Account Director
Are you ready for the Journey? We’re a global team of pioneers on a mission to create the next generation of customer experiences. We leverage our diverse range of thought leadership, deep subject matter expertise, and innovative capabilities to lead the Journey into the future of human experiences. Our people share a seeking, building, joyful ethos, attracting the best in reimagining the physical and creating new worlds and realities of the future.
We're looking for a seasoned Account Director to lead client partnerships in our AI Studio!
About our AI Studio:
As brands look to succeed in leveraging AI technologies for the future of consumer experiences, Journey is their agency of choice. We create fully-customized innovation programs — from the first steps of strategy to the full launch of a product — that drive impact. We help brands build highly-creative, best-in-class conversational AI and Generative AI programs on platforms like Amazon Alexa, Open AI, and beyond. Our clients include HBO Max, Warner Music Group, Meredith Corporation, Harry Potter/Pottermore Publishing, the NBA, Mars Wrigley and many more. Our AI studio was awarded Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces.
About the Position:
We're looking for an account director who is an experienced leader in the advertising agency world. Someone who knows how to manage a team of account managers and project managers and has built programs with Fortune 500 brands. Who knows how to lead an energetic team, and be a strategic guide for the agency. We're a growing innovation agency, with a passionate group of creatives and technologists. We're looking to bring in experienced leaders from other areas of the creative industry as we evolve.
Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Leadership
- Leads the account/project team, gives guidance, helps prioritize, and pushes for the best thing for the client program
- Initiates and implements big-picture thinking, guiding the agency team to produce superior results
- Leads by example in setting the standard for account team members in work ethic, professionalism, cooperation and organizational commitment
- Leads development of team structure, establishing roles/responsibilities, and prioritization for the account team under their management
Creativity
- Develops a strategic vision for their accounts, and gives guidance to the creative team to execute on that vision
- Contributes to the client’s growth strategy thinking well beyond execution and the current campaign
- Demonstrates excellent judgment and inspires creativity in their clients and agency team
- Nurtures and protects the integrity of the creative idea; takes the creative to new places by partnering with the creative team
Productivity
- Understands completely how the agency makes money: clients, overhead, PBT, expenditures, etc., and helps to maximize revenue / growth through partner agencies
- Improves agency systems to ensure client expectations are fulfilled while agency profitability is protected
- Ensures resource management is optimized, making sure people on their team are fully utilized, yet not over-extended
Knowledge & Skills
- Builds their strategic thinking abilities by keeping current on industry trends and issues affecting their client’s business expanding their own perspective and knowledge by collaborating and sharing with other Account Directors
- Collaborates with Strategic Planners and plays a leadership role in co-creation process to ensure the development of provocative, single-minded communications strategies that deliver against the brands’ overall growth strategy and architecture
- Synthesizes consumer insights, brand knowledge and marketing know-how to effectively defend and persuade their clients to embrace a strong strategic idea and keep it sold
- Applies all the principles of marketing and available agency resources to further specific business objectives for both the agency and client
Relationships / Communication
- Builds client’s trust, regularly dialoguing with clients on brand / business issues and advertising / marketing always searching for ways to enhance the client / agency relationship
- Actively builds client’s commitment to branding, consumer insights, communications strategy, the brand’s campaign and long-term growth strategy
- Knows how to deal with difficult clients or situations in a diplomatic and solution-oriented manner focusing on the issue and not personalities
- Manages up; knows when to involve senior management and when to handle a situation themself
About You:
You are an experienced Account Team lead, with a proven track record of delivering exceptional client work. You are a trusted leader, who knows how to help clients see the value in our solutions, and can oversee the execution of client deliverables. Additionally, you will have:
- Demonstrated financial responsibility and management
- Proven experience in managing multiple clients, comfortable building integrated campaigns and leading diverse teams
- Broad range of experience across business categories and communications media
- A solid reputation, support with examples of; negotiating skills, talent development, and delivering growth by identifying and building business opportunities.
About Journey:
Founded in 2022, Journey has quickly grown to over 200 employees through key acquisitions of leading companies across diverse industries and specialties. A world-renown architectural design firm, experts in conversational AI, an award-winning immersive studio, and a couple of metaverse strategy and gaming design pioneers have combined capabilities and expertise to form one Journey. With our diverse set of offerings, talents, experiences, and backgrounds across our globally distributed team, we’re now able to offer our brand partners an offering unlike any other. And we’re just getting started. We’re on a mission to lead the Journey toward shaping and creating the future of the human experience.
Our Mission:
Our focus is on a creating a culture of support that is transparent, open, and flexible; an employee experience that attracts and grows the best and brightest talent. We are passionate about helping Journey's success through growth, empowerment, and retention of our best asset – YOU.
Our Values:
The six core Journey values embody our spirit and mindset. These values are embedded in our DNA and we always strive to demonstrate these values in the way we show up to work.
- We are explorers: We value curiosity, bravery, seeking knowledge, trying something new, failing, and trying again. We remain on an endless journey of discovery with always more to explore.
- We show up: We don’t wait for answers. We seek out solutions, we figure it out, we engage, we continue to learn, we ask questions, we are self starters.
- We are authentic: We don’t use jargon, we speak simply, we are reliable, we are honest, we are ego-less, we assume good, we respect others and their voice.
- We are fearless: We solve tough challenges, we move the needle, we have fun, we speak up, we draw strength from our team members. We embrace the change that is constant in our world.
- We are experts: We strive to deliver the highest quality of work to ourselves and our clients. We value our thinking and want to partner with clients in opportunities to move the needle.
- We are collaborators: We strive to improve our collective by sharing new ideas, skills, and perspectives. We work to partner across boundaries and keep minds and opens and we co-create our future.
Candidates must be eligible to work in the US without work authorization.
Journey is an Equal Opportunity Employer and recognizes that a diverse workforce is crucial to our success as a business. Our practices are rooted in the idea that everyone should be treated with dignity, decency and fairness. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We would love you to apply for one of our open roles - irrespective of socio-economic status or background, age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, color, pregnancy, care/family responsibilities, national and social origin, political opinion, marital, veteran, or disability status.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, please let us know at talent@journey.world