Account Manager | Account Management | Ogilvy Africa

 

JOB PURPOSE – SUMMARY

The Account Manager is the growth orchestrator and operational integrator for assigned client portfolios in a digital first, AI-enabled environment. Beyond traditional project delivery, the role translates business challenges into data-informed, platform-ready briefs; integrates AI tools to improve efficiency and effectiveness; ensures seamless omni-channel execution across paid, owned, earned and shared media; maintains commercial rigor through automated and real-time tracking; and protects both creative excellence and measurable business outcomes. As the day-to-day lead for assigned client projects, the Account Manager translates client needs into clear briefs, orchestrates internal teams (Creative, Strategy, Production, Technology, PR/Influence and Media/Performance as applicable), and ensures work is delivered on time, on brand, and within agreed scope and budget. The role owns weekly account running (status management, quality control, approvals, estimates, POs, invoicing and WIP accuracy), supports the Account Director (AD)/Deputy Managing Partner (DMP) on broader relationship matters, and escalates risks early to protect the work and client relationship.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

Client Leadership in a Digital-First Environment

• Act as the strategic day-to-day partner to client stakeholders, building trusted relationships and maintaining a clear understanding of business priorities and decision-making structures.
• Translate client business KPIs (growth, penetration, engagement, conversion, brand lift) into integrated communication plans and channel-specific actions.
• Proactively identify opportunities across performance marketing, CRM, automation, content optimization and platform innovation to improve outcomes.
• Use dashboards, reporting tools and market signals to guide data-backed discussions with clients, ensuring decisions are informed by performance and insight.
• Anticipate risks (timing, quality, compliance, platform changes, performance shifts) using scenario thinking and digital trend monitoring; escalate early with mitigation plans.
• Position AI and automation as value multipliers that enhance speed, quality and learning—never compromising strategic thinking, craft, ethics or brand safety.

AI-Enabled Briefing & Creative Integration

• Create clear, actionable briefs that connect business problems to consumer insight and platform realities—setting teams up for strong creative and measurable delivery.
• Develop briefs informed by audience data, social listening insights, search trends and historical platform performance data.
• Integrate AI tools into workflow to improve speed and quality, including research and competitive analysis, ideation support, automated meeting notes/status summaries, and content versioning support.
• Ensure creative ideas are platform-native, performance-optimized and scalable across formats while maintaining brand consistency and creative excellence.
• Enable real-time marketing responsiveness where required by coordinating rapid approvals, production turnarounds and deployment across relevant channels.

Project & Performance Management

• Manage integrated campaign delivery across paid media, organic social, influencer/PR, CRM and marketing automation, e-commerce enablement and broader performance marketing initiatives.
• Build delivery plans that clarify milestones, dependencies, owners and approval gates; ensure teams remain aligned from briefing through execution and wrap.
• Ensure each campaign includes a measurement framework with defined KPIs, a tracking plan (pixels, tags, events, UTMs where applicable), and a post-campaign learning report.
• Partner closely with Media/Performance teams to align creative to media strategy, confirm assets meet platform specifications, and drive ongoing optimization cycles.
• Use project management tools (Asana, Monday, Click Up or equivalent) to manage timelines, tasks, risks, resourcing and stakeholder visibility.

Commercial & Scope Governance (Digitally Enabled)

• Develop structured scopes of work that define outputs, formats, versions, channels, turnaround times and amendment rounds—reducing ambiguity and scope creep.
• Apply AI and/or automation tools to monitor WIP health, flag over-servicing risk, and support revenue and margin forecasting.
• Enforce scope change protocols early by documenting changes, re-costing where needed, and securing client approvals before delivery continues.
• Maintain accurate, real-time WIP tracking and ensure estimates, POs and invoicing are raised on time and match delivered scope.
• Collaborate with Finance to manage debtors through structured follow-up and ensure commercial hygiene across the account(s).

Data Literacy & Measurement Alignment

• Demonstrate working knowledge of core digital metrics including CTR, CPC, CPM, conversion rate, ROAS, engagement rate, brand lift and basic attribution concepts.
• Ensure reporting is insight-led and action-oriented—moving beyond “what happened” to “why it happened” and “what we will do next.”
• Support development of case studies by capturing quantifiable outcomes, key insights, and the role of creativity, media and optimization in driving results.

Agile Ways of Working

• Operate effectively in sprint-based or agile delivery models when required, ensuring fast iteration without compromising governance and quality.
• Break larger initiatives into test-and-learn phases, enabling rapid experimentation, optimisation and performance improvement.
• Encourage a pilot culture aligned to Ogilvy’s “Fail Fast, Learn Fast” belief—test, learn, scale, and continuously improve.
• Facilitate rapid internal alignment sessions to remove blockers, drive decisions and keep delivery moving.

Collaboration Across One Ogilvy Ecosystem

• Coordinate and integrate work across Advertising, Experience (CRM/e-commerce), PR & Influence, and Media & Performance to deliver seamless cross-discipline output.
• Act as the “connective tissue” between data, tech and creativity—ensuring work is cohesive, efficient and built for omnichannel effectiveness.
• Maintain strong internal stakeholder management to ensure clarity of roles, timelines, dependencies, approvals and shared accountability.

AI & Automation Fluency

• Use AI tools to accelerate research, draft status summaries, explore ideas, run competitive scans and structure presentations/decks.
• Apply responsible AI practices, ensuring confidentiality, data protection, and appropriate human oversight in client work.
• Identify and recommend workflow automation opportunities that reduce manual effort and improve consistency and speed.
• Stay current on emerging MarTech and AdTech tools and translate relevant innovations into practical applications for clients and internal teams.

PROFESSION, TECHNICAL SKILL AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Required Experience

• 3–5 years’ experience in an integrated or digital agency environment.
• Proven experience managing digital-first campaigns end-to-end.
• Exposure to performance marketing and/or CRM campaigns.

Core Competencies

Digital Ecosystem Fluency

• Strong understanding of paid, owned and earned media.
• Knowledge of platform requirements/specifications and digital content formats.
• Basic SEO/SEM awareness.
• Understanding of influencer and social media ecosystems.

AI & Technology Literacy

• Comfort using AI productivity tools.
• Familiarity with MarTech ecosystems and digital delivery workflows.
• Understanding of automation concepts and how they support scale and efficiency.

Data Interpretation Skills

• Ability to read dashboards and performance reports.
• Ability to translate insights into clear recommendations and next steps.

Commercial Acumen

• Scope control and awareness of delivery profitability.
• Forecast awareness; understanding of revenue and margin fundamentals.

Leadership & Communication

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Confident presenter with the ability to simplify complexity.
• Ability to manage pressure, priorities effectively and maintain quality.

Performance Indicators (Modern Metrics)

• On-time, on-budget delivery.
• Client satisfaction/NPS.
• Reduced scope creep incidents.
• Contribution to upsell/cross-sell opportunities.
• Measurable campaign effectiveness.
• Adoption of AI/automation tools that deliver efficiency gains.
• Quality of reporting and post-campaign learning.

OGILVY AFRICA – COMPANY OVERVIEW

Ogilvy Africa is the largest network agency on the continent catering to 40 countries with a team of ~900 people across Central, East and West Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi - Kenya, Ogilvy Africa manages a portfolio of over 100 brands for clients such as AB InBev, Airtel, Africa CDC, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Distell, Equity Bank, Exxon Mobil, Kenya Airways, Mondelez, NCBA, Nestle, Philips, PWC, SAB Miller, Sanlam, Total, UNICEF, Unilever, and WWF amongst others.

Ogilvy has a distinctive positioning and proposition that is key for current times, when clients desire a partner to help them realize their growth ambitions or to get back to growth. Simply put our ambition is to be, “The Best Platform and Partner for Growth on the Planet.”

This proposition is anchored on true shared value, what our world needs now, creating human(societal) value; employee value and commercial value. This proposition cuts across our key mega-businesses ABC (Advertising, Branding and Content), Experience (including CRM and e-commerce), PR & Influence and Media (focussed on performance marketing).

In addition, we’ve created proprietary marketing products in areas such as real-time marketing, social intelligence, performance marketing, e-commerce enablement and content hubs. Our unique operating model, One Ogilvy, allows clients and brands to cut the complexity of agency structures and create seamless omni-channel experiences for their consumers, across touchpoints. Fuelled by the holy trinity of content, data, and technology; Ogilvy Africa strives to be the best-practice agency model, for Developing & Emerging markets.

In our 20+ years in Africa, we have won the highest number of regional and global awards for the region including Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, Dubai Lynx Festival, SABRE Awards (Global and Africa), and WARC Effectiveness; to name a few.

Ogilvy is a leading global network of WPP. Launched by David Ogilvy over 70 years ago, it is referred-to as the Agency of Giants, by several industry experts. 2021 WARC rankings named Ogilvy, the #1 creative network in the world.

BELIEFS AT OGILVY

• People need regular OS upgrades: Even the best OS will be obsolete tomorrow unless its constantly upgrades. same is true for people.
• We need more cows than milk men: We are a culture of practitioners, not manager. We contribute before we comment.
• Creative about creativity: Creativity is, and will always be, our differentiator. Creativity now includes holy trinity of Data -Content -Tech
• Diversity is a competitive advantage: New profiles, new skills, new styles of leadership make us a stronger company.
• Collaborative advantage > Competitive advantage: Find partners who are on top of their game at the skillset we need. It’s the only way to scale at the speed without pretending to have all the answers.
• Team Individual: You get a lot more done when everyone stops worrying about who gets credit at the end. Teams Succeed, individuals fail.
• Fail often, fail fast: We see intrapreneur in all our people and encourage a culture of pilots. Test, succeed and scale; or fail-fast learn, learn from the failure and start something new.