Strategic Account Director, Media Buying

829 Studios•Boston, MA

1d•$145,000 - $185,000•Remote

About The Position

The Strategic Account Director is the senior relationship and strategy owner for one to two of 829’s most important enterprise advertisers — high-value clients running 6- to 7-figure monthly media budgets across CTV, OLV, display, native, audio, and emerging digital channels. The role sits within 829’s Enterprise Media Buying practice and serves as the executive-level point of contact for client leadership, including CMOs, VPs of Marketing, and senior media decision-makers. This is a true player/coach role. You are accountable for the relationship, the strategy, and the commercial outcomes — and equally accountable for the day-to-day quality of the work. Early in the role you will operate with a deliberately lean, integrated team supporting a single high-value account. As the practice and your portfolio scale, dedicated resources scale alongside it — but the standard does not change. This role owns net revenue retention, and the long-term trajectory of every account on its desk. The Strategic Account Director is part executive sponsor, part strategic advisor, and part commercial owner — the person clients trust to translate media performance into business outcomes, and the person 829 trusts to grow these relationships into multi-year, performance-accountable partnerships.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in agency client services, account leadership, or strategic account management with a focus on performance media or programmatic buying
Demonstrated history of owning enterprise client relationships at significant scale, with clear ownership of retention, expansion, and revenue outcomes
Direct experience leading clients through programmatic media strategy — CTV, OLV, display, native, audio — at the executive level
Working fluency (not necessarily hands-on execution) in major DSPs (The Trade Desk, DV360, Amazon DSP, Xandr, or similar), supply-path optimization, attribution and incrementality frameworks, and brand safety standards
Proven track record of driving NRR and expansion within named enterprise accounts
Comfort operating as a player/coach — willing to lead the relationship and stay close to the work, with the maturity to scale that posture as a team grows around them
Experience navigating complex client organizations — multi-stakeholder structures, procurement cycles, brand and category gates, longer planning horizons
Exceptional executive communication, presentation, and storytelling skills; comfort presenting to C-suite
Experience leading integrated teams without direct authority — strategists, creative, analytics, project management
Comfort in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment; agency or consulting background strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior strategic lead and executive point of contact for one to two high-value enterprise clients
Build and sustain trusted partnerships with C-suite, VP-level, and senior marketing leadership at the client organization
Lead executive-level conversations including QBRs, annual planning, business reviews, strategic planning sessions, and renewal discussions
Act as the primary escalation point for complex client, operational, or strategic concerns
Connect media performance — across CTV, OLV, display, native, audio, and emerging channels — to client business objectives, marketing organization priorities, and broader commercial outcomes
Maintain a high standard of executive communication, professionalism, and relationship management across all client interactions
Develop and lead long-term account strategy across the full programmatic stack, in close partnership with the assigned media strategist, media buyers, operating leadership, and analyst(s).
Translate performance insights and analytics into actionable, executive-ready recommendations
Anticipate organizational shifts, market changes, and competitive pressures that may impact client priorities or partnership health
Guide clients through annual and quarterly planning cycles, budget reallocations, and channel expansion conversations (e.g., CTV scale-up, retail media, audio, DOOH)
Ensure agency recommendations align with enterprise client realities — approval structures, brand safety standards, measurement frameworks, and procurement timelines
Stay fluent in the broader programmatic landscape — DSP changes, supply-path optimization, privacy regulation, attention metrics, AI-driven optimization — and translate the implications into client strategy
Own retention, NRR, and account satisfaction across the assigned portfolio
Identify and convert strategic growth opportunities tied to client business needs, performance trends, and evolving media priorities
Lead scope expansion conversations — additional channels, increased budgets, adjacent service lines — in partnership with practice leadership
Own renewal strategy and forecasting; partner with agency leadership on commercial planning, pricing, and structural agreement evolution
Co-own the client’s staffing and resource budget — making intentional, accountable decisions about how dedicated and shared resources are deployed in service of client outcomes and engagement profitability
Maintain visibility into engagement profitability, resource allocation, and delivery quality across the account
Operate as a player/coach on the account — leading the relationship and the strategy while remaining directly involved in the work
Hold accountability for delivery quality, on-time execution, and integrated work product across media strategy, buying, creative, and analytics
Own day-to-day meetings and client communication, in conjunction with project management and media strategists.
Set the cadence, the standards, and the priorities for the integrated team supporting the account; create the conditions for a focused, distraction-free team
Scale the engagement model thoughtfully as the book of business grows — bringing on additional dedicated resources as account complexity warrants, never ahead of need
Escalate and resolve operational risks, delivery challenges, and stakeholder concerns proactively
Help establish scalable best practices for senior-led, performance-accountable account leadership as the practice grows