Account Director

JR United Kingdom; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is on the lookout for a dynamic Senior Associate (Account Director) to lead corporate and sustainability communications for a diverse range of clients. This role involves managing client relationships, executing innovative strategies, and mentoring junior team members. The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment, leveraging their expertise in reputation management and media relations to deliver exceptional results. Join a vibrant team dedicated to making a meaningful impact and pushing the boundaries of traditional communications. If you're a creative problem solver with a passion for driving change, this opportunity is for you!

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in agency or in-house communications.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-profile global clients.

Responsibilities

• Manage client relationships for major household brands.
• Drive corporate reputation strategies and manage junior team members.
• Lead new business development and pitch meetings.

Skills

Reputation Management

Media Relations

Strategic Communications

Problem Solving

Client Relationship Management

Project Management

Creative Thinking

Verbal Communication

Written Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Communications or related field

Job description

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Love & Work are our cornerstones. We believe they should be entwined with one another. To achieve this blend, we not only choose to work with clients who want to do things differently, but we build teams that are passionate about working on initiatives that they truly believe in.

Our employees are given the opportunity to develop industry firsts whether that be in the form of a documentary, an activation or the launch of a new concept or partnership. Our alumni have gone on to run their own top 150 agencies and to lead the communications and marketing for well-known global brands. Securing a role with us is a smart and strategic career move. We look for problem solvers, creative minds, and individuals who want to change society, influence culture, challenge conformity, and push boundaries. We know that without our employees, we wouldn’t be able to achieve what we do.

As our many awards and certifications confirm, we are committed to offering an inclusive environment where individuals from all backgrounds are rewarded on merit, have the opportunity to experience integrated communications in its truest form, and work on opportunities that due to our connectivity are unique to Freuds. Our culture ensures a sense of belonging for all and we thrive off our ability to support and utilise a diverse range of thoughts and perspectives.

Freuds Group is an Equal Opportunity employer committed to a diverse and representative team. Whatever your race, religion, origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability – we want to hear from you.

The Team

We are a team of around 50 corporate communications specialists who have a positive impact on the reputation of individuals, businesses, and brands by earning our way into cultural consciousness through purpose-focused communications that drive meaningful conversations with a range of stakeholders including customers, consumers, partners, activists, policymakers, and current & future employees. Our success comes from knowing what our audiences care about, building robust narratives that elevate and differentiate our clients' POV, and going beyond what is expected. With connectivity at our heart, we match the right people with the right narrative, bringing together clients, partners, and friends to amplify our communications and add credibility.

We create programmes that drive all our audiences to engage with our clients. We build and protect reputations, shift perceptions, grow awareness, build relationships, and change behaviour. Ultimately, our aim is to shift the perception of our clients’ target audiences in a meaningful, relevant, and impactful way. We build, protect, and repair reputations for clients at both a global and local level.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Associate (Account Director) to work across external corporate and sustainability communications across a range of clients in a number of sectors including retail, FMCG, professional services, and utilities.

Working with global businesses, the ideal candidate will work with Associate Directors & Business Directors to deliver exceptional campaigns, manage and nurture junior members of the team, retain and grow their client base, and manage agency resources on an ongoing basis.

The candidate will manage client relationships and ensure the best performance is achieved for both client and Freuds. Reputation management, media skills, and providing ongoing strategic communications advice to clients will be integral to the role.

Responsibilities:

• Managing client relationships for some of our leading large household brands.
• Providing immediate communications support for senior clients on developing reputational issues, including out of hours assistance as the primary client contact.
• Securing the confidence of colleagues as a senior communications advisor on a wide range of corporate communications issues and disciplines.
• Driving corporate reputation strategies to help both major global businesses and challenger brands tell their stories in an impactful way.
• Executing strategic and creative projects showing excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to be innovative in their approach.
• Handling day-to-day issues for a portfolio of major clients, including front line media relations.
• Developing corporate positioning, messaging, and narrative frameworks.
• Developing creative corporate communications strategies and campaigns for diverse clients and issues and ensuring their successful delivery.
• Participating in, and leading, new business development, including originating leads and managing pitch meetings, presentations, and proposals.
• Contributing strategy and solutions to new business efforts and proactively introducing new ideas to improve our offering.
• Proactively building internal and external networks with colleagues, opinion leaders, journalists, professional associations, online influencers, and other relevant third parties.
• Managing and mentoring junior team members, including responsibility for their evaluation and professional development.
• Substantial experience gained in an agency environment or through leading a busy in-house team at the sharp end of issues management.
• Direct and demonstrable experience dealing with high-profile global corporate clients.
• Seasoned and confident client handler with experience of advising at senior levels.
• Established media relations practitioner with a network of contacts across trade, general interest, national, and global media preferred but not mandatory.
• Excellent verbal communication skills, and the ability to influence clients and colleagues in person and virtually.
• Best in class written skills including press releases, opinion articles, blog posts, and social media copy.
• Excellent time management and project management skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, managing your own work and that of others.
• Experience in a team management role leading people and account programmes, and a track record in industry-leading corporate campaigns.
• Enthusiasm and a ‘can-do’, proactive attitude.
• Ability to interact with and gain the trust of senior clients and colleagues.