Account Director

At Manifest, we create rich content experiences that drive brand transformation. We are a proudly independent, full-service agency with a 40-year history of innovation in the content discipline. Our team has been honored numerous times as Content Agency of the year, we’ve won an Effie for Sustained Success and Digiday’s Content Agency Partner of the Year -- to name just a few accolades. We pride ourselves on collaboration without restraint and don’t just hire people who fit, we hire disruptors who add to our culture. We embrace different backgrounds and experiences, differing opinions, discussion, productive debate and earned trust. And our commitment to inclusion across race, gender, gender identity or expression, age, religion, identity, disability status, sexual orientation, national origin, and experience drives us forward. Let’s chat.

We are hiring an Account Director ("Operations Director") with agency experience to join our team. In this dual account management/project management role, you’ll manage complex client projects and multiple streams of work for a key Manifest client. You’ll partner with internal and client stakeholders, identifying and executing strategic and creative solutions to marketing challenges and opportunities. This role can be based (hybrid) in our Chicago, D.C. or NYC office, and reports to the SVP, Portfolio Consulting Lead. The annual salary range for this role in the NYC market is $130k-$160k in base pay, exclusive of any bonuses or benefits, and the base pay offered will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on experience, skills, training, certifications, education, etc., and will be informed by market data. This role reports directly to the SVP, Portfolio Consulting Lead. Benefits include options for healthcare plans, paid time off and parental leave, plus a 401(k) match.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex client projects and multiple streams of work.
• Proactively maintain productive relationships at key levels of the client’s organization, becoming a trusted and valued partner.
• Lead/participate in all client presentations, ensuring the team is fully prepared with required materials and the rationale to effectively sell the solution.
• Anticipate and proactively address account matters, collaborating with discipline leads to prepare optimal solutions and responses.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all account related matters, ensuring client is informed and in agreement with all agency services and deliverables.
• Responsible for the coordination and preparation of cross-functional internal resources and ultimately the timely delivery of agency work.
• Lead the development of detailed project plans, accounting for all operational aspects of the agreed upon assignment – agency services/deliverables, client expectations, dependencies, resource considerations, timelines with key milestones, etc.
• Responsible for the financial planning (forecasting) and day-to-day monitoring of performance for assigned accounts.
• Responsible for contractual compliance across all assigned accounts, including tracking agency deliverables, monitoring resource utilization, and satisfying any client reporting and/or reconciliation requirements.
• Identify and sell new growth opportunities to client, based on an understanding of the client, their competition, and their industry.

Requirements

• 7-10 years of experience in Account and Project Management in marketing and advertising; agency experience required.
• Experience with clients in finance/banking a strong plus.
• Successful track record managing complex, client-facing projects, with multiple streams of work.
• Extremely well-organized, with expertise in tracking high-volume projects with multiple stakeholders and managing project priorities.
• In-depth understanding of how pieces of content relate to one another, and the overall customer journey of campaigns.
• Expertise in developing and executing strategic and creative marketing plans and driving production, as well as leveraging internal resources and understanding when problems should be escalated.
• Experience managing a direct report preferred.
• May require client travel.
• Hybrid: 3 days per week in office.
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience required.