Account Director - Live Events - CPG

CPG Agency; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

CPG Agency in St. Louis is seeking a Live Events Account Director to own a portfolio of Fortune 500 accounts and advocate for the client while delivering award-winning events.

As the primary liaison, you will guide multi-disciplinary teams, manage budgets and contracts, and uncover growth opportunities within existing relationships. Strong strategic thinking, communication, and leadership are essential for success in a fast-paced live-events environment.

Qualifications

• Previous high-level customer service experience is a must.
• Knowledge of the events/experiential industry is a plus.
• Experience with Fortune 500 clients preferred.

Responsibilities

• Act as strategic lead and primary contact for Fortune 500 accounts.
• Lead cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality corporate events.
• Oversee the financial lifecycle, including budgeting and profitability.
• Identify growth opportunities within existing client relationships.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Client relationship management

Cross-functional leadership

Excellent communication

Job description

Account Director - Live Events

CPG Agency is a highly regarded experiential agency with an outstanding portfolio of Fortune 500 accounts including Southwest Airlines, Ulta Beauty, Yum! Brands, Jimmy John’s, and many others. We specialize in corporate communications and events, helping our clients succeed in all areas of the employee and franchisee lifecycle: recruitment, onboarding, training, recognition, and celebration. In our 41st year, CPG creates award-winning work in an environment of collaboration, strategic thinking, and growth.

Account Director - Live Events

CPG Agency is a highly regarded experiential agency with an outstanding portfolio of Fortune 500 accounts including Southwest Airlines, Ulta Beauty, Yum! Brands, Jimmy John’s, and many others. We specialize in corporate communications and events, helping our clients succeed in all areas of the employee and franchisee lifecycle: recruitment, onboarding, training, recognition, and celebration. In our 41st year, CPG creates award-winning work in an environment of collaboration, strategic thinking, and growth.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Live Events Account Director to join our team. The Live Events Account Director is the owner of their portfolio of accounts. As primary client advocate, the AD is responsible for the highest levels of service, communication, and financial management. He/she is the voice of the agency to the client, representing CPG’s service offerings, expertise, and point-of-view, at the same time communicating client feedback to internal teams.

The AD is the owner of the client relationship, taking responsibility for overall success and identifying opportunities for growth within the relationship. Strategic thinking, excellent communication skills, and initiative are keys to success in this role since it requires managing a portfolio of work and extensive client/team interaction. An understanding of agency offerings, processes, and challenges is helpful. Previous high-level customer service experience is a must. Knowledge of the event/experience industry is a plus.

Essential Functions

• Act as the strategic lead and primary point of contact for a portfolio of Fortune 500 client accounts, ensuring alignment between client business objectives and CPG’s solutions.
• Lead cross-functional internal teams (creative, production, logistics) to ensure the seamless delivery of high-quality corporate events and communication programs.
• Oversee the complete financial lifecycle of client accounts, including contract negotiation, budgeting, forecasting, and profitability management.
• Proactively identify and pitch organic growth opportunities to expand CPG’s footprint within existing client organizations.
• Travel to client sites and live events to provide high-level relationship management and oversee the quality of the on-site experience.

Responsibilities

This position requires a blend of the following responsibilities and skills:

Client Ownership

• Maintain expert knowledge of the client’s business and objectives.
• Navigate complex client organizations.
• Manage expectations internally and externally.
• Facilitate client meetings as appropriate.
• Guide clients through CPG processes, especially staffing, financial, etc.
• Attend onsite functions, when possible, to continue building client relationships.
• Identify problems or concerns and address them with clients and/or team members.
• Facilitate project debriefs, internally and externally.

Account Strategy

• Offer high-level support to event and engagement producers as they execute programs and events (attend meetings, review deliverables for accuracy and relevance, assist in securing resources as needed, etc.).
• Work with the Leadership Team to assign appropriate team members.
• Present work to clients as appropriate.
• Analyze project/program effectiveness for continuous learning and improvement.

Client Profitability

• Manage project profitability.
• Review budgets and financial statements.

Organic Growth

• Identify opportunities for growth and additional projects within existing client relationships.
• Partner with the Sales team to sell in additional work.

Financial Management

• Review the producer’s scope of work and create/deliver the resulting contract to the client.
• Negotiate pricing with clients when necessary.
• Create and deliver budget summaries, invoices, change orders, etc.

Skills

The core skills, abilities, and knowledge key to success in this position include:

• High standards of quality, efficiency, and effectiveness (high performance).
• High-level strategic thinking ability.
• Ability to manage multiple accounts at one time.
• Experience working on high-profile Fortune 500 global clients preferred.
• Clear and persuasive communication.
• Ability to provide supervision and clear direction to the project team.
• Ability to work well with all levels of internal personnel, outside clients, and vendors.
• Adaptability, flexibility, and problem-solving skills.
• Confidence and positivity.
• Excellent communication skills (oral and writing).
• Ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, under tight deadlines.
• Willingness to travel as needed and work flexible hours.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• General Office Work: Ability to remain in a stationary position (sitting or standing at a desk) for more than 50% of the time while working on a computer.
• Communication: Ability to constantly operate a computer and other office machinery, and communicate frequently via phone, video conference, and in-person. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• On-Site Event Demands: During live events, the ability to stand, walk, and navigate large event venues (hotels, convention centers, arenas) for extended periods (often 10-12+ hours per day).
• Lifting & Moving: Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling of event materials, luggage, or collateral weighing up to 25 pounds.
• Travel: Ability to travel frequently (via air and ground) to client meetings, site visits, and live events, which may include navigating airports and driving rental vehicles.
• Environment: The work environment will fluctuate between a quiet corporate office setting and loud, crowded event spaces with varying lighting, noise levels, and temperatures.