Senior Account Director (Maternity Cover)

1. Company description

We create impact

At Rationale, we create impact by making the complex compelling. We are a strategic brand and content agency supporting clients in regulated markets to define, articulate and amplify what matters most to their audiences. We solve challenges with robust, strategic thinking. We’re relentlessly focused on results. And we’re creative with good reason.

Impact is fundamental to our agency culture as a certified BCorp. We have an emphasis on training and development, team empowerment and creative expression. We work with people who live our core principles: who are in it for the long-term; who find a way; who have high standards; and who have fun.

Every agency says they are doing things differently. So we won’t say that. But we are absolutely driven to make a difference.

Our Principles

We’re in it for the long-term

We’re focused on the sustainable, strategic growth of Rationale and the related development of our people. Thinking long-term is fundamental to the ongoing stability of our business and is what allows us to make the most impact for our team, for our clients, and for the wider world.

This approach underpins everything we do in terms of our decision-making – and it also applies to how we cultivate lasting, supportive relationships with clients, partner organisations, and suppliers.

We’re building something strong at Rationale – something that will endure, and something of which we can all be proud.

We find a way

Rationale is made up of a talented and unique team of tenacious problem-solvers who are curious about uncovering what’s possible.

No matter how complicated the ask, we will do our best to find a way to make it happen.

We deliver on our promises at Rationale by being considerate and proactive, not only in how we approach our work, but in how we treat and respect each other’s needs at work.

We have high standards

Rationale’s success comes from having a happy and fulfilled team of people who are trusted and empowered to do their jobs well.

In doing this, we hold ourselves and each other accountable to the highest standards of quality, relevance and creativity in every single piece of work that leaves the agency.

Keeping this aim front-of-mind results in a value exchange – our people drive the success of our business and this feeds back into each individual’s personal and professional growth.

We have fun

Work is where we spend most of our time, so why shouldn’t it be fun? While we take our work very seriously, we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

We will always take time to lighten the load, to keep perspective, and to make each other – and our clients – feel relaxed, secure in expressing themselves and able to have a laugh.

2. Job Purpose

The Senior Account Director will be focused on strategic growth of existing and significant client accounts, through excellent service and consultancy about their needs from onboarding onwards. To exceed retention, revenue and account profitability targets, ensuring client satisfaction is consistently high and that the account team delivers effectively on common and individual objectives. Key support to the senior management team and agency leadership on business aspirations, concerns, strategy.

3. Key Responsibilities

Overall client servicing, growth, and satisfaction (retention):

• Key point-of-contact at client onboarding stage, consulting on requirements and liaising with the wider Rationale team to deliver excellent, high quality, proposals
• Build strong and enduring consultative relationships with senior members of the client account(s) marketing teams in a lead role for Rationale
• Working with the senior management team, define and deliver strategic brand and communications solutions to senior client stakeholders
• Work with wider Rationale team to ensure brand and communications solutions and service delivery achieves the highest levels of client satisfaction at all times, as identified by client satisfaction surveys
• Support your account team by taking oversight of creative briefs and oversee creative output and ensure measures are in place to critically appraise work before client review
• Ensure regular flow of client status reporting, with timely submission of project estimates and schedules
• Pre-empt and/or troubleshoot and resolve any concerns or areas of client dissatisfaction
• Align Rationale values with client values – to best represent our approach to purpose, sustainability and impact at each step of project management
• Point of contact for client Procurement and Agency Management teams, responding to queries and providing required MI reporting. Ensure client compliance requirements are understood and met, with all necessary information communicated within the account team and relevant internal stakeholders. 

Account business development

• Working with the account team, and wider Rationale stakeholders – own and proactively drive forward the ‘Client Development Plan’ for each of your client accounts, liaising with all internal stakeholders
• Qualify all opportunities and co-ordinate internal stakeholders to develop winning creative solutions and ideas to present to prospects and clients
• Support Rowan and Svein to consider qualification of new clients against our values as an agency – ensuring sustainability and positive social impact are as important to them, as they are to us – and asking the right questions at the right times to establish this
• Support in delivery of presentations to clients, bringing in support from appropriate internal stakeholders, as required
• Take a lead role in client tenders and pitch development, bringing in the support of internal stakeholders, as required. 

Overall Client Account Management

• Prepare and deliver to Rowan revenue forecasting/monitoring and account P&L, ensuring responsible financial management and delivery of account revenue and profit expectations
• Working with your account team, oversee prompt and accurate client billing and resolution of any invoicing issues or delays
• Take oversight of project budgets, including your account team’s preparation of project estimates, business cases, RoI models. Present financial justification for strategic recommendations. 

Team Support, Line Management and Leadership

• Management of your account team – setting objectives informed by the Rationale business strategy 
• Build, develop, coach, support and lead the account team to deliver best-in-class service to clients
• Support in monitoring and managing team resource allocation and proactively anticipate recruitment needs to ensure the correct level of skill to grow the account(s)
• Contribute to performance appraisals for others in the team – incorporating all metrics of success across client satisfaction, quality and positive impact
• Contribute to the agency’s wider new business and client development activity as required – for eg. background research for/attendance at pitches. 

Workload Management

• Take oversight to ensure all projects across the account team are delivered on brief, on time and on budget, using well-defined and clear internal/external briefing, scheduling and ongoing communications. 
• Provide weekly status reporting to Aisling and oversee external status reports, for clients
• Monitor workflow across the account team to ensure efficient delegation of projects 
• Ensure project workflow is efficient and aligned with revenue forecasts
• Resolve any problems with methods, costs or timings to the agency and the client’s satisfaction. 

Supplier Management

• Work with the account team to oversee engagement of suppliers, screening them for suitability against our criteria and negotiating terms and service level agreements
• Support your account team to brief suppliers on project requirements and oversee projects allocated to them. Ensure the team are completing appropriate NDAs with suppliers
• Monitor suppliers’ overall performance and ensure project profitability is optimised.

4. Skills & Experience

• Experience of leading and managing a team 
• Consultative approach to service delivery at a strategic level
• Extensive and sophisticated understanding of project management and operational process
• Sophisticated appreciation for brand and content marketing principles, techniques and effectiveness and ability to produce and productively critique creative output
• High standards of numeracy, with solid experience of budgeting, forecasting and profit reporting
• Polished presentation skills
• Computer skills: word processing, spreadsheet, presentation.

5. Personal Qualities

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Selling and negotiation skills
• Client growth skills
• Strategic/analytic and consultative
• Authoritative
• Ability to lead, inspire and motivate a team
• Ability to co-ordinate a variety of projects across multiple clients or client contacts
• The ability to quickly review, evaluate and summarise information
• An accurate and systematic approach to work
• Team player – comfortable in a creative agency environment
• Principled and ethical
• The ability to present a professional image of the agency.