Senior Account Director III

FIRST; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Medical Insurance

28 Days Annual Leave

Pension Scheme Enhancements

Volunteer Day

Wellness Stipend

Cycle to Work Scheme

Job summary

FIRST is a leading global brand experience agency delivering Content, Creative, Digital Tech, Management & Delivery, and Data & Insights. We manage 37,000+ events across 110 countries for top brands and provide embedded, campus, and full-service delivery models.

The Senior Account Director III role focuses on strategic direction, client engagement, profitability, and contractual health, acting as the primary client contact while coordinating FIRST teams across regions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years’ experience in agency/events with large client accounts.
• Strong track record of meeting targets; experience with corporate/financial clients preferred.
• Excellent client management and strategic thinking.

Responsibilities

• Lead on client service and drive growth for the key account across regions.
• Oversee profitability, contracts, invoicing, and budget management.
• Develop quarterly business reviews and maintain strong client relationships.
• Coordinate with marketing/strategy teams for tailored client communications.
• Manage procurement/POs, SOWs, and contract changes.
• Own proposal lifecycle and drive new business opportunities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver against client needs.

Skills

Account management

Business development

Client leadership

Strategic planning

Contract management

Tools

Salesforce

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.

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, specialising 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 recognised for excellence, recent honours 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 and exceeding account/departmental targets and objectives
• Experience with corporate/financial clients is highly preferred
• Extensive experience in working with & managing senior clients
• Strategic thinker with ability to make decisions and recommend actionable strategy
• Critical thinker and a trusted advisor who considers both client needs and what is best for FIRST to strengthen our business
• Innovative, creative and self-motivated individual who is open to looking at new, efficient ways of working and willing to challenge the status quo
• Equally as comfortable talking strategy and delving into the details of day-to-day business processes, financials and data.
• Highly credible with excellent written and verbal communication skills enabling you to quickly build respect and trust and leverage your voice to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Able to work in a collaborative manner, solicit input and advice from others, ask questions, apply critical thinking, be comfortable with ambiguity and navigate a highly matrixed organization.
• Ability to create change management plans for projects or change initiatives acknowledging all aspects including - analysis, planning, implementation, and communication
• Excellent project and task management skills
• Knowledge and understanding of data and reporting
• Resourceful and highly motivated individual with the ability to work independently, think analytically and remain calm under pressure to meet established deadlines
• Willing to travel when required
• Ambitious, proactive and resourceful; solutions-oriented
• Experience working in a global organization

At FIRST, we believe our teams' passion, creativity, and commitment drive our success. That's why we offer a range of benefits and perks to support your personal and professional growth

• Private Medical Insurance with BUPA from day one
• 28 Days Annual Leave PLUS Bank Holidays
• Personal Volunteer Day
• 20 Days of Sick Pay each Year
• Enhanced Parental Leave (Maternity & Paternity)
• Wellness Stipend
• Complimentary access to Headspace, Rocket Lawyer & Maven
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Season Ticket Loan
• Mobile Phone Allowance
• Pension Scheme Enhancements
• Discretionary Bonus Structure
• Global Opportunities: With a presence in 7 countries worldwide, including headquarters in London, New York, and Singapore, you may have the opportunity to work on exciting projects across different locations.

FIRST is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. FIRST is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We stand firm: FIRST will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. If any candidate feels that they are unable to meet the requirements of the role, please get in touch to discuss adjustments or other suitable roles.