Associate Director, Client Operations

The Client Operations department manages client-specific operational tasks across practice area within the agency, working closely with Strategy, Investment, HR, Finance, Invoice Reconciliation, and Agency Administration & Compliance. We centralize and standardize fundamental work required across all pieces of business, as well as bring tactical and detail-oriented work streams together to find smarter, faster ways of working. We create a space for those whose strengths include being highly organized problem-solvers. We help differentiate Collective from our competitors and provide a critical foundation for the agency.

The Associate Director, Client Operations will be part of a growing Client Operations team on a well-known client. This position has tremendous learning potential and provides the opportunity to work on a high-energy, highly visible account.

The Associate Director is responsible for training and developing individuals on the necessary media systems and relative processes within Project Management, Budgets and Compliance to drive company and client goals. This includes the ability to work across agency and clients while successfully owning tasks various projects. They are masters in the use of current media systems and have complete understanding of overall processes, policies, and procedures related to Budgets & Compliance. This individual has experience and proven success in this area to qualify for this position.

• Work with Director on team roles and responsibilities, prioritizing key projects across the team, and with special requests or projects as needed
• Manage Supervisor and Sr. Associate’s workload; ensuring all tasks are completed within required timelines and client-specific billing procedures work within system expectations to meet client needs
• Confirm accuracy of work completed by Supervisor/ Sr. Associates
• Lead Supervisor and Sr. Associate’s career development via teaching tasks and coaching skills
• Maintain positive relationships with agency contacts, system contacts, and clients
• Lead and steward key processes such as monthly billing and financials reporting, which involve multiple agency teams
• Periodically check emails to respond to urgent issues after close of business
• Create, enforce, and refine processes related to billing verification, financially reporting, and audit compliance
• Lead team responsible delivering various financial documents such as authorizations, billing & budget files, and ordered vs approved reporting
• Attend Agency system trainings/meetings (i.e. MediaOcean, MediaTools, etc.)
• Participate in system enhancement testing and training
• Collaborate with Analytics, Strategy and Investment peers on account-specific requests
• Handle high-profile or sensitive client requests
• Act as the point of contact for the internal brand teams for all Budgets & Compliance related questions to ensure consistency and accuracy across the brands

• 4-6 years previous experience in Financials, Project Management, and/or Budgets & Compliance
• Experienced in media tools such as MediaTools, Prisma and MediaOcean
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly PowerPoint and Excel with proven expertise in complex Excel formulas (filtering, pivot tables, vlookups, and data visualization) to support reporting.
• Quantitative and analytical skills, combined with openness to a role that requires a mix of art and science.
• Leadership experience managing cross-functional teams and developing teams
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and proficient in time management.
• A proactive critical thinker with the ability to juggle multiple priorities, problem solve, and optimize processes to improve efficiencies
• Experience developing and presenting your thoughts and ideas in a clear and concise manner to a variety of audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, capable of fostering collaboration across teams.
• Driven by a passion for learning, innovation, and delivering excellence in client service.
• Team player who enjoys learning and willingness to lean into new opportunities.
• Willing to jump into a project independently, troubleshoot and determine efficient next steps to improve processes across all teams
• Flexible and able to adapt to change in a fast-paced and constantly changing environment
• Identify gaps, suggest new ideas and challenge the status quo but can also help carry out the smart ideas of others
• A team motivator who inspires a competent and engaged team, ensuring a culture of success.