Responsibilities

Client Relationship Management

• Build lasting, trusting relationships with both junior and senior clients alike
• Demonstrate clear understanding of client’s strategic business requirements
• Drive internal planning and external client / stakeholder strategic brand direction
• Strong problem-solving ability along with experience of knowing when to escalate potential risks and/or solutions to senior clients and agency colleagues when needed
• Maintain strong control of the rollout of client projects
• Build credibility with client, embodying the agency’s profile and commitment to excellence
• Proactively escalate issues to the Client when needed, thereby preventing project milestones being missed, or budgets being negatively impacted
• Actively seek new opportunities for client business growth and delivering business solutions to client
• Ownership of client work scopes

Project Management

• Provide strategic input and frameworks for all campaigns and day-to-day work to Ensure timeous and accurate execution of briefs and projects against agreed timelines, milestones of development and execution plan
• Execute integrated campaigns in partnership with multiple agency stakeholders, ensuring campaigns work across all touchpoints
• Lead agency collaboration with Production and Traffic Departments to ensure expediency and efficiencies with regards to timing, quality of output, and minimization of pressure and wastage
• Implement, monitor and manage the workflow process as tasked, escalating to the Client where necessary
• Proactive management of all project timelines
• Hands-on project management and leadership of key strategic campaign development, or whenever needed
• Above average attention to detail and strong risk mitigation skills are critical success factors and requirements for this role
• Ensure complete delivery, on time, for all projects
• Always monitor the required output standards by personally ensuring all work is on brief and to the desired quality of level prior to client submission
• Assist with optimisation of internal resource allocation and utilisation
• Solid writing, communication and presentation skills
• Understand the agency’s structure, processes and procedures and actively contribute towards the improvement thereof to ensure output excellence

Financial Management

• Strong financial tracking and fiscal management skills
• Oversee project profitability, ensuring client service team identify, escalate and manage opportunities for cost optimization
• Maintain efficiencies, economies of scale & resource optimisation, ensuring jobs are delivered according to the allocated budget
• Management of client retainer recons to ensure accurate time tracking against budgets
• Weekly management, updating and tracking of finances (CE’s, PO’s, Billings) and reporting to ensure optimal financial control
• Coordinating retainer data with input from 99c Operations for approval by Exco and presentation and negotiation with client
• Handle all periodic recons of hours and presentations of the recons to Client
• Oversee and efficiently manage account resource allocations versus agreed retainers, Negotiate freelancer fees with Client should additional resource capacity be required
• Move, reallocate or rescheduling of projects to ensure smooth and efficient delivery of high-quality work to client when required, to reduce pressure on agency resources

Team Leadership

• Mentor and lead team while driving their successful output of project execution
• Maintain excellent intercompany and interdepartmental communication and knowledge transfer
• Assist the client service team, and the agency in general, in identifying and utilizing opportunities for optimization and harmonisation / integration of the various agency departments, partner agencies, and partners
• Ensure provision and oversight of Reports from Client Service Director and other team members. 

Strategic Ability

• Analysis and input into media plans and schedules, evaluating and assisting with strategic media decisions whenever necessary
• Actively seek relevant research and insights to contribute to creative and strategic development

Individual and Team Development

• Actively pursue opportunities to learn and grow within the portfolio
• Live shared values and core behaviours of the agency
• Act as a role model for both the account management team, as well as the broader agency, always embodying the agency’s values
• Motivate, inspire, mentor and lead the client service team by active engagement and support
• Support knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing, and upskilling through relevant & appropriate learning / teaching channels
• Strive to learn and grow, pro-actively seek opportunities and become involved in projects outside of allocated tasks

Qualifications and Skills:

• Relevant industry qualification (i.e. Advertising / Marketing / Business Management)
• Minimum 10 years’ advertising agency experience
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in Group Account Director role with a blue-chip brand
• Experience in Retail is preferable.
• Extensive experience of managing CE’s; PO’s; billings; and retainers
• Prior experience of working with traditional and digital media plans and strategies
• Excellent command of the English language (both written and verbal)
• Excellent command of Microsoft O365 suite, including MS Word; MS PowerPoint; and MS Excel
• Passionate about the advertising and communications industry
• Have the ability to work on integrated omni-channel platforms.
• Proven ability to multi-task while staying cool and calm
• Diligent, accurate and strong communication skills
• A team player who loves a challenge, leads by example and takes initiative, never relinquishing ownership of the outcome
• Reliable; solutions-driven mindset; and industrious
• Highly organised; strong attention to detail; systematic way of working
• Acute sense of responsibility and accountability
• Self-motivated; self-disciplined; self-starter and efficient
• Works independently and collaboratively with key teammates
• Curious and hungry to learn and grow – always willing to try something new and proactively seek new solutions
• Thrive in an ever-changing environment
• A keen eye for detail and a drive for perfection
• The ability to remain calm under pressure
• Deadline awareness and ability to handle all kinds of pressure
• Fearless when it comes to accountability – owning personal and team errors and fixing them to come back stronger
• Genuine passion for clients and client service, motivated by a desire to add value to your clients’ business
• Be willing to get your hands dirty.
• A sense of humour and ability to celebrate the small stuff