LIFESTYLE ACCOUNT DIRECTOR

We’re looking for a game-changing Account Director to join M&C Saatchi Fabric. As part of the Lifestyle team, this is an exciting opportunity to join a growing award-winning agency. The role is based in London on a hybrid working basis.

About Us

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment creates change for brands by making them culturally relevant in people’s passions. We forge enduring connections between brands and consumers through their love of sport, entertainment and culture.

Our clients include, adidas, Amstel, Ballantine’s, Barclaycard, Barclays, Coca-Cola, Dettol, Dreams, Heineken, Kia, Old El Paso, UEFA Women’s Euro England 2022, Virgin Media O2 and WHOOP. With offices in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Sydney, New York and Johannesburg, a team of specialists deliver the agency’s core disciplines across sport, entertainment and lifestyle, including sponsorship consultancy, rights amplification, PR, branded content creation & experiential production.

Our work has been awarded across the board, including six-time Agency of the Year at the Sport Industry Awards and two-time large Agency of the Year at the UK Sponsorship Awards. The agency is driven by the philosophy of ‘Brutal Simplicity of Thought’, which has been the M&C Saatchi (UK) Group’s mantra since birth: simple messages are the most powerful, making Brutal Simplicity of Thought more valid today than ever before.

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment sits within the M&C Saatchi Group. Beyond this, the M&C Saatchi global network spans 23 countries with major hubs in the UK, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia and Australia.

About M&C Saatchi Fabric

M&C Saatchi Fabric are a creative communications agency working with some of the world’s biggest brands developing campaigns that are at the cutting edge of culture. Clients include adidas, Lynx, Lego, Coca-Cola and Bowers & Wilkins. The agency are looking for and experienced PR Account Director to join the growing team.

About the Role:

We’re looking to hire a new Account Director to lead on a number of exciting accounts. As an Account Director in Fabric, you’ll be responsible for leading your team and providing direction and council to both the team and client. You’ll be involved with and responsible for developing successful creative campaigns which achieve the client’s strategic objectives and ensuring that work is completed to the highest possible standard. We like to push the envelope. As Account Director you also play a key role in the wider business and should have commercial awareness and an understanding of company business and financial objectives.

About You:

M&C Saatchi Fabric is growing, and we’d like you to be a part of this growth. We are looking to hire an Account Director who is innovative in their thinking, engaging, creative, and financially savvy with the following experience and knowledge:

• Exceptional working knowledge of PR, campaign, and influencer
• Strong experience of the media and social media landscapes
• Love of youth culture, pop culture and an ear to the ground for the latest trends
• Strategic and creative development of client campaigns
• Experience of overseeing the implementation and delivery of campaigns including financial control of budgets
• Client facing experience, partnering at senior level to provide advice and guidance
• Managing teams on both a day-to-day basis and a wider level, using experience and knowledge to aid the development of junior staff
• Playing a broader role in company business including new business and staff development
• Taking an active role as line manager, including managing the appraisal process

About the Role:

Client Relationships:

You’ll maintain regular communication with clients to establish a relationship of trust, ensuring that you are viewed as a source of sound strategic, creative and operational advice.

Consulting:

You will foster and maintain client relationships and ensure that all work delivered to your clients is of an exceptional standard.
You’ll provide sound strategic counsel using experience, insight and professional opinion to shape an informed point of view.
You will be proactive in identifying solutions to problems that arise as campaigns develop, and in pre-empting potential considerations

Strategy, Creativity and Planning:

Play a central role in developing creative campaigns that achieve and exceed the client’s strategic objectives.

Be responsible for the development of responses to briefs from existing clients and, where relevant, to new business briefs.

Ensure briefs are fully analysed/interrogated and develop an efficient creative brainstorming process, resulting in first class creative solutions.

Produce standout written plans, demonstrating good storytelling, strong written skills and the ability to effectively position an idea to the client. Ensure that both content and look and feel are of a high standard.

Work with senior staff to ensure that all agency responses are creative, achievable and meet the client’s strategic objectives.

Team management /Leadership:

Manage team members on a day-to-day basis to ensure effective account handling.

Provide clear briefs and time frames to team members for all working tasks.

Give clear guidance, direction and feedback to your team to ensure they are aware of what they need to deliver and when.

Encourage proactivity from all team members.

Build a strong framework to ensue you are managing your team effectively, 
implementing regular team catch ups and reporting systems.

Manage upwards and flag any issue to senior management.

Oversee servicing responsibilities, ensuring the correct resourcing for each account

Campaign Delivery:

Lead campaign execution, ensuring first class delivery and success against objectives

Be responsible for the briefing of junior staff, delegating and assigning specific roles against campaign tasks and deliverables

Empower junior staff to take ownership of specific campaign elements to further their development and increase client exposure to the whole team

Lead regular internal and external update and review meetings and conference calls

Be responsible for quality control on every element of agency output

Marketing and PR:

Ensure that successful PR output is at the heart of all client work

Display a sophisticated understanding of how PR enables clients to achieve their business objectives and provide competent counsel against their commercial deliverables

Media Management:

Have a strong knowledge of media be able to offer your team and client council on the media landscape and fully understand media’s needs and requirements

Maintain strong relationships with key high level media across all relevant clients

Manage your team to ensure they are delivering rich editorial opportunities

Be aware of all client coverage and articles of interest, as informed by more junior members of the team

Be aware of any coverage issues your team may face ahead of it becoming an issue with your client and deliver effective solutions

Social Media:

Work with the Digital Director to define relevant client strategy based on brief and objectives

Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the social media / digital media landscape – in particular in relation to your client’s digital presence and objectives

Incorporate relevant digital mechanics / strategy into client responses

Help to manage the cross-agency structure (where relevant) understanding where we fit into it from a digital perspective

Develop an understanding of emerging technology and its potential uses in marketing. Use these insights to sell new ideas to the client

Provide strategic counsel to the client based on their social objectives and competitor activity

Proof and approve content for social media created by your team

Proof and approve social media reports and ensure insights and recommendations identified fit with the broader strategy

Budgeting and Finance:

Be responsible for financials

Working with senior colleagues over fee and activity budgets

Understand impact of staff cost on the profitability of accounts and manage resource accordingly

Business Development:

Be involved in new business development including identification/pursuit of leads and leading pitch processes

Identify opportunities for external company marketing and PR

Commercial Awareness:

Have commercial awareness, understand, and contribute to the achievement of wider company business objectives

Approach work with overall profitability for the business in mind

Actively seek and develop new business opportunities

Maintain good business practice on behalf of the company towards clients and suppliers

Account Administration

Oversee AM and AEs delivery of day-to-day account tasks, ensuring that all client- facing work is completed to deadline and is of an appropriate standard
Lead meetings (both internal and client facing) ensuring that they are constructive and efficient

Financial Effectiveness:

Responsibility for ensuring that budgets are correct and are effectively managed

Production of accurate forecast of work for fee breakdown

Ensure client fees invoices are raised promptly after they are signed off

Ensure all client and supplier POs are managed in an efficient manner

What we offer

For the right candidate, we will offer a competitive salary and benefits package which includes a day off for your birthday, private healthcare, employer contributory pension, life assurance and income protection. We also offer a host of benefits that support wellbeing including subsided gym membership and 11: counselling, whilst our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sees us offer learning opportunities around DE&I, targeted mentoring programmes and the opportunity to participate in a number of active Employee Led Networks and associated events. Finally, this role will have a vibrant development offer that sets it up for success.

The M&C Saatchi Group UK has pledged its commitment to create a company that values difference, with an inclusive culture brought to life through equity with an 18-month roadmap of business-wide activity across people, culture, industry and society. As part of this, M&C Saatchi Group continues to be an Equal Opportunity Employer which does not and shall not discriminate, celebrates diversity and bases all hiring and promotion decisions solely on merit, without regard for any personal characteristics.

Your information will be kept confidential according to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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