Overview

Must be located in Chicago and able to go into the office in accordance with our hybrid office model.

DDB Chicago is a communications agency dedicated to making creative work that works.

We believe in the power of creativity to create the change we want to happen in the world and develop audacious and famous ideas for our clients that help to grow their businesses and shape culture by driving behavior change at scale.

We are a global network of agencies who believe firmly in respect, kindness, openness, self-expression, and creativity, making spaces for the lived and learned experiences of all our people, and helping them to be the best they can be. We are intellectually curious about difference, embracing change for the better, and are committed to opposing injustice and constantly challenging the status quo. We are a place packed with the energy and passion to make things happen.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, on the U.S. Army account is to be a part of an elite force of highly passionate, collaborative and ambitious team members to create a distinctly magnetic brand that’s impossible to ignore. Making the Army the most irresistible life choice for our nation’s brightest and strongest.

The Account Director is responsible for the day-to-day execution and management of the Agency and client’s projects. This position will report to a Mission Task Lead. We are a high-functioning team that expects our team members to be, passionate, creatively driven and analytically curious about the industry, our work, and our team. 

Responsibilities

Account Directors at DDB are passionate about making good ideas even better, whether it’s creative, strategic or logistical. They are the key day-to-day interface between the account group, the client and all other agency departments or affiliated partners. They are responsible for the development of the brand plan and providing overall direction to ensure it is implemented effectively. 

Account Directors are solution-oriented, always thinking about their business, anticipating issues, and implementing their vision to produce superior results. They are comprehensively informed, efficient and effective administrators, trusted and respected by all. Account Directors play a vital role in the training and development of their team, instilling enthusiasm, and setting a good example by living creatively and constantly encouraging their team to go beyond expectations, motivating and energizing them.

Widely considered the most advanced and best-in-class IAT within Omnicom, Team DDB is at the forefront of performance marketing, measurement and attribution capabilities and provides a master class in both business leadership and modern marketing techniques across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The US Army account serves as an accelerator for careers and positions Account Directors for huge leaps forward in growth & opportunity.

Creativity & Strategy

• Develops a vision for their brand / business – where it needs to go, and how to get there
• Contributes to the client’s growth strategy thinking well beyond execution and the current campaign
• Develops and defends innovative and provocative strategies to solve their client’s marketing and communication needs, both in the short and long term
• Demonstrates excellent creative judgment and inspires creativity in their clients and agency team
• Nurtures and protects the integrity of the creative idea; takes the creative to new places by partnering with the creative team
• Looks for and develops customized integrated opportunities for their client’s business(es), knowing when and how to bring in new resources in areas beyond advertising to open new revenue streams

Productivity

• Have a strong working financial knowledge. Able to develop/monitor budgets, forecasting, and review billing and hourly projections for clients, as a way to help maximize revenue / growth across the program
• Improves agency systems to ensure client expectations are fulfilled while agency profitability is protected
• Ensures resource management is optimized, making sure people on their team are fully utilized, yet not over-extended

Knowledge & Skills

• Builds their strategic thinking abilities by keeping current on industry trends and issues affecting their client’s business expanding their own perspective and knowledge by collaborating and sharing with other Account Directors
• Collaborates with Strategic Planners and plays a leadership role in co-creation process to ensure the development of provocative, single-minded communications strategies that deliver against the brands’ overall growth strategy and architecture
• Synthesizes consumer insights, brand knowledge and marketing know-how to effectively defend and persuade their clients to embrace a strong strategic idea and keep it sold
• Is a thinker and a doer who is equal parts intellectually rigorous and creatively curious, with an instinct for relating a good story and a penchant for making the complex simple.
• Leads ideation of activation strategies for innovative ideas across IAT
• Applies all the principles of marketing and available agency resources to further specific business objectives for both the agency and client
• Maintains DDB’s business philosophy by looking for opportunities to bring the DDB values to life

Relationships / Communication

• Builds client’s trust, regularly dialoguing with clients on brand / business issues and advertising / marketing always searching for ways to enhance the client / agency relationship
• Actively builds client’s commitment to branding, consumer insights, communications strategy, the brand’s campaign and long-term growth strategy
• Knows how to deal with difficult clients or situations in a diplomatic and solution-oriented manner focusing on the issue and not personalities
• Manages up; knows when to involve senior management and when to handle a situation themself

Leadership

• Takes actions, makes decisions, and shapes team or group priorities to reflect the organization’s vision and values
• Initiates and implements big-picture thinking, guiding the agency team to produce superior results
• Leads by example in setting the standard for account team members in work ethic, professionalism, cooperation and organizational commitment
• Coaches, challenges and rewards employees; builds the skill set of their account team and assists with their career development

Qualifications

• 8 years of experience in account management
• Demonstrated financial responsibility and management
• Proven experience in managing multiple clients, a digital native who is comfortable building integrated campaigns and leading diverse teams
• Broad range of experience across business categories and communications media
• Solid reputation, support with examples of; negotiating skills, talent development, and delivering growth by identifying and building business opportunities

What we offer:

• 💰 Competitive Salary
• ⚕️Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans
• 🏝️Generous Time Off
• 👶Paid parental leave
• 🎒Tuition Reimbursement
• 🥕Family Planning Assistance
• 📈Stock Discounts
• 🚌Transit Discounts
• 💡LinkedIn Learning Access
• 🧠Employee Assistance Programs

Please let us know should you require any additional support or assistance through the recruitment process.

DDB is an equal opportunities employer and will never favor or discriminate against anyone based on their age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, marriage or civil partnership, gender identity, expression, or realignment.

This role requires regular in-office presence with a minimum of three days per week, to engage and collaborate in in-person team interactions and meetings as required.