Account Director

Inspired Thinking Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Smart Working up to 40% from home

Work abroad up to 90 days/year

Pension scheme

Employee well-being programme

Professional qualifications funding

Employee recognition & bonuses

Volunteer days

Job summary

Inspired Thinking Group is seeking an Account Director to coordinate and deliver in-store POS for the M&S Food account. You will lead the ITG team, liaising with M&S Marketing in-store teams and key stakeholders to keep campaigns within budget and on time.

You will line-manage Senior Account Managers, resolve blockers, and build trusted relationships with M&S stakeholders while driving on-time, high-quality campaign delivery.

Qualifications

• Must be a people person with exceptional people skills and customer focus.
• Agency environment experience with advertising knowledge is advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of creative processes and in-store POS.

Responsibilities

• Line manage and develop Senior Account Managers with clear direction and feedback.
• Escalation point for the team and M&S; proactively resolve issues and blockers.
• Lead by example; set pace, organisation, attention to detail and stakeholder management.
• Be the day-to-day contact for M&S stakeholders; build trusted relationships.
• Drive momentum across projects; ensure teams meet critical path deadlines.
• Oversee workflow; prioritise resources and manage competing demands.
• Coach team members to strengthen commercial awareness and client relationships.
• Ensure clear, proactive, solutions-focused communication with internal and client teams.
• Own campaign delivery standards; ensure work is accurate, on time and up to client expectations.
• Create a positive, accountable team culture with collaboration and high performance.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder mgmt

Project management

People management

Advertising experience

Retail knowledge

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to coordinate and facilitate the production and delivery of in-store Point of Sale (POS) for the M\u0026S Food account. The Account Director works directly with the M\u0026S Marketing in store team, liaising with key stakeholders and is responsible for the keeping of all campaigns within budget and on time.

The role exists in support of both the Transformation Director and ITG Business Director and is integral to the effective running of the marketing function within M\u0026S Food, coordinating the delivery of all administrative elements of marketing campaigns and activity. Working closely with various M\u0026S teams, the role will involve leading the ITG team to hit key critical path deadlines so that artworks, production briefs and costs are approved by key stakeholders when required, in turn allowing for a seamless campaign delivery to stores.

Key Responsibilities

• Line managing and developing Senior Account Managers within the team, providing clear direction, support and regular feedback to ensure a high standard of delivery across all campaigns.
• Acting as the point of escalation for the team & M&S, proactively resolving issues, removing blockers and ensuring campaigns remain on track.
• Leading by example in ways of working, setting the standard for pace, organisation, attention to detail and stakeholder management.
• Being the key day-to-day contact for M&S stakeholders, building trusted relationships and ensuring confidence in the ITG team’s delivery.
• Driving momentum across projects, keeping activity moving at pace and ensuring all teams are aligned to critical path deadlines.
• Supporting the Senior Account Managers in overseeing workflow across the account, helping to prioritise team resource and manage competing business demands.
• Coaching team members to strengthen their commercial awareness, decision making and confidence in managing client relationships.
• Ensuring communication across internal and client teams is clear, proactive and solutions-focused, particularly during busy campaign periods or when timelines are under pressure.
• Taking ownership of campaign delivery standards across the team, ensuring all work is completed accurately, on time and in line with client expectations.
• Creating a positive, accountable team culture that encourages collaboration, consistency and high performance.
• Receiving briefs from the M&S Instore team – clearly communicating timelines, steps that will be followed and costs to be incurred.

• Linking all briefs back to your direct teams and managing the relationships between M&S Marketing and ITG team to ensure campaigns run smoothly and artwork can be approved in good time.
• Maintain and manage a great relationship with ITG Artwork Production Team (this team are based in Birmingham at ITG Head Office). Flag urgent or large campaigns in advance, giving them realistic deadlines in order to manage our studios resource and client’s expectations of when artworks will be fulfilled
• Ensure all M&S cost trackers and budgets are kept up to date. Ensure costs are communicated regularly with M&S marketing.
• Overview the ITG finance management across the entire M&S account and communicate clearly with the ITG Business Director and M&S Fashion, Home & Beauty Account Directors.
• Support the implementation of the ITG Tech platforms, playing a key role in ensuring client communication is delivered clearly and in a timely manner. Proactively support change management across both M&S and ITG.

• First and foremost, you should be a people person. You should be able to demonstrate exceptional people skills and be a customer-focused fanatic.
• Previous experience of working in an agency environment with Advertising experience would be an advantage.
• Have a good knowledge of creative processes and a thorough understanding of in-store POS.
• You won’t be micromanaged here, the ability to manage your own time and deliver quality with speed is essential.
• Hold strong experience with project management and trafficking multiple projects in tandem, which may be at different points in the creative process.
• A background in retail would be an advantage but is not necessary.
• Attention to detail is an absolute key skill to uphold and deliver – you will be managing more than one project at any given time, so managing your time effectively is crucial.
• Comfortable in interacting with an enthusiastic and committed team – whilst being part of ITG, you will also be part of the wider M&S team.
• Previous experience in a leadership or line management role, with the ability to motivate, support and develop others.
• Confident in acting as a senior day-to-day client contact - building strong, credible relationships with key stakeholders.
• Able to work at pace in a fast-moving retail environment, balancing multiple priorities while maintaining accuracy and control.
• A natural problem solver who remains calm under pressure and can confidently manage escalations.

Work’s a treat!

Perks at ITG — alongside a competitive salary, here's what you can look forward to:

• Time off that works for you — 25 days' holiday + bank holidays, a paid Wellbeing Day, flexible bank holidays to honour cultural or religious observances, and the option to buy or carry over up to 5 extra days.
• Flexibility & lifestyle — Smart Working with up to 40% from home, and after 12 months, the option to work from abroad for up to 90 days a year.
• Family & life milestones — Enhanced family friendly leave, 3 extra days for your wedding/honeymoon, and an Employee Assistance Programme whenever you need support.
• Financial perks — Pension scheme, Corporate Medical Cash Plan, electric car salary sacrifice scheme, and tax-efficient payroll giving to your favourite charities.
• Growth & recognition — Funding for professional qualifications, monthly Employee of the Month awards (£250 bonus), and referral bonuses of up to £1,500.
• Community & wellbeing — Regular Wellbeing Workshops, 30+ Wellbeing Champions, a paid Volunteer Day, and an online perks platform with discounts on top brands, days out, and gym memberships.

We Value Diversity

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We are not only committed to increasing the visibility and recognition of talent from under-represented groups within our organisation, but the wider industry too.

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