Account Director

Brighton Agency; Missouri; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Brighton Agency is seeking an Account Director to own the full business strategy for your key client partnerships. You’ll be the senior voice driving organic growth, shaping briefs with AI, and guiding the activation team to deliver standout work.

You’ll manage relationships at senior levels, lead annual planning, and translate client challenges into actionable agency direction. The role demands strategic thinking, budget stewardship, and mentoring talent across the book.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years of account management experience in an agency or corporate marketing environment.
• Strategic AI implementor who knows when to rely on tools and when to use human judgment.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Track record of leading large-scale accounts and mentoring teams.
• Confident, senior-level presentation skills for client leadership.
• Deep budget management expertise with growth experience.
• Industry experience in agriculture, pet care or CPG is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the full business strategy for your accounts end to end and drive organic growth.
• Lead client relationships, quarterly reviews and annual planning conversations.
• Translate client business challenges into clear agency direction and action.
• Proactively surface opportunities for expanded scope or new business.
• Lead strategy development and leverage AI to shape briefs and recommendations.
• Mentor Brand Builders and direct activation team members across accounts.
• Own client forecasting and monitor budgets across the book.

Skills

Account management

Strategic AI use

Presentation skills

Budget management

Mentoring

Client relationship

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Communications

Tools

Claude

ChatGPT

Job description

Lead Strategist. Client Owner. Business Generator.

Do you love crafting game-changing strategy and owning senior client relationships? Brighton Agency is looking for an Account Director to own the full business strategy for some of our most important client partnerships.

We're a full-service creative and marketing agency with a consultative backbone, where the power and speed of AI meet human creativity and judgment. Get ready to jump into a fast-paced, high-output team. Own the client relationship and the strategic direction of the work, full stop. If you want to sit back with your feet up, this role is not for you. You're the person the client calls when something matters, the senior voice who drives organic growth across your book of business, and the strategic AI implementor other Brand Builders look to for how the tools should actually be used.

What You'll Lead:

Client Relationship & Leadership

• Serve as the primary client contact across all active work — the person the client calls when it matters most.
• Build and maintain relationships at senior client levels, including quarterly reviews and annual planning conversations.
• Translate client business challenges into clear agency direction and action.
• Proactively surface opportunities for expanded scope or new business.
• Own strategic direction for your accounts end to end — leveraging AI to develop creative and strategic briefs is a core part of the job, not a shortcut around it.
• Lead kick-offs, positioning sessions and campaign strategy conversations.
• Apply deep category expertise to shape briefs and recommendations that reflect real competitive and consumer context.
• Review and integrate AI outputs into brief development — you're the judgment layer, not just the approver.
• Mentor and develop Brand Builders across the team, raising the bar on strategic thinking and client leadership.
• Direct activation team members assigned to your accounts — set priorities, review work, clear blockers.
• Own the health of the team model for your accounts and drive organic growth across your full book of business.
• Represent your accounts in internal agency reviews and leadership conversations.

Writing & Client Communication

• Leverage AI to write external client communications — emails, status notes, meeting recaps, POVs, recommendations — then bring the polish and judgment that make them land.
• Develop client-facing presentations, strategy decks and annual reviews.
• Own SOWs and scopes in partnership with finance.
• Lead creative writing and asset development when the moment calls for it.
• Own client forecasting across your full book of business, monthly and annually.
• Monitor budget health across every active job and surface overages proactively.
• Lead profitability conversations and apply strategic billing judgment.
• Approve all estimates before they go to clients.

What You'll Bring to the Party:

• 7–10 years of account management experience in an agency or corporate marketing environment.
• A strategic AI implementor — you don't just use tools like Claude and ChatGPT, you know when to lean on them and when the moment calls for pure human judgment.
• A bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications or a related field—or equivalent experience that proves you've got the chops.
• A track record of leading large-scale accounts and mentoring the people who work on them.
• Confident, senior-level presentation skills — you can lead a room and a client relationship with equal ease.
• Deep budget management expertise and a track record of finding growth.
• Industry experience in agriculture, pet care or CPG is a big plus.

We're a team of doers and makers who care about smart strategy and standout work. If you're ready to own the big picture, mentor the next generation of Brand Builders and lead accounts that matter, we want to meet you.