Account Director | Sport | London

Hanover; London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A communications consultancy in London is looking for an Account Director to manage major sport brand accounts and drive growth. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in consumer communications and strategic media. Responsibilities include overseeing client campaigns, providing strategic advice, and developing media strategies. This role offers a competitive salary and benefits such as an annual bonus, 25 days' annual leave, and flexible working options.

Benefits

Annual performance-related bonus

25 days' annual leave

Company pension plan with 5% employer contribution

Flexible working policies

Wellbeing program

Qualifications

• Proven record in client excellence and organic growth.
• Excellent understanding of media & social media landscape.
• High attention to detail with best practices.

Responsibilities

• Manage and oversee client campaigns and deliver results.
• Build comprehensive media strategies across sectors.
• Lead on crisis communications for clients.

Skills

Client management

Media strategy development

Strategic communication

Crisis communications

Writing skills

Presentation skills

Job description

Hanover is an award-winning communications consultancy that advises enterprises, institutions, and individuals on building recognition and enhancing reputation. From our offices across Europe and the Middle East, we adopt an integrated approach that connects the dots across channels, audiences and issues. Our collective of smart, curious people think differently and live by a shared mission, purpose, vision, and values. These shape how we work, not just with our colleagues, but with clients and partners too.

Our mission is to ‘rewire communications for impact’ and harness its transformative power to advocate, trailblaze and make a difference. We do this by igniting and empowering the potential of every individual within our company, recognising that each person is a unique spark, capable of creating extraordinary impact. We believe that by nurturing and harnessing the collective brilliance of our people, we can drive innovation, foster an uncommon work culture, and make a positive difference to society.

Embracing the complete range of skills and services across the communications spectrum without constraint, we create the best outcomes for our clients and deliver world-class work.

Hanover Sport is recruiting for an Account Director who will work across our biggest sport brand accounts – NFL, Wimbledon, London City Lionesses, Women’s Super League Football, Six Nations - and be a key driver in the growth of the agency working alongside the leadership team of Dame Tracey Crouch (MD) and Rebecca Hargreaves (Director).

Our industry leading communications team believe that sport is at the centre of the universe, driving entertainment, culture, purchasing, policy, community engagement, tourism and of course participation.

However, the business of sport is complex, that’s why our team combines experts in the fields of strategic communications, brand storytelling, sponsorship activation, international affairs and media and political engagement so that we can help organisations use the platform of sport to achieve their goals.

PURPOSE

The Account Director (AD) takes a key senior role in managing client relationships, leading and developing teams and ensuring the effective delivery of campaigns. The AD is a highly effective doer but is also a strategic and creative thinker, adding a valuable layer of insight and ideas to clients and the agency as a whole.

This is a brand-new role within the team, and we’re really excited about it. The position reflects the growing breadth of integrated work we deliver for our clients - spanning consumer communications, strategic communications, and public affairs. We’re looking for someone with significant experience in consumer communications, alongside expertise in either strategic communications and/or advocacy.

Responsibilities

CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage and oversee the implementation of client campaigns, ensure the delivery of results and outcomes that exceed expectations
• Act as a key day-to-day contact for clients, understand their business objectives, provide strategic advice and plan campaign activity
• Ability to build comprehensive media strategies across youth, lifestyle, sport and news media, calling on experience working with consumer and entertainment clients, in addition to sport
• Confident providing high level strategic advice on sector issues and client’s business decisions. Plus, lead on crisis comms
• Oversee media operations for global media events ensuring a smooth running media operation – from accreditation to media hosting and press conference management
• Run a slick and effective monitoring programme for clients during big sporting moments

REQUIREMENTS

• Experienced sports PR professional who has a proven record in client excellence and organic growth of accounts.
• Excellent understanding of the media & social media landscape to guide clients in their PR approach
• Account management and excellence should be second nature for this person, done with efficiency, effectiveness and thoroughness at all times.
• Excellent writing skills across various content formats e.g. press release, proposal, social media etc
• High attention to detail and experience setting best practice

Work closely with senior team to grow Hanover Sport. You will have an active role on responding to new business opportunities, growing the volume of leads we receive and marketing Hanover Sport to the sector.

• Play a central role in the response to new business briefs from initial meetings through to insights, strategy, creative thinking and pitch presentations
• Excellent presenter and ability to build a rapport with prospects
• Strong network to feed into the growth pipeline of new business opportunities

Agency Responsibilities

Embody the agency values in your work and how your run your teams. It is essential that you foster a team ethic where we support each other and go above and beyond for our clients.

• To actively collaborate with wider Hanover teams/cross agency
• Taking a leading and hands on role in the development of our young and talented team. Open door policy and supportive attitude.
• Participate in training and cross network creative ideation sessions

Personal Attributes

• Confident communicator within large groups
• Supportive and nurturing in your approach to team management
• Proactive, committed, enthusiastic and energetic
• Adept at building relationships with external and internal stakeholders

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, your core benefits package will include:

• An annual performance-related bonus plus additional bonus potential linked to recruitment, new business and long service
• 25 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• A company pension plan, including 5% employer contribution

You’ll also have access to a wide range of opportunities and initiatives, including:

• Flexible working policies, plus eligibility to apply for a sabbatical after 2 years’ service
• The Hanover Academy, which incorporates training, coaching, mentoring and reverse-mentoring opportunities to support personal development and career progression across all levels, with a generous training budget
• International secondments as well as the opportunity to collaborate with all offices across the AVENIR GLOBAL’s network
• A wellbeing programme, featuring (but not limited to) pre- and post-maternity leave coaching, a working parents’ group, subsidised gym membership, LiveSmart sessions on mindfulness, sleep, etc.
• Our Culture Club, with a robust social calendar all year round, Trailblazer of the Month award, Lunch & Learns, CSR activity.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

Hanover Communications is an equal opportunities employer, committed to creating and ensuring a fair, inclusive, and diverse work environment where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We believe that equality and diversity are essential to high performance and a thriving culture.

We maintain a strict no-tolerance stance against any form of discrimination and harassment, ensuring all individuals are treated equitably, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital or pregnancy status, genetic background, or any other attribute safeguarded under our company policies or federal, state or local laws and legislation.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please send an email to [e-mail] with the nature of your request.

We are committed to transparency about how we collect and use your data, including ensuring we comply with legal obligations relating to data protection. You can view our data privacy policy here.

Hanover is part of AVENIR GLOBAL’s powerhouse of specialist communications consultancies across EMEA and North America. Collectively we rank among the top 15 largest communication firms in the world.

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