Account Director

Purpose
Think about all the things you’re exposed to on a daily basis, but don’t really notice. We live in a world full of invisible impressions. Adding to a sea of sameness where others have deeper pockets and hoping for anything but the expected outcome is silly. We can’t simply rely on reaching the right people in the right places at the right times. We need them to engage with our messaging and ultimately share it in some way. That’s what our team of analytically minded, creative media thinkers work passionately to accomplish on a daily basis for our clients by managing a book of business across multiple clients, while mentoring teams to deliver business-driving client work.

Responsibilities

Essential Skills 

• Build on each skill learned so that you can transfer learnings across interrelated tasks
• Help to enforce an organized approach for your team to be able to complete all assignments effectively and on time
• Foster an environment conducive to collaboration and accountability
• Arrive on time and actively tune into presentations, meetings, training, etc.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and new media platforms
• Identify areas where you can start to lean up and gain new skills that will help you in your career progression

Management and Leadership

• Ensure all team members and yourself have a firm understanding of all agency processes and work with other directors to continuously improve on processes based on the needs of the business
• Ensure that your team is set up to be able to deliver high-quality work and consistently drive exceptional results for clients
• Seek out and identify new systems and processes to ensure that department resources are easily accessible and top-of-mind for future use
• Work with other directors to maintain organizational structure for the S&S team to ensure appropriate staffing levels
• Attract, recruit, evaluate, and retain exceptional talent across the team
• Guide the development of junior team members (identifying strengths and weaknesses), leading training and onboarding programs, and helping Group Media Directors in developing curriculums to do so
• Provide principles and frameworks to guide Media Supervisors and Media Planners to organize the day-to-day management of client workload
• Provide strategic guidance for Associate Media Directors who manage client relationships and internal teams
• Proactively identify and support your team with campaign operations and strategic thinking as needed (client/agency/media)
• Develop an environment that fosters collaboration by capitalizing on the different learning, working, and communication styles of your team members
• Facilitate relationships with your peers in different departments
• Contribute to developing agency and media department initiatives
• Identify opportunities to merchandise the department’s efforts both internally and externally to raise the group’s profile
• Contribute strategic media thinking for new business-related needs and participate in pitches, as needed

Client Relationship Management

• Consistently lead your client(s), demonstrating a two-way partnership that is built on both an intrinsic understanding of business goals and established personal connections, guiding junior leaders on your team to lean into this mentality
• Motivate and provide ongoing feedback to the Associate Media Director and Media Supervisor to continually think outside the box and find new ways to build an action plan based on vague or ambiguous requests.
• Have a deep understanding of your client’s business, including overall business goals, industry/category insights, financial performance of the company, etc.
• Monitor all internal priorities for client work on a day-to-day basis and help the team stay on top of addressing those priorities.
• Regularly engage with senior clients to understand their ongoing business goals, challenges, and marketing needs.
• Look for new ways to expand our working relationship with clients to take advantage of the agency's full capabilities, showcasing the value we bring.
• Aim to visit each client in-person twice per year
• Consistently present to clients, leaders in the department, and the agency, seeking out ways to highlight the team’s work.
• Guide the team through executing a QBR process that demonstrates how our media strategy and execution are making an impact on each client’s business
• Provide guidance on any client requests, presentations, reports, and other outputs of work
• Ensure team is adequately prepared to service client business through proper organization (i.e. Internal Status, To Do Lists) and streamlined communication (i.e. Email, Slack)
• Be accountable for the financial health of the media P&L for each client
• Lead the development of the Annual Media Scope for your clients
• Serve on the Business Leadership Team (BLT) in conjunction with Account, Strategy, and Creative partners 

Plan Development and Execution 

• Oversee and provide guidance on the media team’s communication with all media partners
• Display a mastery of media fundamentals, including experience and interest across traditional and digital, and work to maintain that mastery as the media landscape evolves
• Provide media team with client perspectives, insights, goals and strategies and how those translate to the media plan KPIs
• Demonstrate proficiency with industry planning tools to identify and evaluate media opportunities, assess the competitive landscape, pull plan deliveries, and manage media buys
• Strategically guide the development of media plan recommendations that deliver on the client’s business goals and objectives and be accountable for the plan’s execution and results
• Ensure the team accurately tracks media budgets and expenditures and processes all client and partner invoices and reconciles on a monthly basis
• Anticipate client reporting needs and provide guidance on digital reporting, including the insights, presentation, and story
• Ensure the team is implementing all ad ops processes accurately
• Provide guidance to the team on tagging and analytics, as needed

Competencies

• You are goal-oriented. You know exactly what you want. You’re a habitual setter of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals. And you hold yourself accountable.
• You are insatiably curious. You’re thirsty for knowledge. You want to know why things are the way they are. You regularly ask “what if?” You’re always looking for a better way. And you can’t wait to find out what the next trait is.
• You are a task master. You make lists for everything that needs to be done and methodically prioritize and reprioritize to make sure that it all gets done in a timely manner.
• You are detail-oriented. In a client service business, especially one where you manage lots of money, it pays to have an eagle eye. You proofread your work several times over to ensure that it flows content- wise, is error-free and ready to send onward. (Like we obviously did writing this.
• You make things happen. You regularly put forth new ways, placements, trends and technologies to bring ideas to life in fresh, unexpected ways. You don’t take “no” for an answer from your media partners.
• You are an overachiever. You always do things better than people expect them to be done. That’s just the standard you’ve set for yourself.
• You live and breathe digital. You’re not just familiar with digital media channels, you personally use them, teach others about them and are always In The Know when it comes to the latest updates.
• You always have a POV. You methodically break situations down to frame the real challenge, unearth meaningful insights and piece together well-thought-out recommendations. Thinking analytically is what earns you a seat at the table.
• You are an exceptional storyteller. You appreciate simplicity and brevity. You leverage relevant insights and/or points of tension to pique interest in, and get buy in for, your recommendations.
• You are invaluable to your clients. They trust you. They rely on you and your team to arm them with the information and analysis they need to be successful. They appreciate that you make their lives easier by proactively servicing their business and adding value to every interaction.
• You are a leader, not a boss. You are an advocate for your team. You help them grow and become more successful. You set expectations. You hold everyone, including yourself, accountable (see Trait #1). You explain the "why" of what needs to be accomplished. You show them how to successfully execute tasks and constructively critique the work along the way.
• You defy what is. You know that creative potential lies in identifying and breaking category conventions. You make it your mission to find fresh, unexpected ways to connect with your client’s target audience.

Professional Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge of all aspects of digital media (programmatic, site direct, mobile, SEO, etc.) and a strong understanding of research tools (e.g. Nielsen Media Impact, Nielsen Ad Intel, comScore, Strata, etc.)

Experience
7-9 years of media planning, buying, and reporting experience

Salary Range

Our estimated range for this role is $120k - $135k

Compensation packages are based on the skill level and experience each candidate brings to their role. There may also be a more senior or junior position available that could be a better fit with your expertise. Each level has its own compensation range.

We pride ourselves on competitive salaries, and ensuring pay equity exists across our organization. We benchmark each position against existing employee competencies and 4As compensation data which includes geographic and agency size benchmarks. We also meet with department leaders 3x/year to ensure we are supporting employees in living into their full potential.  Our promotions are not limited to a specific time per year. Promotions are tied to performance.  

Right To Work In The US

You must be authorized to work in the US for any employer.  At this time, we are not sponsoring or providing assistance with obtaining work authorization.

McKinney is a place where everyone can grow. Studies have shown that marginalized communities  such as women, LGBTQ+ and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. However you identify, and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come into work every day.

We are in the office Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on a hybrid schedule. We look forward to meeting you!