energy, and priorities beyond the House.
Advocate for strong creative ideas and partner with the CCO and creative leadership to protect work through client sell-in.
Pursue recognition for the work through case studies, awards, and press visibility.
Experiment with AI in personal workflows and champion thoughtful adoption in research, briefing, and reporting, using sound judgment about its value.
Work in the office at least three days per week and travel for clients as needed.