Client Director, Evolve

Talon Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 125,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Talon Outdoor is hiring a Client Director to manage a portfolio of international clients and agency relationships, leading OOH planning and buying across markets. You will mentor a team, shape account strategy, and drive growth while maintaining senior client relationships.

In this role you will also support new business, negotiate with media owners, and ensure the commercial performance of your client portfolio. Significant travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Extensive OOH planning and buying experience.
• Experience leading client portfolios and senior relationships.
• Strong knowledge of US and international OOH landscape.

Responsibilities

• Set account strategy for a portfolio of international clients.
• Lead delivery of OOH planning and buying across markets.
• Manage and coach a team of Client Managers and Executives.
• Lead new business pitches and proactive client ideas.
• Oversee monthly/quarterly forecasts, budgets and reports.
• Ensure campaigns are strategically sound and delivered on time.

Skills

OOH planning

OOH buying

Client leadership

Programmatic buying

Creative optimization

PowerPoint

Excel

Tools

Campaign systems

Job description

At Talon, our mission is to unlock the full potential of out of home, making it more effective, creative, measurable and sustainable than ever.

We're passionate about OOH and are on a mission to drive the growth of this sector within the media industry . In just over a decade , our desire to offer intelligent, creative, technology-led OOH solutions and a full-service OOH offering saw us grow into a team of over 500 people located in key cities across the globe. In that time, we have been awarded for our approach to our people, our clients and our industry . We hire the finest talent to help us unlock the full potential of the Out of Home (OOH) environment for our clients ; and pride ourselves on the individuals who represent our business.

Evolve OOH is part of the Talon Group and is a global outdoor media agency whose vision is to evolve the OOH medium through pioneering, results driven tools, team experience on a global scale, and a passion for creativity.

THE ROLE_

As Client Director, you will be responsible for a portfolio of international clients and agency relationships, setting account strategy and leading the delivery of best-in-class OOH planning and buying across multiple markets. You will be the senior day-to-day point of escalation for your clients, building relationships at Director level and above.

Working closely with the Group Director, you will lead, coach and develop a team of Client Managers, Senior Client Managers, Executives and Assistants, setting clear standards for quality, ownership and commercial performance. You will also play an active role in new business, bringing proactive ideas to clients and helping shape the growth of Evolve in the US.

A DAY IN THE LIFE_

• Working with the Business Director to set individual client KPIs and strategies, ensuring these are met and driving sales across the business.
• Take overall responsibility for the service and performance of an assigned portfolio of international clients and agencies.
• Build and maintain senior client and agency relationships at Director level and above.
• Set clear account strategies and annual plans for key clients that are ambitious, creative and aligned to their business objectives.
• Act as the escalation point for client and campaign issues, resolving them to the mutual benefit of all parties and protecting the long-term relationship.
• Lead an annual program of agency engagement that demonstrates Evolve's value-adding capabilities and wider offering, including production, innovation, research and effectiveness.
• Undertake domestic and international travel as required to strengthen client, agency and partner relationships
• Oversee multiple plans across multiple markets concurrently, ensuring every response is strategically sound, accurate and delivered on time.
• Sign off planning recommendations, rationale documents, PCAs and budgets before they reach the client.
• Lead senior negotiations with media owners and international partners to secure value, preferential terms and access to priority inventory.
• Champion the integration of DOOH, programmatic OOH, creative solutions and effectiveness measurement where they strengthen the client's outcome.
• Ensure post-campaign learnings are turned into recommendations that shape future activity.
• Own the commercial performance of your client portfolio, including billings and agreed targets.
• Compile accurate monthly and quarterly forecasts, budgets and reports for your group of clients and agencies.
• Identify and develop growth opportunities across existing accounts, including new markets, expanded scope and Evolve, Talon and Grand Visual services.
• Lead or support new business pitches and proposals with the Group Director and senior management, taking ownership of agreed workstreams.
• Partner with finance to resolve account queries, discrepancies and reconciliation issues promptly.
• Lead, motivate and develop a team of Client Managers, Senior Client Managers, Executives and Assistants, setting clear KPIs and holding regular one-to-ones.
• Allocate and balance workloads across your accounts, flagging capacity constraints and recommending solutions.
• Coach the team on planning quality, negotiation, client communication and problem-solving, building their independence and judgement.
• Contribute to performance reviews, development plans, recruitment and onboarding for the planning team.
• Ensure campaign set-up, bookings and reporting in PLATO and other planning systems are accurate and up to date across your portfolio.
• Help build, maintain and improve planning tools, processes and market resources.
• Hold strong relationships with senior media owner contacts at Group Head and Sales Director level and above.
• Drive high-quality award entries and case studies across your clients.
• Role-model Evolve's values and contribute to an inclusive, high-performing team culture.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR_

• Extensive OOH planning and buying experience, with strong knowledge of the US and international OOH landscape.
• A proven track record of leading client portfolios and senior relationships, and of delivering growth.
• Experience in OOH and DOOH strategic planning, programmatic buying and creative optimization.
• Versatility and willingness to work and travel across multiple markets.
• Strong commercial acumen and confident negotiation skills to ensure commercial targets are met.
• Proven people management experience and the ability to get the best from a team through motivation, coaching and development.
• First-class communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence at all levels internally and externally.
• Sound judgement, a strong sense of ownership and accountability, and a proactive approach to opportunities and problems.
• Strong proficiency in PowerPoint, Excel, Word and campaign management systems.
• Additional languages and experience working across cultures are advantageous

OUR TEAM_

Evolve OOH/Talon International is a truly international team. Thanks to all our different backgrounds we provide a truly holistic approach to international OOH, something that makes us. Because we are international, we manage a huge pool of clients and manage campaigns in different part of the world. While we are very hardworking, we always make sure to have fun and support each other in the process.

WHY US _

" The best thing about working at Talon is the space, time and expertise I've been given over the years to grow and develop my skills." Client Director at Talon

OUR VALUES AND HOW WE WORK TOGETHER_

WE ARE BOLD_

As industry provocateurs and pioneers, we respectfully challenge the status quo, take pride in our people, big ideas and partnerships.

• We challenge respectfully
• We lead the way

WE ARE HUMAN_

We are a diverse collective of changemakers who value respect, fairness, and integrity and expect the same in return.

• We value collaboration and togetherness
• We are empathetic

WE ARE SMART_

Our trailblazing spirit and learning centric culture ensures our knowledge provides maximum value to each other and our clients.

• We grow and learn
• We are trusted
• We are mission possible

Talon is an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ and develop a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and brands that we represent.

*Dependent upon experience, the salary for this role can range from $125,000-$140,000*