Account Director

About ON ROAD

We’re anthropologists by nature.

Our in-depth qualitative & ethnographic research puts audiences at the forefront of our work. Our aim is to help brands make authentic work with people at its core.

The way we work is non-traditional, provocative and goes beneath the surface. Our aim is to always bring our clients into their audience’s world. By treating research as a genuine interaction, we allow spontaneity into our process – often where the best nuggets of insight emerge. The ON ROAD network has grown organically over the years and our recruitment is rooted in working closely within the communities we research.

Key skills

You will be a seasoned Account Director with more than 5 years’ experience in a similar role. You will have a proven track record of managing complex projects, managing and developing a team, shifting budgets while providing first class customer service to global clients. You need to hit the ground running making sure we meet all project deadlines on time, on budget and within our agreed scope of work. You will understand how to lead and motivate a team, have an eye for detail, along with a knack for providing a light touch approach to managing multiple projects. You will continuously be improving processes from an operational perspective by implementing systems and best practices for the department.

Requirements

• 5 years’ experience in a similar role
• Excellent people management skills
• Strong budgeting and negotiation skills
• Strong leadership oral and written skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Strong prioritisation and multi-skilling skills

Duties & responsibilities

• Lead the complete function of the Account and Project Management department
• Lead all department quality control issues to ensure the core team are performing at a high standard across all aspects of our output so that we are constantly pushing the boundaries of the work that we produce.
• General line management for Senior Account Managers (including but not limited to fortnightly check ins, quarterly performance reviews, providing support for personal and professional development)
• Lead daily check ins with the whole company and run regular team training to make sure all staff understand and follow our processes and procedures
• Run regular check ins with Project Management team
• Drive agenda and execution of weekly leadership meetings (staff resourcing, finance, office maintenance, marketing initiatives), company all-hands meetings, and leadership offsite visits
• Quality controlling team member’s client communication before going out externally (ie. reviewing and proofreading emails, proposals, scopes of work)
• Attend key client meetings, ensure minutes are being taken and any follow ups are being communicated
• Communicate effectively to manage client expectations around timings and budgets
• Address any concerns while resolving any conflicts that may arise with client or across the team
• Overseeing workflow (resources and capabilities) across the business to find opportunities to improve business practices and processes while assigning projects to teams
• Oversee the project team, timelines and milestones for all research briefs
• Prioritise the requirements and manage client and project team expectations around scope and business value
• Creating project budgets to ensure pre-set profit margin is achieved per project and projects are not going over the budget threshold
• Reconcile all budgets and project information, client deliverables, to make sure all artifacts are documented and stored correctly
• Oversee project key learnings and ensure they have been shared with the leadership team and stored on the project drive
• Working closely with the Finance Director to produce monthly overview of client activities, revenue forecast and future budgeting plans.
• Ensure whole team are populating their timesheets and submitting them in a timely manner on a weekly basis
• Management of CRM system, ensuring team members are capturing the relevant information for existing and new projects