Account Director at Smith

At Smith, we develop world-class commerce solutions to help brands architect the most relevant, frictionless commerce experiences possible. We work at a high tempo, we collaborate, we’re passionate about our work with clients, and we deliver.

The Account Director is the primary client advocate, and representative of the client’s best interest within the agency. You’re equal parts leader and team player with a strong passion for connecting commerce, technology and marketing to drive business results. Your ability to bridge the gap between complex enterprise-level clients and multi-disciplinary agency teams drives your success both internally and externally. You truly listen to your clients and your team and provide effective leadership that motivates this cross-functional team to produce results on behalf of your clients. You are an intellectually curious and results-driven individual, hungry to help both the client and agency succeed together. You collaborate to develop clear stories to help guide and educate our clients to achieve their goals - continuously communicating agency value, ensuring retention and growth of existing accounts.

What You’ll Do

Client Advocacy

• Clear understanding of the client's business model and lines of business/suite of products
• Establish, build and retain relationships with main buyer and key stakeholders across a complex enterprise
• Establish regular 1:1 meeting cadence with key buyer(s) to temperature check
• Advise and lead the internal team through the client’s perspective (what are we being asked to do, what is the business implication, why does it matter)
• Ensure client issues are resolved with minimum impact to the client and their business by using the escalation process/tools to communicate issues with Delivery leadership
  
  

Strategy & Performance Alignment

• Be a critical thinker–understand the Client’s business and ensure that the strategy and solutions presented by the agency are aligned to the client’s goals
• Develop written communications/briefs for external alignment with the client and internal alignment with the team that outline the “why” behind a request/a new program/a change and what is “being asked of the agency” to guide the team and collaborate to identify the right solution aligned to the client problem and/or opportunity.
• Establish and align on client goals, KPIs and how to measure performance in order to demonstrate ROI
  
  

Influence

• Develop communication strategy for storytelling requirements based on who the client is, their position in the organization, how they must influence their own leadership and what purpose the deliverable is intended for
• Ownership of client communication, education, establishment and alignment of goals and desired outcomes, in a manner clients can easily comprehend and leverage within their organization
  
  

Growth

• Responsible for developing agency growth strategies
• Accountable for achieving agency extension sales goals
• Collaborate with SMEs and agency Leadership Team to develop proactive strategies and present opportunities to support clients’ changing business and market landscape
• Full ownership of the contract development process internally and with the client
  
  

Retention

• Ensure completion of client touch base meetings, document and communicate back to the team. Develop action plans to resolve any issues or pursue opportunities.
• Ongoing management of Client Health Tracker
• Identify proactive actions required to retain clients based on defined criteria
• Analyze and act upon NPS results
• Achieve client retention/renewal goals
  

Who you are

• You’re results-driven and hungry to help both your clients and agency succeed. Goals and problem-solving are what drive you
• You are comfortable managing 5 or more enterprise-level clients, partnering with client managers and c-suite alike, and you have experience navigating complex org-charts
• You are well-versed in business, commerce, technology and marketing and can understand your client’s pain points, effectively articulating those to the team to generate collaborative solutions
• You know the importance of understanding your client’s preferences, knowledge, and personality, articulate that to the team and help shape and simplify our recommendations in order to align with the client’s needs
• You can command a room with ease including when presenting and engaging with others – and you do not shy away from having the tough conversations, with the client’s best interest and the long game in mind
• You are comfortable both leading and collaborating with cross-functional internal teams to strategize, adjust, and meet clients’ goals which starts with putting an emphasis on building trusted relationships with your account teams
• Although you do not directly manage team members, you know how to set an example as the account leader and provide coaching & feedback to help them grow
• When you meet a challenge, internally or externally, you demonstrate a solutions oriented approach paired with integrity, to solve a problem and you’re highly comfortable operating in the “gray area” from time to time
• You take client retention and revenue growth seriously. You track strong metrics to support your performance across these areas and are energized by the prospect of accountability for these objectives in your next opportunity
  
  

What grabs our attention

• Connection to your clients and to your internal team are a big part of the culture in which you thrive
• Clear in your written and verbal communications, adjusting to the audience as needed - those you work with clearly understand what you are saying and can respond easily
• Individually motivated and crave autonomy while staying connected to and collaborating with the team
• Driven to achieve results with a pragmatic and resilient approach
  
  

What we look for

• 5+ years of account management experience in digital marketing, ecommerce, or related disciplines
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field
• Proven record of growing both client and agency businesses
• Competency in managing complex teams and client relationships; particular experience in business development highly desired
• Advanced negotiation, communication, analytical, and writing skills
  
  

About Smith

Smith is a performance commerce agency that designs and develops digital solutions, enabling over 500,000 transactions around the globe each day. With over 20 years of commerce expertise and an industry-leading blend of creative, analytical, and technical skills, we create innovative solutions that enhance customer experience, accelerate digital sales and optimize operations. A relentless focus on outcomes guides us as we partner with clients to create commerce experiences that help them thrive in the global economy, driving over $38 billion in revenue each year. Learn more about why Smith is the performance commerce company at www.smithcommerce.com.