FREELANCE ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Hello! We’re looking for someone to run air traffic control. Someone who can monitor the comings and goings of the agency and our clients. A person who has almost all the answers and can quickly find the ones they don’t have. Someone who knows how to fix problems and can keep them from happening. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then let’s [virtually] meet for coffee.
Account Leadership
Is the catalyst to groundbreaking work
Establishes account priorities and communicates effectively to team
Provides strategic leadership and road-map for the business
Ensures quality work from every department
Develops strong, motivated internal teams
Works with finance to ensure his/her account is profitable
Ensures that team members across all departments are involved, informed and working together during the entire strategic and creative development process
Represents agency at development briefings
Provides conflict resolution and solutions during conflicts both internally and externally; can be depended upon to maintain composure in turbulent waters
Has a point of view: can articulate it and defend it
Publishes written agency points-of-view regularly – monthly, quarterly
Client Relationship Management
Works with client and executive management to develop the client contract and Statement of Work
Responsible for managing to client annual and quarterly budgets
Works well with clients at every level of a client organization and can hold strategic discussion with the senior most clients
Sets very clear metrics for success with client partners
Has a strategic point of view and can articulate and defend it
Knows clients business/industry completely from a strategic and competitive standpoint; knows business inside and outIs the central figure to client in building their business: recommending and delivering integrated communications solutions
Listens to client; confirms understanding of what is said, and accurately communicates back to client what those needs are, in both oral and written form
Organically continues to provide client with ideas to grow and develop business
Develops supporting evidence for agency POVs and recommendations
Internal Relationship / Management
Is respected by all agency departments, inspires and encourages innovative thinking and solutions
Fosters great teamwork and encourages open, ongoing communication
Actively participates in internal management/training of agency personnel
Provides leadership for the internal agency groups: fosters creative atmosphere
Gives on-going feedback to group
Champions the account within the agency
Supervises efforts of direct reports
Supervisory
Motivates the team; mentors and promotes career development and growth
Ensures that Account Group members are challenged and developing their skills
Demonstrates and teaches junior team members how to think strategically
Holds regular cross functional team meetings to ensure everyone understands the current priorities on the business
Partners & Key Relationships
Account Strategist - Partners with the strategist to ensure the strategic course for the brand is set and monitored for success
Creative development (ECD, ACD) - Partners with creative teams to ensure work is strategic and meets client’s needs
Media (Media Director, AMD, Media Supervisor) - Partners with media team to develop appropriate media strategies
Finance - Partners with finance to foster a healthy financial relationship for both client and agency
Requirements
Minimum of 8-10 years experience managing multiple accounts at an advertising agency or similar
Strong knowledge of the creative, production and media planning process to help navigate and educate clients
Excellent ability of setting and managing expectations
Ability to evaluate work with a strategic lens, providing clear, strategically grounded feedback and suggestions to internal teams
Our first preference is someone local and based in the bay area that can work from our office. You must be on the West Coast. Other States we can work with outside of CA are OR and WA.
Thanks!
What We Do
Just beyond the bridge from San Francisco, you will find the small town of Sausalito. It’s a quirky town with a different perspective on the most interesting city in the world.
There you’ll find our office, full of interesting people. Strategists. Data enthusiasts. Media minded geniuses. Creatives. Natural-born creators. Free-thinkers. Makers alike. All products of the surroundings here in Sausalito.
We don’t just talk about being unique and different. We live and work differently here in Sausalito. That’s how we’ve created interesting work with interesting brands for the last 3 decades.
Things are just more interesting here beyond the bridge.
