Associate Director - Social Media

Freud Communications Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Freuds in London seeks an Associate Director, Client Services Lead for a 12-month maternity cover within the Social & Influence team. You will be the senior client services engine behind major accounts, shaping strategy, campaigns and social activations to deliver measurable outcomes.

Reporting to the Head of Social, you’ll lead senior relationships, manage large integrated teams and translate ambitious ideas into executable programmes while maintaining commercial discipline and strong client

Qualifications

• Extensive senior client leadership experience in a social or integrated agency environment.
• Proven ability to lead large, cross-functional teams and complex accounts.
• Strong expertise in social strategy, content, and campaign development.
• Excellent communication, leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced consultancy setting.

Responsibilities

• Lead senior client relationships and provide strategic social counsel.
• Drive growth, innovation and reputation-building opportunities.
• Develop integrated social strategies and impactful campaigns.
• Lead culturally relevant, socially-led creative work.
• Oversee complex accounts, budgets, resourcing and delivery.
• Ensure high-quality work delivered on time and budget.
• Champion social thinking across integrated teams.
• Embed social expertise into broader communications planning.

Skills

Senior client leadership

Agency experience

Social strategy

Team leadership

Commercial acumen

Job description

Maternity Cover Freuds | London (Hybrid)

This role sits within Freuds' Social & Influence team – an award-winning specialist social media unit within Freud Communications. At Freuds, we combine the art of influence with the speed of social. We are looking for a senior leader who can bring together creative thinking, client service excellence, operational integration and commercial acumen to help shape the next chapter of our social offering.

The team exists to service clients across the agency through social strategy, campaign development, content planning, channel management, paid media, influencer marketing and creative activation. We partner with our earned teams across consumer, corporate, purpose-led, government and B2B briefs, helping brands and organisations navigate an increasingly social-first communications landscape

The Role - 12 month maternity cover / option for short-term cover in the interim - starting late October / November 2026

As Associate Director, Client Services Lead, you will be the most senior client services specialist within the social team, acting as the operational and commercial engine behind some of the agency's largest and most strategically important accounts. Reporting into the Head of Social, you will oversee a portfolio of high-profile retained and project-based clients including McDonald's, Prosus, You Can Adopt, government departments (DCMS and DHSC) and other ad hoc consumer briefs, while helping shape the future direction of the social team.

This is a role for an experienced social specialist who combines outstanding client leadership with strong creative instincts. You will bring a consumer-first mindset to every brief, helping clients create campaigns, content and social experiences that cut through culture, influence behaviour and deliver measurable business outcomes.

You will be equally comfortable leading senior client relationships, navigating complex stakeholder environments, managing large integrated teams and helping transform ambitious ideas into executable programmes of work.The successful candidate will be viewed internally and externally as a trusted senior adviser, able to bring clarity to complexity, elevate creative thinking and drive exceptional standards of account leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead senior client relationships and provide strategic social counsel
• Drive growth, innovation and reputation-building opportunities.
• Develop integrated social strategies and impactful campaigns
• Lead culturally relevant, socially-led creative work
• Oversee complex accounts, budgets, resourcing and delivery
• Ensure high-quality work delivered on time and budget
• Champion social thinking across integrate
• Embed social expertise into wider communications planning

Commercial Growth

• Grow existing accounts and support new business pitches
• Maintain strong commercial and financial performance
• Lead, mentor and develop the social team
• Embrace our cornerstones of Love & Work, which require a passion for what we do and an ability of persevere.

Industry Expertise

• Stay ahead of platform, creator and technology trends
• Help shape and evolve Freuds’ social offering

Experience & Skills

• Extensive social media experience, ideally at Head of Social level.
• Proven agency experience leading major client relationships.
• Strong expertise in social strategy, content and campaign development.
• Experience managing complex accounts, stakeholders and budgets.
• Excellent communication, leadership and team development skills.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced consultancy environment.
• Government, public sector or behaviour change campaign experience.
• International brand and stakeholder management experience.
• Knowledge of earned, owned and paid social.
• Strong industry network and profile.

The Company

Our employees come to us to work with some of the world’s best-known brands and influential people, helping our clients identify and tell meaningful stories that drive real change, and genuine connection. Love & Work is our foundation because we do what we love, and we love what we do.

Many of our alumni have gone on to run their own top 150 agencies; to lead the communications and marketing for well-known global brands; and are leaders in their fields of expertise.

We pride ourselves on the ability to assemble teams of passionate specialists from all over the world with a huge variety of backgrounds, all experienced in solving tricky problems.

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage all applicants to apply, regardless of race, religion, origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability. Freuds Group strives to ensure a sense of belonging for all; we’re proud to support and utilise a diverse range of thoughts and perspectives in the teams we build as well as the work we create. Our belonging behaviours are built on the foundation of Collaboration, Connection, Empathy & Understanding and Allyship, these pillars are entwined into our daily life and are one of the markers for how we measure both company and individual success.