Role Summary
Account Director within the Client Services Team at Havas Play, focusing on social to deliver multi‑market social‑first campaigns for clients in the entertainment and retail spaces.
Purpose of Role
The Account Director is the most senior day‑to‑day account lead, responsible for delegating work, tracking outputs and ensuring client satisfaction, retention, and growth. They are process‑driven, commercially minded and solutions‑focused, leading on cross‑agency projects and managing the team’s workload.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee multiple accounts and increased workloads, delegating tasks both upward and downward.
- Maintain high work standards while handling multiple clients and projects simultaneously under pressure.
- Lead senior client communication, including monthly check‑ins, future planning, growth identification, scope discussions, team performance and more.
- Drive projects forward, bringing in wider agency expertise and ensuring all stakeholders are factored into project timelines.
- Connect teams within the business to deliver on client work and support capacity management of account teams.
- Develop strong creative and corporate writing skills for client proposals, reports, toolkits and case studies.
- Adapt communications to client and team needs, communicating verbally and in writing clearly and concisely.
- Show confidence in client presentations, pitching ideas and selling concepts.
- Maintain high standards of communication and presentation across teams.
- Stay positive, proactive and solutions‑driven, anticipating problems and being in the day‑to‑day work.
- Hold accountability for day‑to‑day operations while empowering senior team members.
- Be approachable, accessible and challenge agency views responsibly.
- Work fluidly with strategy, insights, creative and production departments, following their processes.
- Manage line reports, supporting their development and objectives.
- Champion agency processes, interrogate briefs creatively and articulate ideas confidently.
- Lead brief, insight, strategy and creative briefing, delegating to teams and collaborating with business leads.
- Demonstrate clear strategic thinking aligned with client objectives.
- Understand brief response structure, campaign execution and administration.
- Oversee rights activation, live events, content generation, influencer engagement and supplier coordination.
- Write scopes, negotiate with clients (with MP support) and ensure right team capacity.
- Maintain motivation of the team and keep them aligned on objectives.
- Oversee administrative processes including status reports, campaign reporting and budget trackers.
- Understand client business to advise, challenge and upsell.
- Stay abreast of industry innovations for proactive ideation.
- Identify ways to grow clients organically, nurturing industry contacts and pursuing new opportunities.
- Deliver on 10% YOY organic growth targets and generate performance reports for senior management.
- Drive new business pitches, understanding briefs, galvanising teams and delivering on time.
- Manage day‑to‑day running of the team, arranging regular status meetings and check‑ins.
- Continuously assess teams and distribute work.
- Plan and communicate expectations, ensuring on‑time delivery and budget control.
- Monitor finance processes: build/negotiating SOWs, track hours/revenue, process POs and invoices, and drive account profitability.
Qualifications & Experience
- Minimum 2 years experience as a Senior Account Manager within a Social Media Agency.
- Experience across online and offline social with entertainment clients.
- Solid experience managing a busy team.
- Varied and tested experience in professional client relationship management.
- High level of budgeting and finance management experience.
- Significant experience managing multiple projects simultaneously.
- Enthusiastic and positive approach to challenges.
- Resourceful and proactive in dealing with issues.
- Ability to plan and strategise at a senior level.
- Persuasive and confident approach to creative projects.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Effective team management capabilities.
- High attention to detail.
