ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – FTC MATERNITY COVER

 We are looking to hire an Associate Director on a 12 Month fixed term contract to join our growing lifestyle team in Fabric.  You’ll be a PR maestro with exceptional expertise across Consumer PR, social and lifestyle big brands with a collaborative and creative mindset and an eye on culture.

ABOUT US

About M+C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment
This year marks twenty years of M+C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment - THE passions agency. For two decades the agency has been connecting brands to consumers through the things people love, making them culturally relevant through passions.

The agency’s clients include, adidas, Amstel, Ballantine’s, Barclaycard, Barclays, Dreams, Google, Heineken, Howden, Jameson, Kia, Lego, Lynx, Malibu, Red Bull, Virgin Media O2 and WHOOP.

With offices in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Sydney, New York and Johannesburg, the team deliver the agency’s core disciplines across sport, entertainment and lifestyle, including sponsorship consultancy, rights amplification, PR, branded content creation & experiential production.

The passions agency 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

At M+C Saatchi Fabric

M+C Saatchi Fabric are a creative comms agency working with some of the world’s biggest brands, developing campaigns that are at the cutting edge of culture.  Clients include adidas, The LEGO Group, Lynx and Bowers & Wilkins. 

The Role

As Associate Director on the Fabric team, you have a key leadership role in the business, ensuring that the day-to-day running of the department and your accounts is as effective as possible, that we deliver strategic and creative work we are proud of and that we continue to grow, both in terms of profitability and agency reputation.

Working as part of the management team you have a pivotal role in leading the Fabric team and driving it forward. You are responsible for nurturing our client portfolio and developing the way in which we operate, to achieve our company's broader vision as well as spotting and growing talent within the department.

In addition to the care of direct reports, you are responsible for the overall agency culture, epitomizing our philosophy of Brutal Simplicity of Thought, growing and shaping client business through creativity and strategic innovation.

About You:

- You’ll be a creative comms maestro.

- You will have global consumer and lifestyle PR/media management experience.

- Broad awareness of cultural trends and knowledge across youth culture, hype, music, consumer lifestyle, fashion and fitness as well as an interest in and knowledge of those areas.

- Apply cultural insights and research to shape and inform work and creative and strategic output.

- You’ll be a leader in global big brand partnerships and campaigns, and multiple stakeholder management.

- You will have strategic planning and toolkit development expertise across global markets.

- You’ll have sophisticated expertise and proven track record in the consumer PR, lifestyle and culture space.

- Strong knowledge of the global and UK media, social media, and digital landscapes.

- First class communication skills, including document writing and presentations.

- Fluent in developing consumer and cultural PR strategies that take brands into the passions space

- A confident and articulate presenter who can and enjoys bringing brand platforms and big scale activation ideas to life for clients and partners

- Experienced in leading across new business briefs and work alongside the senior team to co-develop and pitch for relevant RFPs

What you'll Do:

Leadership:

• Leading by example, you exhibit clear and concise thinking that delivers on the promise of Brutal Simplicity of Thought, conveying a passion for success, attention to detail and outstanding professionalism always.
• Inspiring and empowering our team, nurturing our talent to set them up for success and safeguard the evolution of our work so we can continue to drive the industry forward as well as having a motivated team who are driven and passionate about the work they do.

New Business & Commerciality:

• Cultivate wider network for new biz opportunities: Cultivating a broad network to become aware of any potential new business briefs.

• Organic business growth: actively volunteering ideas / solutions as add-on services to increase fee income; Participating in selling new projects / ideas / solutions to increase fees and ensuring that all additional projects are profitable and well managed.

• Best-In-Class New Biz Responses: Creating best in class new business responses, including strategic and creative development.
• Building a Team for Response: planning resource around delivery of response.

Account & Business Management:

• Accountability: In key aspects of delivery including commercial tracking and quality control of output.
• Status (Internal & Clients): Present and aware of key actions across statuses and advising / reviewing AD/SADs solutions to difficult requests and when required leading on managing difficult scenarios.
• Reporting: Review and input in key agency strategic and commercial overviews.
• Timesheets & Management: Working with finance and leadership team to forecast needs of business and team.
• Processes & Templates: Introducing new templates and processes for projects.
• Solutions Driven: An active approach to providing Directors / MDs and clients on solutions for managing tasks and deliverables.

Finance:

• Process: Have a full understanding of the finance processes and role within in revenue forecasting through billing schedule and % predications.
• Estimate of Costs and Fees: Proficient in estimation of campaign fees and expenses; signing off.

invoices; budget monitoring; management of job bags; tracking PO’s etc.

• Preparing reconciliations: Reviewing AD and SAD and leading with finance to complete in timely matter with audit requests at the core.
• Forecasting: In advance additional budget requirements to ensure not over-servicing.

Team Management:

• Managing multiple cross-functional teams through capacity tracking: working with a large team across multiple projects from AEs to ADs/SADs with experience across PR, digital, activation and/or studio.
• Leading Actions: Oversee and appoint teams for roles and responsibilities, delivery pillars and deadlines and that your expectations are clearly communicated.
• Mentoring: Leading and mentoring senior team members - providing guidance, training and support.
• Establish Strong Relationships: Display strong working relationships with your team, SLT and Studio.
• Resource Planning: Consider brief, scope and tasks and the team required to deliver it within scope to avoid over-servicing.

Client & Partner Management:

• Established relationships with senior client and partners: Committed to retaining clients through developing strong relationships with all client contacts, proactively developing the relationship and being a trusted business partner and respected advisor / consultant.
• Provide strategic counsel to executive-level clients: based on your understanding of their business, its challenges, competitors, and the marketplace.

Strategic & Creative Ideation:

• Ideation Leading: Clear understanding all elements of the marketing mix (from strategy to ‘big idea’ to activation) to contribute complete ideas and partners as answers to the brief.
• Fame Driving Ideas: Constantly strive to develop and execute creative ideas that will deliver fame for our clients and the agency, constantly exceeding expectations.

WHAT YOU'LL GET

For the right candidate, we will offer a competitive salary and benefits package which includes 27 days annual holiday, private healthcare, employer contributory pension, life assurance and income protection.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sees us offer inclusive bank holidays, learning opportunities around DE&I, targeted mentoring programmes and the opportunity to participate in active Employee Led Networks and associated events.

All employee information is kept confidential according to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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