Business Director

Established in 2004, OLIVER is the world’s first and only specialist in designing, building, and running bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. We partner with over 300 clients in 40+ countries and counting. Our unique model drives creativity and efficiency, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate deeply with audiences. 

As a part of The Brandtech Group, we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our AI solutions enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision-making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results. 

 

Role:  Business Director 

Location:  London

 

About the role: 

You'll be the person ultimately accountable for the studio's success, measured by client satisfaction, team performance, creative quality, and commercial health. This is a role that sits at the intersection of client services, leadership, strategy, and commercial management. You won't be in the day-to-day detail of every project, but you'll have clear oversight of what's moving through the studio, and you'll set the standard for how the team operates, collaborates, and delivers. 

We're looking for someone with a strong agency background who understands the complexities of working embedded within a major global brand. Someone who can partner with Brand Directors and senior marketing leaders as a trusted adviser, not just a service provider. Someone who can develop, coach, and inspire a multi-disciplinary team while keeping a sharp eye on commercial performance and growth opportunities. 

Success means a client team that sees the studio as an indispensable partner, a studio team that is motivated, developing, and delivering its best work, and a commercial position that is healthy, growing, and clearly demonstrating value. 

 

What you will be doing: 

Client Partnership 

• Act as the senior client lead for the studio, building strong, trusted relationships with Brand Directors, senior marketing leaders, and key stakeholders across the brand team 

• Partner with the client as a long-term strategic adviser, contributing to the development of brand and marketing strategy, not just executing briefs 

• Be the escalation point for any client issues, approaching problems with a solutions-focused attitude and resolving them quickly while protecting both the relationship and the team 

• Challenge the client constructively when needed, negotiating to create outcomes that work for both the brand and the studio, while maintaining a positive, productive partnership 

• Ensure the studio consistently delivers to the expected levels of client service, quality, and responsiveness 

Leadership and Team Development 

• Lead the studio team by example, line managing senior team leads across social, creative, strategy, production, and content 

• Develop, coach, and guide team leads and their teams to consistently add value, challenge briefs, and deliver outstanding social-first creative work 

• Maintain oversight of the studio's work-in-progress and project pipeline, directing teams to deliver without being pulled into the day-to-day management of individual projects 

• Spot potential in your team members, support their growth, and create an environment where people are motivated, accountable, and producing their best work 

• Foster a studio culture that is collaborative, inclusive, and grounded in creative ambition and operational excellence 

Growth 

• Be responsible for growing the studio's offering, proactively identifying opportunities to expand the scope of work, push capabilities, and increase the studio's value to the client 

• Build relationships with senior stakeholders beyond the immediate brand team, keeping the studio front of mind for new briefs, projects, and strategic needs across social, content, creative, and data 

• Advocate for the studio's capabilities in social-first creative, content production, creator partnerships, strategy, and data and insight, pushing to extend the studio's role from production into more strategic and upstream work 

• Identify emerging client needs and market trends, positioning the studio to respond with relevant, compelling proposals 

Operations and Commercial Management 

• Manage the studio's P&L, forecasting operational income and tracking commercial performance against targets on a regular basis 

• Ensure the team works to established processes, while challenging and refining ways of working to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and output quality 

• Oversee resource planning and allocation across the studio's workstreams, ensuring the right people are on the right work and capacity is managed sustainably 

• Report on studio performance, commercial health, and growth to OLIVER senior management with clarity and accountability 

 

What you need to be great in this role: 

• 10+ years of relevant agency experience, with a significant portion in client services, account leadership, or business management roles 

• Proven experience leading teams of 15+ people across multi-disciplinary functions, including creative, social, content, strategy, and production 

• A track record of building and maintaining trusted partnerships with senior clients at Brand Director or VP level within major consumer brands 

• Experience working with large FMCG or beauty and personal care clients, with a strong understanding of how global brand organisations operate 

• A strong grounding in the commercial management of accounts, including P&L responsibility, forecasting, scope management, and growth planning 

• Demonstrated ability to grow accounts and expand studio scope, identifying and converting opportunities that extend the offering beyond production into strategy, creative, and data 

• Experience developing, coaching, and leading senior team members, with a track record of building high-performing, motivated teams 

• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to contribute meaningfully to brand and marketing strategy conversations, not just operational delivery 

• The ability to balance oversight and delegation effectively, maintaining visibility of the studio's output without getting caught in day-to-day project detail 

• A solutions-focused approach to problem-solving, with the composure and judgement to handle escalations, shifting priorities, and complex stakeholder dynamics 

• Experience working in an in-house agency, embedded studio, or on-site model is a strong advantage, with an appreciation for the nuances of working within a client's organisation daily 

• Professional proficiency in English; additional languages are a plus 

Req ID: 16823

#LI-CK1 #LI-HYBRID #LI-EXECUTIVE

 

Our values shape everything we do: 

Be Ambitious to succeed   

Be Imaginative to push the boundaries of what’s possible   

Be Inspirational to do groundbreaking work   

Be always learning and listening to understand   

Be Results-focused  to exceed expectations   

Be actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist across our community, clients and creations   
 

OLIVER, a part of the Brandtech Group, is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected. All applicants shall be considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, neurodivergence, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by local laws.   

 OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability, with science-based emissions reduction targets. Collectively, we work towards our mission, embedding sustainability into every department and through every stage of the project lifecycle.