Market Type (EM)

Summary

Account Director

Adlucent is looking for its next great Account Director to drive team and client success. Account Directors have a leadership role leading a squad, responsible for overseeing and optimizing multiple client accounts and account teams. Account Directors are considered the CEO of their book of business and are responsible for retaining clients, identifying risks and upsell opportunities. The primary responsibility of Account Directors is to ensure our client relationships are prosperous and to have a good pulse on strengths, risks, opportunities and threats.

About the role:

Client Relationship Ownership

• Strategic Partnership: Serve as the main point of contact between the agency and the client, building and maintaining strong relationships.
• Consultation: Provide strategic marketing advice to clients, understanding their business objectives and translating these into digital marketing strategies.
• Account Expansion: Look for opportunities to grow existing client accounts through additional services and offerings.

Account Oversight

• Objective Setting: Work closely with clients to understand and define their key business objectives and translate them into measurable goals.
• KPI Monitoring: Regularly track (KPIs) to ensure campaigns are aligned with client objectives.
• Proactive Management: Identify any potential risks or issues that could impact account performance or client satisfaction and take immediate corrective action.

Team Leadership

• Team Coordination: Oversee and direct the work of Account Supervisors, Account Managers, and other team members.
• Talent Development: Foster the growth of team members through mentorship and coaching.
• Team Assignments: Ensure the right team members are allocated to specific tasks and projects, maximizing efficiency and utilization.

Key Responsibilities (Client & Performance Management):

• Client Management: Serve a point of escalation and have a solid understanding of client’s expectations and needs. 
• Strategy Development: Collaborate with clients to develop advanced paid search strategies aligned with their business goals, including budget allocation, audience targeting, and campaign structure.
• Team Leadership: Provide guidance, mentorship, and support to Account Supervisors, assisting in their professional development and growth.
• Performance Analysis: Utilize advanced analytics and reporting tools to assess campaign performance, providing clients with insights and recommendations for improvement.
• How to recognize performance declines and trends worth escalating (good or bad)
• Process for monitoring account performance effectively
• Ability to audit and brainstorm on any account, and make recommendations for improvement. 
• Ability to prioritize those activities that will make the biggest impact and form an action plan.
• Budget Allocation: Manage budgets effectively to ensure optimal utilization of clients' advertising spend across platforms such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, and others.
• Strategic Planning: Stay at the forefront of industry trends and emerging technologies, integrating new strategies and tactics to maintain a competitive edge.
• Client Reporting: Generate comprehensive reports summarizing campaign performance and present findings to clients, highlighting key achievements and areas for growth.
• Quality Control: Ensure adherence to best practices and compliance with industry standards, maintaining the highest level of quality in all campaigns.

Key Responsibilities (People Management)

• Team Leadership: Provide clear direction, vision, and goals to team members, including motivating and inspiring the team to achieve their best performance and fostering a positive and inclusive team culture.
• Performance Management: Set clear performance expectations and KPIs for team members. Conduct regular performance reviews and provide constructive feedback. Recognize and reward high performance and address performance issues promptly.
• Communication:
• Maintain open and transparent communication within the team and with upper management.
• Act as a bridge between the team and higher levels of the organization.
• Ensure that team members are well-informed about company goals and changes.
• Coaching and Development:
• Identify team members' strengths and areas for growth.
• Provide coaching and mentorship to help team members develop their skills and careers.
• Support learning and development opportunities for the team.
• Ensure Performance Reviews are thoughtfully conducted, constructive, in-depth and delivered on time
• Recruitment and Onboarding:
• Participate in the recruitment process by interviewing and selecting new team members.
• Facilitate smooth onboarding for new hires, ensuring they feel welcome and prepared to succeed.
• Conflict Resolution:
• Address conflicts and interpersonal issues within the team promptly and professionally.
• Mediate disputes and find solutions that promote collaboration and harmony.
• Resource Management:
• Manage team resources efficiently, including budgets, equipment, and workspace.
• Allocate tasks and projects effectively based on team members' skills and capacity.
• Goal Setting and Planning:
• Collaborate with upper management to set team goals aligned with the organization's objectives.
• Develop action plans and strategies to achieve these goals.
• Compliance and Policy Adherence:
• Ensure team members adhere to company policies, procedures, and ethical standards.
• Promote a safe and compliant work environment.
• Innovation and Continuous Improvement:
• Encourage innovation and creativity within the team.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement and efficiency gains.
• Crisis Management:
• Be prepared to lead and support the team during crises or emergencies.
• Maintain composure and make informed decisions in high-pressure situations.
• Team Building:
• Organize team-building activities and events to strengthen team cohesion.
• Foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie among team members.
• Emotional Intelligence:
• Exhibit emotional intelligence by understanding and empathizing with team members' feelings and needs.
• Demonstrate empathy and active listening skills.
• Diversity and Inclusion:
• Promote diversity and inclusion within the team.
• Ensure equitable treatment of all team members.
• Reporting and Documentation:
• Keep records of team performance, achievements, and issues.
• Generate reports for upper management as needed.
• Change Management:
• Effectively manage and guide the team through organizational changes and transitions

About you: 

You care deeply about client service and growing the people on your team, with exceptional attention to detail — and you’ve done it before in a fast-paced environment. You're compassionate and trustworthy, communicate and collaborate effectively, and have high standards for yourself and others. You're unafraid to make mistakes, learn from them and avoid making them again. You ask questions and accept constructive criticism. You're self-driven, enthusiastic and embrace change.

Additionally, you have:

• 5 years account or management experience in paid search advertising with million dollar plus annual budgets
• Extensive experience with search, shopping ads and PMAX campaigns, display, and Video
• Experience with feed management, local inventory ads, PMAX local, and offline conversion data such as store visits and store sales
• Proven people manager skills developing employees and optimizing organizational effectiveness, including a minimum of five years building and leading teams
• Experience managing client relationships with an aptitude for growing a book of business and forecasting financials
• Strong communication and presentation skills, able to clearly and effectively articulate business and marketing strategies, able to pitch proposals and influence clients
• Ability to draw critical analysis from data and make specific recommendations – i.e. adapted to change strategies and recommendations based on data sets
• Experience managing and developing career growth of direct/indirect reports
• Experience setting the strategic direction of complex digital advertising campaigns (retail vertical preferred) 
• Ability to effectively communicate with clients via email, phone, video conference, and/or on-site as needed
• Technical understanding of digital performance marketing including tracking and attribution methods
• Strong organizational, communication, and project management skills, including balancing competing priorities and trade offs
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word & Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides
• Google Certification (Fundamentals), Analytics and Google Ads Certification

Bonus if you have:

• Experience managing paid social, programmatic/display, and/or retail media programs and/or leading teams across these channels
• Retail experience includes but is not limited to: eCommerce; merchandising and promotions; multi-channel marketing; branding
• Strong technical skills around website analytics tools, URLs (structure, parameters, encoding), Javascript, and HTML
• Agency management experience

About Us: 

• Adlucent is the performance marketing agency that proves outperformance has no limit. Powered by our purpose-built platform, Deep SearchTM, Adlucent unifies the best of human and machine for a scientific approach to marketing. We work transparently in partnership with B2C and B2B retailers and brands to create custom, predictive programs that drive ever-better outcomes. Our services include paid search, shopping, social, Amazon, display media, video, performance creative, consulting, and measurement. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Adlucent is part of Advantage Solutions and ranked one of the top marketing companies in the U.S. by AdAge.
• Our Mission: Inspire the problem-solvers of tomorrow to reimagine client outcomes
• Our Vision: Lead the industry evolution toward always-relevant marketing

• Our Values:

• LEAD WITH EMPATHY: We champion kindness and authenticity – forging caring connections that embrace diversity, fuel inclusion, and ignite individual leadership.
• MAKE $#%& HAPPEN: We solve problems efficiently. We know when to iterate and when to innovate. Some days we get to win and some days we get to learn.
• OUTPERFORM TOGETHER: We unite our strengths to achieve success, collectively. Celebrating breakthroughs, supporting growth, we thrive as one.
• Location: Adlucent is a remote-forward digital performance marketing agency headquartered in Austin, TX

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive Full-Time Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life)
• 401(k) with Company Match 
• Training and Career Development
• Generous Paid Time-Off and Flexible Schedules 
• Named “Best Places to Work 2022” by Built In Austin

Adlucent does not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters.

Job Will Remain Open Until Filled

Responsibilities

The Company is one of North America’s leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The Company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

Position Summary

The Account Director is responsible for overseeing performance of the Account Services team within Client Services. S/he focuses on achieving key departmental KPIs and success metrics while empowering and encouraging team members to develop innovative strategies for attaining performance. S/he is responsible for analyzing on-going account performance and adjusting priorities, goals, and activities based on results. The Account Director organizes and leads cross-functional teams across a range of high-complexity projects, which may include organizational and process design, departmental roadmap development, business development, and client engagement.

The Account Director shares responsibility for the management of the Senior Account Management team. S/he plays a pivotal part in honing each team member’s people management skills and aiding in overall career development. The Account Director oversees team interactions and dynamics of Account Services as a whole, serving as an escalation point for account and team member-related issues, concerns, and suggestions.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Fosters a high performance and high-quality environment so Adlucent achieves excellent results for our clients
• Coaches people managers in Account Services on leading teams effectively while also driving employee engagement
• Collaborates with the leadership team to develop, track, and achieve departmental goals
• Oversees department performance as measured against major KPIs and goals; monitors trends to proactively identify risks and opportunities
• Owns resource allocation and planning decisions for the Account Services team
• Manages Account Services employee relations, working in conjunction with People & Culture to facilitate teamwork and address questions and conflicts
• Responsible for Account Services financial management, including client forecasting/projections, budgets, and billing 

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Direct Reports- Hires, retains, trains, coaches, guides, directs, and develops direct reports using company-wide processes, tools and resources

Indirect Reports- May delegate work of others and provide guidance, direction and mentoring to indirect reports

Travel and/or Driving Requirements:

- Travel and Driving are not essential duties or functions of this job

Minimum Qualifications

The following are the minimum job-related qualifications which an individual needs in order to successfully perform the essential duties and responsibilities of the job

Education Level: (Required): Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience

Field of Study/Area of Experience: 7 years of experience in Account Management

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

• 7 years account or management experience in PPC advertising, preferably managing multi-million dollar budget SEM programs through Google AdWords and Bing Ads
• Proven people manager skills developing employees and optimizing organizational effectiveness, including a minimum of two years building and leading teams
• Strong track record of delivering outstanding service to clients, both internal and external, as well as business results and ROI
• Demonstrated ability to improve existing systems and implement new structures to build an effective learning environment
• Ability to communicate complex data with clarity and simplicity
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Keen eye for excellent client service and account performance

Nice to have:

• Retail experience, including but not limited to: eCommerce; merchandising and promotions; multi-channel marketing; branding

Environmental & Physical Requirements:

Office / Sedentary Requirements: Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job.

Office / Non-Sedentary Requirements:Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work may be performed in an office or warehouse environment. Typically requires the ability to spend 66% hours each work day doing the following activities: stand for extended periods of time, walk, bend, stoop, or climb. May have possible exposure to dust, and may require the ability to lift and/or push up to 50 pounds 33% - 66% of the time.

Additional Information Regarding The Company Job Duties and Job Descriptions Job duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other manager related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job position or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law. The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.

Any estimate, schedule, or guideline provided to associates in this job description or elsewhere in connection with their jobs is only intended to help describe job duties and for planning purposes. Regardless of any such estimate, schedule, or guideline, associates must always record all time worked for our company (which includes but is not limited to on-site work time in an assigned store, office, or other work location; required waiting time; administrative time; and work-related travel time).

Important Information

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of associates so classified.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.