WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are thrilled to be recruiting an experienced Account Director who will lead some of our biggest technology clients across Formula 1 and Formula E. Our ideal candidate would have a knowledge and interest in motorsport and be passionate about creating impactful work with brands and properties. You will lead the sponsorship and rightsholder relationships, as well as the delivery of activations, campaigns and assets across various channels for your client group.
From day one, you’ll be tasked with building and leveraging multiple relationships at all levels, so experience of stakeholder management is essential. Alongside this, you’ll work closely with our internal teams across creative, planning and hospitality, so you’ll need to possess a strong understanding and appreciation of creative and planning processes and output.
To your team, you’ll provide strong leadership and direction, accompanied with a supportive and nurturing approach to enable them to thrive and produce the best possible work. Leading by example, you’ll inspire the team to meet your own high standards. Across the rest of the agency, you’ll manage and galvanise multi-discipline teams to deliver client projects to the highest possible standard. You will report into a Group Director.
There will be opportunities to work across other growth clients within the business on an ad-hoc basis.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Account leadership
- Overseeing and driving financial health of account: maximizing long and short-term profit opportunities, remaining financially aware and ensuring that the company’s profit margin is achieved
- Closely overseeing financial tracking, reconciliation and reporting; providing strategically-driven forecasting, leading in budget negotiations and opportunity recognition
- Setting the standard for team operations, running of the account to ensure that projects and deliverables are in-line with strategic imperatives and delivered on time, within budget and to the highest possible standard
- Identifying and effectively handling any budget or client challenges swiftly and responsibly
Relationship management
- Building solid, unshakeable relationships with clients – gaining their respect at all levels and demonstrating a strong understanding and appreciation of their business
- Serving as senior client partner, demonstrating the relevant expertise, gravitas and charisma to be seen and respected as a trusted leader and point-person by the client
- Developing strong relationships from cross-agency departments, understanding how to best leverage and optimize the services and specialisms available while ensuring resource are used profitably.
Championing effective ways of working
- Leading from the front with a ‘can do’ attitude and proactive ownership of projects and process, upholding the highest quality standards, both in service and deliverables
- Delegating effectively with enthusiasm and context; sharing and instilling understanding and eagerness within the team and wider agency
- Embodying a dynamic, positive, energetic and personable attitude – inspiring others and remaining calm under pressure
- Appreciating and adhering to agency and client procedures and systems, educating your team as required.
Team development
- Effectively managing direct reports, inspiring loyalty and commitment, providing relevant level of support while instilling confidence, motivation and empowerment
- Completing performance reviews and providing feedback on a regular basis – ensuring career progression is supported, allowing team members to become effective, independent and increasingly capable of working well with less supervision
- Galvanizing the team and boosting morale – creating a collaborative team environment, designed to make work feel rewarding, motivating and fun.
Proactive approach
- Actively identifying, creating and pursuing new opportunities across the client’s brand portfolio
- Outlining, writing, designing and delivering major written and verbal presentations
- Leading projects with strategic prowess, accountability, ownership and effectiveness.
- Working with the Planning Director and Creative Directors to produce quality, compelling creative briefing, delivering relevant inspiration, clarity on deliverables and effective project plans to client and agency teams as required
REQUIREMENTS
The following are essential:
- Minimum seven years’ relevant experience within an agency environment running partnerships and delivering integrated campaigns
- Extensive experience of owning and growing positive and effective relationships with senior client stakeholders, resulting in account growth and evolution
- Ability to cultivate strong, professional and effective relationships with staff and partners at all levels
- Exemplary verbal communication skills; ability to articulate clearly and offer a strong, collaborative and constructive presence and personality in client and internal meetings – communicating with conviction, enthusiasm and confidence
- Capability and comfort in overseeing and driving large budgets, showing excellence of financial management
- Exceptional attention to detail, alongside organisational, time and project management skills
BENEFITS
We’re pleased to offer wide range of benefits, including but not limited to the following:
- Core benefits (available from start date) – unlimited holiday allowance, AXA private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, pension scheme with 4.5% employer contribution, Employee Assistance Programme, Perkbox
- Flexible benefits (available after probation) – Gymflex, dental insurance, travel insurance, health cash plan, Cyclescheme, interest-free season ticket loans
- A Flexible Workplace – we have a number of initiatives in place to ensure that our team have the flexibility to balance work with their lives, this includes unlimited holiday and flexible working options
We also run a number of internal programmes to support physical and mental wellbeing, alongside learning and development opportunities to support career development and progression.
ABOUT US:
We’re the global sports, entertainment, and lifestyle-marketing arm of IPG. A collection of 800 fans bound by a single mission: To create work that earns attention.
HOW WE SEE THE WORLD
We live in a world where time is our most precious commodity, and our audiences’ patience has never been shorter. As an industry, we’ve never had to work harder to gain the attention of the people we’re trying to reach. The way we see it, there’s two ways to go about it.
Attention is either bought or it’s earned.
Paid attention ensures your brand will be heard – and that's a good start. But attention that’s earned ensures your audience listens to what you're saying.
At Octagon, our purpose is to create work that earns attention. Through smart partnerships and generous ideas, we compete for, capture, and ultimately earn the attention of those who matter most.
Have we got yours?
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