Account Director

Reports to: Executive Director

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Are you one of those people who sees patterns, generates ideas, knows how to lay out a vision and inspires others to head down the path with you? Are you jazzed by business and get a thrill out of helping large companies succeed by being “one of the good guys?”

Overview:

Account Directors at DEVA are a hybrid — part business management consultant, part communications director – advising clients in real time about how to leverage sustainability as a business strategy and directing creative and digital team members to craft compelling stories. The Account Director takes the lead in determining the problems clients need to solve and the opportunities they can leverage, and partners with internal resources in creating and proposing solutions. This requires maintaining deep, consultative relationships with senior-level client and agency contacts; maintaining a deep understanding of the client’s business, market situation, products and competitive set as well as an understanding of our latest market insights and the marketing industry; and becoming both a trusted advisor to clients and to the broader project and account teams. It also requires an ability to ask insightful questions, connect disparate dots, apply research insights and marketing industry knowledge, and think on your feet. This role is about creating a vision for clients AND the hands-on creation of solutions for clients – and about driving revenue for the firm in the process. Additionally, this role oversees client projects, ensuring deliverables are completed in an efficient manner – on time and on budget. And this role involves leading one or more large accounts and/or several small-to-large accounts.

Accountabilities:

Create and manage strategy for assigned accounts, generate results that meet client expectations/achieve stated goals, grow AGI of client base year-over-year.

Client Experience:

• Leads senior-level relationships with clients and key DEVA players. Establishes trusted advisor relationships in which clients and colleagues seek out advice and counsel and in which you identify and offer up opportunities and ideas.
• Is a strategic partner to assigned clients by demonstrating a deep understanding of their market and business sectors and their specific challenges and opportunities. Provides thought leadership, insights, and perspectives that support client initiatives and align services and solutions with client needs.
• Is a true marketing and business consultant, able to recommend strategic ideas that connect to a client’s business strategy and position the client for market success; able to write and articulate marketing communications plans that allow a client to fully leverage their sustainability commitments and actions to build their brand and/or sell products.
• Maintains existing business relationship with assigned clients by staying closely connected to internal project teams, monitoring progress of ongoing client projects, as needed, and helping to address and resolve promptly, accurately, effectively, and to the client’s satisfaction, any issues or problems that may arise.
• Presents ideas and recommendations effectively, in an engaging, confidence-building manner – both in prepared presentations and extemporaneously in client meetings.
• Regularly analyzes the profitability and growth of assigned client accounts through KPIs and other metrics; utilizes data in decision-making to maintain or improve account portfolio performance.
• Creates strong and effective internal partnerships with Research and Insights, Creative, Digital, and Client Management teams; collaborates across the business to ensure client needs are met and projects stay within scope, budget, timeline, quality, and other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Effective Approach:

• Maintains and utilizes a long-term, holistic view of the client’s business.
• Takes ownership of personal actions and outcomes and encourages and empowers others to do the same.
• Thinks strategically as well as tactically and takes a “big picture” perspective of the client.
• Sets high and clearly defined standards for direct reports; provides current, objective, and complete positive and constructive feedback and addresses performance concerns directly, fairly, and in a timely manner.
• Serves as a coach and mentor; provides coaching and feedback on specific skill development and encourages employees to pursue upward and lateral growth opportunities to enhance expertise and drive career development.
• Provides specific, objective feedback to direct reports through written performance reviews as part of the Performance Management program.
• Creates strong and effective internal partnerships and collaborates across the Company; listens and values the opinions of others.
• Is an effective team member; supports the team by pitching in at any level and effectively working across the organization to meet the needs of the business.

Revenue Growth:

• Proactively seeks to increase revenue by translating assigned client’s challenges into opportunities to sell additional products and services across DEVA portfolio.
• Develops and executes targeted “white space” opportunities for greater penetration of the client’s marketing spend through selling adjacent services or expanding into new client product lines.
• Leads the development and delivery of innovative proposals.
• Ensures client retention is maximized by facilitating the delivery of custom tailored solutions to meet clients’ objectives and expectations.

Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in advertising, marketing communications or related field.
• Graduate degree or MBA is preferred.
• 8-10 years of experience managing and advising clients.
• Sustainability communications or as a business strategy experience, a plus.
• Proven experience successfully managing and advising clients in a Creative, Public Relations, or Consulting firm.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of business models, objectives, financial metrics, etc. used in decision-making; demonstrated ability to build sound business cases to support innovative initiatives.
• Strong understanding of effective digital, social and media practices, trends, techniques, and processes across various touchpoints or mediums.
• Strong understanding of effective Research/Insights practices, trends, techniques, and processes (e.g. secondary, quantitative, qualitative).
• Demonstrated ability to build new relationships and nurturing existing relationships with internal and external clients.
• Demonstrated ability to profitably grow business revenue with new and existing clients.
• Demonstrated ability to make effective decisions in challenging situations and/or under pressure.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor and manage individual contributors.
• Demonstrated ability to work well in a team environment and develop collaborative relationships with colleagues across the Company; willingness to work with colleagues at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to manage heavy workloads, prioritize work appropriately, and meet assigned deadlines; excellent organizational and analytical skills (including attention to detail).
• Ability to travel to client locations as needed.

Bottom line, if you enjoy working at a fast pace and solving clients’ problems … if you love thinking strategically and seeing beyond the numbers to the clients’ real threats and opportunities … if you love to learn and are excited to work inside a growing agency that gives you the opportunity to work with a range of skillsets and disciplines, then you may be our perfect match!

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