Account Director (Hybrid, Columbus / DC / Toledo)

Account Director (Hybrid, Toledo or Columbus)

 Reports to: Vice President, Brand Leadership

THE ORGANIZATION

Hart is a full-service, independent brand transformation agency that creates growth for middle-market companies in the new experience economy. For over 60 years, Hart has been a valued strategic and creative partner to brands aiming to reach higher. Our promise of Every Day Greater™ is an outgrowth of our distinctive capability to move audiences from apathy to advocacy by designing and deploying empowering, unified brand experiences. Join us in our never-ending quest to move brands to better places for a better world. 

THE ROLE

The Account Director is responsible for the development of ongoing business relationships from the prospect stage through existing account management. The Account Director leads and manages a large piece of business and client engagements. The Account Director is responsible for leading organic growth, driving strategic leadership and innovation, increasing client satisfaction, ensuring the quality of our services, and managing client profitability.

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR

• Manage solid client relationships of multi-million-dollar accounts and provide key strategic initiatives/thinking, accountable for account growth, client satisfaction, and retention through identifying client’s requirements and develop accountable marketing programs to deliver business results and developing and executing an engagement strategy in collaboration with the team and discipline leads.
• Interacts with very high-level clients such as the Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Marketing.
• Act as agency lead on cross-agency integrated marketing programs, by participating in multi-agency briefs and work sessions, contributing to overall planning process, defining strategies and tactics within programs/campaigns, and creating campaign plans.
• Manage account P&L, making sure work is delivered on budget and profitable, and increasing ROI for the agency.
• Independently lead and make decisions that properly balance the needs of account such as those of clients, internal goals and teams.
• Partner with project management to plan all engagements including goals, deliverables, schedules and budgets by managing the workflow process.
• Serve as a new business resource and actively pursue new revenue sources as well as participate in strategic development of new business such as RFP responses and proposal writing.
• Manage implementation of integrating offerings and tools and identify opportunities for cross-selling services, when appropriate.
• Manage their Client Services team which includes: providing adequate training, overseeing and conducting performance reviews, and resolving issues/problems.
• Ensure the use of “best practices” and effective processes across the department and agency.

EXPERIENCE

• Proven negotiation skills experience, especially contract negotiations, with both clients and partners. Excellent writing and public speaking skills and experience.
• Ability to develop strong relationships with clients by gaining trust and repeated successful delivery of expectations.
• Ability to foster strong, cohesive working interdisciplinary teams.
• Aptitude to define solutions that will generate measurable results for the client.
• Thorough knowledge of the principles of advertising, marketing and media. A basic knowledge of disciplines underlying these principles, i.e., psychology, economics, journalism, behavioral economics.
• Thorough knowledge of the dynamics of digital and interactive. How each digital and interactive element performs alone, how they perform together and how they are constantly changing.
• Ability to use alternative analytical approaches to solve digital/interactive/marketing problems.

PERSONAL SKILLS AND CHARACTER TRAITS

• You enjoy the creative atmosphere and energy a modern agency setting provides. 
• You have very strong interpersonal skills and top-notch verbal and written communication skills. 
• You can empathize with clients, partners, and stakeholders in politically challenging environments and work well under pressure within given timeframes.
• You are deeply fluent in digital, eager to learn, and want to grow rapidly in our organization.
• You are an inclusive and supportive team player who can work in cross-functional teams with people of different grades and backgrounds.
• You have a penchant for results and an entrepreneurial mindset; you bring a can-do mentality to everything you touch.
• You can work fast and independently with great precision and accuracy.

WHAT WE OFFER

• An exciting and intellectually challenging job within a leading, independent brand transformation agency that honors and lives its values:
• We are Champions for Others.
• We are Human-First.
• We Act as One.
  We incite New Growth. 
• We invite Exploration.
• A fruitful salary, perks, and benefits package.
• A hybrid work environment.
• Generous amount of paid time off annually paid holidays.
• Flexible spending accounts for health and dependent care. 
• Health Savings Account option with employer match. 
• Paid short-term and long-term disability coverage. 
• Daily snacks, beverages, and full access to our on-site tavern and lounge.
• An employee experience that fosters and provides deeper connections, vital flexibility, personal growth, holistic well-being, and shared purpose.

We employ great people from an ever-widening variety of backgrounds – not just because it’s the right thing to do but also because we believe that diverse perspectives make our agency stronger and more innovative. If you share our values, come find your place in our community. Meet us on @_hartinc and hartinc.com/careers to learn more. 

Hart is an equal opportunities employer and continually seeks to advance the concepts of equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees. As such, Hart does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, or status as a protected veteran. This policy applies to all personnel activities and conditions of employment.