Client Services Director - VML - London

Job description
The Client Services Director is responsible for the development, maintenance and growth of long term client relationships. S/He will structure, mentor and lead the account handling team to deliver the best quality of work, aligned to the client’s marketing objectives and expectations. S/He will work closely with the other department heads to ensure the work is class leading - engaging, on-brand, on budget and achieving the business objectives.

S/He should ensure that the clients understand how the agency is structured, the services it provides, and the cost of those services; and moreover that the clients perceive the agency as a valued partner. S/He will therefore be an advocate of digital marketing with a strong understanding of the operations of digital agencies. They must understand the role and potential of each digital channel, particularly in relation to other marketing activity. They must be able to advise clients on how and when to use digital marketing.

S/He will grow revenue by finding opportunities and deploying the agencies resources to exploit those opportunities. Those opportunities could be revenue based but could also be profile based.
Desired Skills and Experience
Key responsibilities:
Revenue
To be ultimately responsible for forecasted revenue; and ensuring the agency meets those forecasts.
To drive incremental (stretch) revenue across each client – dividing revenue targets appropriately and monitoring progress
To ensure that the agency is compensated appropriately for their efforts, driving the agreed margin.
To ensure that the payment terms of the agency are well structured and well understood by clients
To understand and look to resolve any project management issues that may impact billing and profitability milestones
To ensure that business is developed sustainably with the long term interests of the clients and agency in mind.


Client relationships
To be responsible for building deep and trusted relationships with key identified clients driving ‘top table’ discussions (with the marketing director)
To have such a strong understanding of the client’s business that you are able to advise clients at a strategic level on how to use digital marketing to meet business objectives
To ensure the clients understand the agency’s structure and business model and to perceive the agency as a valued partner.
To use this relationship to uncover and realise opportunities for the agency
To ensure that you are known as a point of escalation for more junior members of the team, and a point of escalation for clients regarding members of your team
To write proposals and demonstrate ability to sell in the work

Management and mentoring
Train and mentor more junior members of staff in account handling skills including selling, managing client relationships, understanding and managing revenue, presentation and document writing
To create structures, and set of objectives, that will enable more junior members of the team to grow and succeed
To contribute to the agencies overall direction, structure and services
To lead by example, from the way you conduct yourself as a senior member of staff, to the quality of the work you produce.
To be able to contribute to the generation of ideas, and the assessment of those ideas.

Other
To be a primary point of contact for inter-agency relationships and other important partners
To contribute to the reputation of the agency through profile raising activities including entering awards and conferences
To work with the senior management team to ensure the health and happiness of agency employees, focusing on benefits beyond salary
To work in a collaborative manner with other agency staff

Skills and Experience:
10+ years agency/client experience with a digital background
Strong presentation, written and verbal skills
Proven ability to manage and grow revenue across multiple clients
Proven ability to manage client relationships, unaided by senior personnel
Solution oriented with a positive attitude
International client experience an advantage

Expected behaviours of leaders
Lead from the front
Respect other people in other job roles
Drive the agency forward, don’t accept what’s wrong
Focus on doing work we’re proud of
Take responsibility for the work and the revenue (one can’t exist without the other)
Be accountable for what you do and be responsible for what the whole team does
Motivate and encourage others
Make smart decisions
Be positive
Work as a team

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