Account Director – Retail Marketing & Brand Activation

Air Recruitment; Maidenhead; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Air Recruitment in Maidenhead is seeking an Account Director to lead major retail marketing and brand activation campaigns for leading consumer brands. You will own key client relationships and deliver integrated campaigns across retail environments.

Based hybrid in Maidenhead with regular travel to Croydon every other week; a full driving licence and access to a car are essential. The role demands strategic leadership and hands-on delivery across budgets, timelines and teams.

Qualifications

• Significant experience within experiential, shopper, retail marketing, brand activation or integrated marketing agency.
• Strong track record of managing major consumer brand accounts and delivering physical retail activation campaigns.
• Experience of FMCG, grocery, beauty, health and wellness or similar consumer-facing sectors.
• Understanding of in-store marketing, POS/POSM, sampling, field marketing and experiential activations.
• Strong commercial awareness, including budget management, forecasting, profitability and account growth.
• Experience leading teams, managing multiple stakeholders and overseeing complex campaign delivery.
• Excellent client relationship management, presentation and negotiations skills.
• Proactive, hands-on approach, balancing strategic account leadership and operational delivery.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing relationships with key clients, acting as a trusted senior partner.
• Overseeing retail marketing, shopper activation, sampling, experiential and field marketing campaigns.
• Managing campaigns from initial brief and strategic development through production, implementation and evaluation.
• Leading account teams and coordinating creative, production, operations, suppliers and field marketing partners.
• Ensuring campaigns are delivered successfully across retail locations, to budgets, timelines and quality standards.
• Providing senior oversight of POS/POSM, in-store activations, product launches and promotional programmes.
• Managing account budgets, forecasting, profitability and commercial performance.
• Identifying opportunities to grow existing accounts and develop new business.
• Presenting campaign proposals, recommendations and performance results to senior client stakeholders.
• Mentoring and developing junior team members while maintaining high standards of client service and delivery.

Skills

Experiential marketing

Shopper marketing

Retail marketing

Brand activation

Integrated marketing

Client relationship management

Campaign leadership

Budget management

Job description

AccountDirector–RetailMarketing&BrandActivation-£45-60K.

Location:Maidenhead,Berkshire(hybrid,withtraveltoCroydonapproximatelyeveryotherweek)

Salary:£60,000–£70,000(subjecttoconfirmation)

Drivinglicenceandaccesstoacarrequired

We'reworkingwithabrandactivationandexperientialmarketingagencythat'slookingforanexperiencedAccountDirectortoleadmajorretailmarketingandbrandactivationcampaignsforleadingconsumerbrands.

Thisisanexcellentopportunityforacommerciallyminded,hands-onAccountDirectorwhounderstandshowtoturncreativeideasintosuccessfulcampaignsacrossretailenvironments.

You'reberesponsibleforleadingclientrelationships,developingaccountsandoverseeingthedeliveryofintegratedshopper,retailandexperientialmarketingcampaigns.

Therole

AsAccountDirector,you'lltakeownershipofkeyclientaccounts,providingstrategicdirectionwhileremainingcloselyinvolvedinthepracticaldeliveryofcampaigns.

Responsibilitieswillinclude:

• Leadinganddevelopingrelationshipswithkeyclients,actingasatrustedseniorpartner.
• Overseeingretailmarketing,shopperactivation,sampling,experientialandfieldmarketingcampaigns.
• Managingcampaignsfrominitialbriefandstrategicdevelopmentthroughtoproduction,implementationandevaluation.
• Leadingaccountteamsandcoordinatingcreative,production,operations,suppliersandfieldmarketingpartners.
• Ensuringcampaignsaredeliveredsuccessfullyacrossretaillocations,toagreedbudgets,timelinesandqualitystandards.
• ProvidingsenioroversightofPOS/POSM,in-storeactivations,productlaunchesandpromotionalprogrammes.
• Managingaccountbudgets,forecasting,profitabilityandcommercialperformance.
• Identifyingopportunitiestogrowexistingaccountsanddevelopnewbusiness.
• Presentingcampaignproposals,recommendationsandperformanceresultstoseniorclientstakeholders.
• Mentoringanddevelopingjuniorteammemberswhilemaintaininghighstandardsofclientserviceanddelivery.

Aboutyou

We'relookingforanestablishedAccountDirectororanexperiencedSeniorAccountManagerreadytotakethenextstep.

Youllideallyhave:

• Significantexperiencewithinanexperiential,shopper,retailmarketing,brandactivationorintegratedmarketingagency.
• Astrongtrackrecordofmanagingmajorconsumerbrandaccountsanddeliveringphysicalretailactivationcampaigns.
• ExperienceofFMCG,grocery,beauty,healthandwellnessorsimilarconsumer-facingsectors.
• Athoroughunderstandingofin-storemarketing,POS/POSM,sampling,fieldmarketingandexperientialactivations.
• Strongcommercialawareness,includingbudgetmanagement,forecasting,profitabilityandaccountgrowth.
• Experienceleadingteams,managingmultiplestakeholdersandoverseeingcomplexcampaigndelivery.
• Excellentclientrelationshipmanagement,presentationandnegotiationskills.
• Aproactive,hands-onapproach,withtheabilitytobalancestrategicaccountleadershipandoperationaldelivery.

We'reparticularlyinterestedinpeoplewhohavedeliveredcampaignswithinmajorUKretailersandunderstandthepracticalitiesofmakingactivationworkacrossmultiplelocations.

Locationandtravel

You'llbeprimarilybasedinMaidenhead,withhybridworkingandtraveltoCroydonapproximatelyeveryotherweek,alongsideoccasionalcampaign-relatedtravel.

Afulldrivinglicenceandaccesstoacarareessential.