Senior Account Director III

firstglobalmanagementservicesinc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

FIRST is seeking a Senior Account Director III to lead the strategic direction and growth of the account across regions. You will be the primary client contact, ensuring engagement, satisfaction, and brand consistency while coordinating with FIRST teams to deliver initiatives.

The role requires exceptional client management, commercial acumen, and a proven track record in business development for large accounts within an agency or events environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years' experience in an agency or events environment with client management and event delivery on large client accounts.
• Strong track record of meeting or exceeding client objectives and KPIs.
• Proven ability to manage complex contracts and cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic direction and growth of the account across regions.
• Serve as the primary client contact and ensure client engagement and satisfaction.
• Oversee financial performance, profitability, contracts and invoicing.
• Collaborate with FIRST teams to deliver client initiatives and maintain brand consistency.
• Drive new business opportunities and develop account plans.

Skills

Client management

Commercial acumen

Business development

Interpersonal skills

Job description

Building a Brand Starts with a Story

FIRST is a leading global brand experience agency providing Content, Creative, Digital Technology, Management & Delivery, and Data & Insights services. For 30 years, we have utilized three flexible delivery models: Embedded teams, Corporate Campus operations, and a Full-Service Agency.

Managing over 37,000 events & projects annually across 110 countries, FIRST serves 130+ brands, specializing in Fortune 500 companies within the Financial Services, Technology, Healthcare, Media, and Professional Services sectors. FIRST is part of the broader Encore family of companies. Encore is a global leader in event production and technology.

Consistently recognized for excellence, recent honors include 2026 Chief Marketer Agency of the Year, the Ad Net Zero Award for sustainability, and more.

Learn more at www.firstagency.com

What You Would Get To Do

The Senior Account Director III is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of the account including client engagement and satisfaction, financial performance, profitability, contracts and invoicing. The Senior Account Director will be the primary point of contact for external clients and internal FIRST teams, while ensuring the health of the account and instilling consistency across the regions. The ideal candidate will lead on client service, develop a team-based approach to situations and encapsulate the FIRST brand. The candidate should be a motivated professional with exceptional client management, commercial acumen, business development experience and excellent interpersonal skills.

Your Contributions

Existing Accounts

• Responsible for developing and executing account sales plans and growth strategies
• Responsible for Contract renewal and maintenance
• Act as the main point of contact for Procurement/Sourcing related to SOWs/Work orders, Purchase Orders and overall contract management
• Manage additional changes of scope and addenda
• Responsible for oversight of the scope of work and for the account meeting mutual contractual compliance requirements (KPIs, SLAs, reports required); ensuring the account delivers on expectations and remains within the bounds of the contract

Financial Management oversight

• Invoicing (annual budget and monthly Service team charges and scalable (including travel and expenses in collaboration with Operations)
• Ensure account profitability
• Responsible for account budget management with the Global Business Director and Commercials team
• Responsible for accurate and timely forecasting of contracted pipeline activity and updating/communicating budget revisions to internal/external stakeholders
• Lead on communications between FIRST and client stakeholders as a unified point of contact and conduit for information and client initiatives
• Identify opportunities to add value, deepen client relationships and extend services to maximize account profitability
• Lead on the development of and adherence to the annual client engagement plan
• Develop a thorough understanding of the client's business, industry and keep abreast of external issues and events that could impact client objectives
• Client management - POC for Global account issue escalations that could have a material impact on the contract
• Responsible for leading quarterly business reviews
• Maintain accurate records in Salesforce
• Subcontractor contract management and compliance (vendor performance and obligations)
• Support executive level account reporting and presentations
• Collaborate with marketing and strategy team for tailored communications to clients

New Business

• Act as the main point of contact with the client for new business opportunities
• Responsible for Business development
• Understand the client's service model, strategy and identify where FIRST can add value
• Create an account planning approach and develop a pipeline of growth opportunities across the client's business
• Qualify all new business opportunities and bring in the needed expertise and capability from across FIRST to deliver on commitments to clients
• Own and lead the proposal lifecycle
• Conduct the initial brief from the client
• Engage with relevant internal service line leads to develop appropriate solutions and implementation planning, in collaboration with department heads
• Lead and own the proposal/RFP process until business is confirmed/declined
• Responsible for Contracting (POs/Work orders)
• Work with the Commercials team to create and update budgets
• Conduct handover for implementation of service
• Interact and collaborate with Agency and Solutions activities within the account
• Contribute to industry insights and best practices
• Maintain an awareness of relevant market trends affecting the account and developments in the industry

What We Are Looking For

10+ years' experience preferred within an agency or events environment, with experience both in client management and event delivery on large client accounts

Strong and consistent track record of meeting a