Client Leadership Team Overview:
The Client Leadership Team at Open Partners is the heartbeat of our agency - driving strategic vision, integration and performance through close, high-impact relationships. We blend Media, Creative and Data into cohesive, growth-oriented roadmaps and set the tone for Smarter, Faster, Better across everything we do. This is a privileged team of top-tier talent with drive and ambition who partner with clients to drive true business value and define and demonstrate what Agency of Next means.
Role Purpose
The Client Partner / (Account Director) is a central leadership role within the Client Leadership track, responsible for owning client relationships, leading strategy, and driving commercial growth. You are the day-to-day senior voice of Open Partners for your clients, shaping their marketing and business direction with consultancy-grade clarity, foresight, and influence.
You will lead integrated strategy across media, data and creative, deepen senior client relationships (including decision-makers and emerging Champions), and own the commercial performance of your portfolio. Client Partners are expected to set the standard for how OP shows up: strategic, commercially-minded, relationship-led and relentlessly committed to excellence.
This role is pivotal in defining the future of OP and demonstrating what Agency of Next means in practice - through transformational thinking, integrated planning, and meaningful growth impact.
Role Responsibilities
1. Integrated Strategic Leadership
* Lead the development and deployment of Effectiveness Roadmaps, RISE strategies, Annual Plans and Business Reviews, ensuring alignment with client priorities and OP’s consultancy vision.
* Own the creation and delivery of strategic narratives that integrate media, data and creative into a unified story that drives business outcomes.
* Proactively identify strategic opportunities and risks; bring clear, structured recommendations to influence long-term direction.
* Lead client meetings with confidence, clarity and consultancy authority, setting the tone for cross-discipline collaboration and strategic integration.
* Brief and partner with the Client Delivery Centre of Excellence to ensure output quality, alignment and operational excellence.
* Shape how cross-functional teams collaborate and maintain standards across portfolios.
* Leads a high-performing client team by setting strategic direction, ensuring clarity of roles and expectations, and creating the conditions for integrated excellence
2. Commercial Acumen & Growth
* Own commercial performance for your client portfolio - including revenue, margin, forecasting and contract management.
* Identify and convert upsell, cross-sell and expansion opportunities based on strategic needs and growth levers.
* Maintain ≥95% forecasting accuracy and ensure all scopes and commercials are aligned to roadmaps and strategic plans.
* Partner with Principals on multi-year contracts or renegotiations; ensure commercial conversations are grounded in strategic value and demonstrable impact.
* Understand client business models deeply, connecting OP’s work to commercial KPIs, financial outcomes, and long-term value creation.
3) Relationship & Influence Mastery
* Build deep, trusted relationships across all levels, acting as a true partner and advisor.
* Develop and maintain client Champions who advocate for OP within their organisation and influence senior stakeholders.
* Spend meaningful physical time with clients through onsite sessions, immersion days, planning meetings and workshops to deepen understanding, strengthen trust, and accelerate impact.
* Demonstrate exceptional communication and influence: guide clients through ambiguity, challenge constructively, and align stakeholders around strategic direction.
* Lead or support senior conversations, ensuring OP shows up with consultancy-grade presence, empathy and authority.
* Represent OP with professionalism and credibility, consistently strengthening our reputation and values in every interaction.
4) Consultative Problem Solving
* Use structured thinking, foresight and analytical rigour to solve complex marketing, commercial and organisational challenges.
* Prioritise initiatives and solutions based on business impact; turn insight into action with clear sequencing and decision pathways.
* Lead hypothesis creation, testing and experimentation plans that deepen learning and accelerate growth.
* Help clients navigate change, uncertainty and transformation, bringing clarity, confidence and next-step options.
* Contribute to OP’s collective intelligence by sharing perspectives, thought leadership, and strategic frameworks.
* Help define how AI, automation and agent-based systems should be applied for clients and internally.
5. Media, Data & Creative Fluency
* Demonstrate strong integrated knowledge across media, creative and data disciplines, ensuring all recommendations ladder into business outcomes.
* Act as the single source of truth for the client narrative, synthesising specialist input into a coherent, compelling story.
* Ensure all work across disciplines is aligned, integrated and consistent with the strategic direction of the account.
* Provide structured feedback to Delivery and specialist teams that improves the quality, coherence and impact of outputs.
* Bring perspectives on innovation, market shifts and best practice to elevate integrated thinking across teams.
Your KPIs / Outputs
* Client Satisfaction: NPS > 9 with senior client champions
* Commercial Performance: Revenue delivery to plan; ≥95% forecasting accuracy; margin aligned to target.
* Strategic Leadership: 100% delivery of RISE, Effectiveness Roadmaps, KAPs and Business Reviews.
* Growth: Quarterly identification of qualified growth opportunities; measurable revenue uplift within portfolio.
* Relationship Depth: Multiple documented Champions; influence evidenced in client decisions.
* Delivery Excellence: Strong partnership with Client Delivery; integrated output standards maintained.
* Agency of Next: Leadership in shaping AI/automation/agent vision and OP-wide ways of working.
Role Details
Reports to: Senior Partner
Location: Hybrid
Hours / Days: 37.5 hours, over 5 days per week.
Contract basis: Permanent.
Skills & Experience required:
Must Have
* App experience - ASO and ASA
* Proven experience in a client-facing strategic or consultancy environment.
* Advanced strategic and analytical capability; able to turn insight into integrated recommendations.
* Demonstrated relationship-building and influencing skills across seniority levels.
* Strong commercial grounding (forecasting, budgeting, fees, value creation).
* Excellent communication and narrative-building skills; confident presenting to senior stakeholders.
* A high standard of professional excellence and personal accountability.
Desirable
* Experience working across media, creative and data disciplines.
* Exposure to growth strategy, marketing transformation or commercial modelling.
* Experience leading integrated planning or cross-functional projects.
* Experience preparing or presenting to C-suite audiences.
Expectations for all Open Partners Employees:
* Follow our Employee Handbook
* Live by our values
o Smarter - Aim high, train hard, embrace next
o Faster - Learn fast, adapt fast, act fast
o Better - Think, say and do what’s best
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