Business Director

This position sits in our Creative & Media service based in London. We combine data, technology, creative content, and paid media to crack brands’ business problems & drive revenue through a variety of digital marketing solutions. Our clients include Just Eat Takeaway, eBay, Pepsico and Meta.

JOB PURPOSE 

DEPT’s Business Directors help ensure their pods are set up to deliver work to the highest standard and ensure our relationships are structured both commercially and operationally to be profitable for the business. They are responsible for owning senior client relationships, overseeing complex projects and leading teams with excellent communication and collaboration skills. 

More specifically, this person is responsible for multiple pods and the teams and clients which sit within them. Working closely with the Head of UKI and VP of Clients, the Business Director will help the core teams shape and deliver client strategies, identifying areas of opportunity and supporting the implementation of growth plans. Working directly with the Group Account Heads or senior leads to help the teams continue to function in the most effective and efficient way. 

We don’t believe in siloed teams – creative, technology, media and data overlap in all roles at DEPT. This person will oversee the strategy for the Client Services discipline and ensure client teams are working collaboratively to deliver against a single vision and our client’s business priorities. They will represent DEPT® to our clients, adding value to relationships beyond organisational skills doing a mixture of account management and strategic planning, not your typical suit. 

Candidates must have experience delivering commercial success on complex clients in an integrated agency. They must have experience managing large teams and have demonstrated ways of managing cross-functional teams both laterally and vertically. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Clients 

• Lead long term relationships with C-Level stakeholders for key clients. Understand their personal and professional drivers and thus help position DEPT® as a key partner to help meet those goals 
• Support the VP of Clients to develop annual strategies for existing clients - delivering ‘The Wedge’ across all clients; specifically ensuring we incorporate our technology offering. 
• Support the VP of Clients with driving growth across a group of pods, uncovering upsell and cross sell of services within the clients 
• Work in partnership with the Management Team and GAHs to manage New Business requests, proposals and onboarding process. 
• Keep track of overall client health within allocated pods and help shape and implement strategies that ensure relationships are functioning at an optimum level 
• Take ownership for the overall success of clients within pods and wider business where necessary
• Act as a client champion across the agreed set of pods. 
• Spot excellent client work and ensure case studies are shared across the agency and added to our creds deck. 

Strategic Initiatives 

• Deliver agreed strategic initiatives based on overall business objectives for the year. In some instances this will be a lead role with the task of driving the initiative forward. In some cases this will be more of a supporting role and will input in some of those initiatives at differing levels 
• Ensure overall business strategy and objectives are continued to be communicated and prioritised across the teams and agency as a whole
• Proactively identify and communicate other new initiatives, managing those upwards effectively where appropriate. 

Commercial & Finance 

• Drive the business health of the pods portfolio of clients. Empower and support client leads in maximising revenue opportunities, maintaining profitability and ensuring accurate forecasting. 
• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of wider commercial context beyond profitability on projects (e.g wider business overheads, investment, 3rd party costs and client commercial issues that may affect DEPT® relationship.) 
• Support CPD and Management Team on improving processes and systems with Finance and Operations to maintain client profitability at all times. 
• Business development: working closely with management team and department heads to develop a proactive new business strategy, Play a key role in identifying and initiating conversations, creating appropriate materials, case studies to help sell in DEPT®’s offering. 
• Oversee key contract and cost negotiations across clients, support group heads in client commercial affairs.
• Oversee all revenue forecasting and ensure appropriate trackers are up to date across the teams, reflecting the current status of projects as accurately as possible. 

Team Leadership 

• Direct line management of senior members of the account team within the pods. 
• Mentor the team and act as a final escalation point on a set of specific clients. 
• Actively initiate programmes to train, upskill, and develop the talent on the team.
• Partner and work closely with other department leads (ie: Creative, Tech, Media, Design) to align the best team configurations, strategies and processes in order to achieve the best quality of work, while maintaining revenue targets. 
• Oversee the recruitment process of the account planning team within direct pods and support the CPD with broader recruitment needs across the Client Services discipline; work closely with HR to develop clear objectives and development roadmaps for team members. 
• Support CPD with demand and capacity management, help predict skill-set capacity or shortages and implement strategies to mitigate foreseen risks amongst pods 
• Foster a strong team culture and environment of excellence, professionalism, and positive energy. 
• Oversee and input on development of annual strategies with account leads, alongside CPD set up and maintain rigorous processes and evaluation of progress against plans on a quarterly basis, helping client leads / GAH’s to re-evaluate and develop strategies to stay on track and in line with revenue forecasts where possible. 

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• 10+ years experience in roles servicing clients in an agency environment 
• Experience working in a cross-functional management team 
• Experience forecasting and reconciling revenue across the business 
• Experience working alongside a Management Team
• Experience managing large client and agency teams 
• Experience managing complex campaigns across creative, media and consultancy 
• Experience leading, motivating and coaching teams of 20+ people 
• Inspiring and able to create a proactive and energised team culture 
• Strong client relationship management skills, including experience working directly with director and C-level clients on strategy development 
• A solid understanding of the industry and changing client needs 
• Excellent project management skills, able to find the most efficient ways of working 
• Brilliant written and verbal English communication skills 
• Advanced problem-solving skills 
• Excellent organisational skills and high attention to detail 
• Excellent time management skills 
• Excellent presentation 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 

WE OFFER

• A flexible, hybrid working policy
• The choice of medical healthcare providers (Bupa or Medicash) 
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and your birthday off each year
• Company pension scheme 
• EAP scheme
• Ride to work scheme 
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Buddy Program: You will be paired with a ‘Buddy’ to help you through your first weeks’ at DEPT®
• A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021 and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards.
• Awesome clients. Whether big or small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with clients of all sizes and across all industries. And we celebrate all of our successes together!
• The opportunity for possibility. We want to enable you to do what you do best and help you develop your skills further with training, development and certifications.
• Global annual DEPT® Cares Month in which employees come together and donate their skills to support local charities.

WHO ARE WE?

The bigger picture: DEPT® is a pioneering technology and marketing services company that creates integrated end-to-end digital experiences for brands such as Google, TikTok, eBay, ASOS, Zoopla, Twitch, Patagonia and many, many more. 

Our team of 4,000+ digital specialists across 30+ locations on five continents deliver pioneering work on a global scale with a boutique culture. We live and breathe our ‘big enough to cope, small enough to care’ ethos, providing an inclusive, supportive and an exciting place to accelerate your career.   

DEPT® is committed to making a positive impact on the planet and since 2021 has been Climate Neutral and B Corporation certified.

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.

Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine. 

We also encourage you  to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us.

Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.