Group Account Director

The Variable; Winston-Salem (NC); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vis

401(k) with a 4 percent employer match

Monthly cell phone reimbursement

Meaningful bonus opportunities

14 weeks paid parental and medical le

Generous paid time off + Me Time Off

Paid holidays and agency-wide closures

Bereavement leave

Hybrid work model

Mental health resources

Job summary

The Variable is seeking a Group Account Director to lead a portfolio of high-profile client relationships, shaping strategic direction, ensuring profitability, and guiding account teams to translate client objectives into results.

In this hybrid, senior role you will work with Strategy, Media, Creative, and Production to align objectives with execution, manage growth opportunities, and sustain strong client partnerships.

Qualifications

• 12–15 years of experience in account management, client leadership, strategic consulting, project delivery, or integrated agency environments.
• Proven success leading complex client relationships, cross-functional teams, and high-value account portfolios.
• Strong strategic thinking, client leadership, operational oversight, and financial management skills.
• Experience managing scopes, staffing considerations, budgets, timelines, and integrated delivery execution.
• Ability to connect strategic recommendations to operational realities and business outcomes.
• Experience mentoring and developing account management talent and cross-functional teams.
• Experience leading large, matrixed client organizations with multiple stakeholder groups and decision-makers.
• Demonstrated success managing integrated marketing initiatives across multiple business units, service lines, brands, or locations.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and organizational leadership skills.
• Comfortable operating in collaborative, fast-moving agency environments with evolving business needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of client accounts, ensuring account health, profitability, delivery excellence, and long-term partnership strength.
• Lead annual planning, business reviews, and strategic roadmap development across assigned accounts, ensuring account teams maintain clear objectives, growth plans, and success metrics.
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with senior client stakeholders, serving as a strategic advisor and escalation point across your business.
• Lead the identification, development, and presentation of organic growth opportunities across the account group, partnering with account teams to bring proactive recommendations to clients.
• Translate strategic direction into clear priorities, scopes, staffing approaches, timelines, and execution plans that support measurable outcomes.
• Navigate complex stakeholder environments, building alignment across executive leadership, business unit leaders, functional teams, and other key decision-makers.
• Maintain visibility into account health, scopes, budgets, staffing realities, timelines, delivery risks, and operational execution across your account group.
• Ensure projects are strategically aligned, operationally sound, and positioned for successful delivery from kickoff through completion.
• Help teams navigate shifting priorities, operational complexity, and evolving client needs while maintaining momentum and accountability.
• Contribute strategic leadership to pitches, proposals, growth planning, and high-priority client initiatives.
• Lead clients through complex planning, approval, and decision-making processes while maintaining momentum and delivering business outcomes.

Skills

Hands-on leadership

Trusted advisor

Business-minded

Collaborative connector

Problem solver

Job description

The Variable is a forward-thinking advertising agency focused on driving ownable differentiation for our clients. We believe the strongest results happen when brand and performance work together, creating ideas that break through, spend that works harder, and outcomes that multiply. With a dedication to innovation and strategic partnership, we work as true client partners to deliver creative that inspires, strategies that perform, and results that matter.

POSITION SUMMARY

As Group Account Director (GAD), you are responsible for the strategic direction, business health, and long-term growth of a group of client accounts. Through direct client partnership and the leadership, development, and support of Account Directors, Account Supervisors, Senior Account Executives, and Account Executives, you ensure account teams translate client objectives into actionable plans that drive measurable business results for clients and sustainable growth for the agency.

You maintain strong relationships with senior client stakeholders, proactively identify growth opportunities, and help guide teams through complexity, ambiguity, and evolving business needs. While this role is rooted in senior client leadership and strategic partnership, strong operational instincts and delivery fluency remain critical. You are expected to maintain visibility into account health, executional realities, and delivery risks across your business while helping teams navigate challenges and keep work moving effectively.

As a growing and evolving agency, responsibilities at The Variable may shift based on client needs, team structure, account complexity, and business priorities. Success in this role requires adaptability, comfort balancing strategic leadership with hands-on execution, and a willingness to contribute beyond rigid role boundaries when needed.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead a portfolio of client accounts, ensuring account health, profitability, delivery excellence, and long-term partnership strength.
• Lead annual planning, business reviews, and strategic roadmap development across assigned accounts, ensuring account teams maintain clear objectives, growth plans, and success metrics.
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with senior client stakeholders, serving as a strategic advisor and escalation point across your business.
• Lead the identification, development, and presentation of organic growth opportunities across the account group, partnering with account teams to bring proactive recommendations to clients.
• Translate strategic direction into clear priorities, scopes, staffing approaches, timelines, and execution plans that support measurable outcomes.
• Navigate complex stakeholder environments, building alignment across executive leadership, business unit leaders, functional teams, and other key decision-makers.
• Maintain visibility into account health, scopes, budgets, staffing realities, timelines, delivery risks, and operational execution across your account group.
• Ensure projects are strategically aligned, operationally sound, and positioned for successful delivery from kickoff through completion.
• Help teams navigate shifting priorities, operational complexity, and evolving client needs while maintaining momentum and accountability.
• Contribute strategic leadership to pitches, proposals, growth planning, and high-priority client initiatives.
• Lead clients through complex planning, approval, and decision-making processes while maintaining momentum and delivering business outcomes.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• With Strategy, Media, Creative, Production, and account leadership: Ensure work reflects strong strategic thinking, creative ambition, production realities, and business impact.
• With Business Affairs: Collaborate on staffing visibility, production planning, workflow coordination, and operational support needs across your business.
• With Finance: Monitor account profitability, budget health, staffing implications, and scope changes, escalating risks or concerns proactively.
• Foster strong alignment and collaboration across disciplines to support healthy, scalable deliver
• Establish account leadership standards across the account group and hold teams accountable for client satisfaction, delivery excellence, profitability, and growth.
• Provide coaching, strategic guidance, operational support, and career development feedback to strengthen team capabilities.
• Help build a culture of accountability, collaboration, adaptability, and proactive problem-solving across the account organization.
• Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to flex between strategic leadership and executional support as business needs require.

KEY TRAITS

• Hands-On Leader: Balances strategic oversight with day-to-day involvement.
• Trusted Advisor: Builds credibility with senior stakeholders by providing thoughtful counsel, proactive recommendations, and business-focused solutions.
• Business-Minded: Balances client objectives, agency capabilities, and commercial realities to drive sustainable growth.
• Collaborative Connector: Aligns Business Affairs, Strategy, Media, and Finance toward shared outcomes.
• Problem Solver: Anticipates challenges and resolves them effectively.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 12–15 years of experience in account management, client leadership, strategic consulting, project delivery, or integrated agency environments.
• Proven success leading complex client relationships, cross-functional teams, and high-value account portfolios.
• Strong strategic thinking, client leadership, operational oversight, and financial management skills.
• Experience managing scopes, staffing considerations, budgets, timelines, and integrated delivery execution.
• Ability to connect strategic recommendations to operational realities and business outcomes.
• Experience mentoring and developing account management talent and cross-functional teams.
• Experience leading large, matrixed client organizations with multiple stakeholder groups and decision-makers.
• Demonstrated success managing integrated marketing initiatives across multiple business units, service lines, brands, or locations.
• Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, and organizational leadership skills.
• Comfortable operating in collaborative, fast-moving agency environments with evolving business needs.

WE OFFER

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family, with strong employer contributions
• 401(k) with a 4 percent employer match, immediately vested
• Monthly, non-taxable cell phone reimbursement
• Meaningful bonus opportunities, including client referrals, employee referrals, and a peer-to-peer bonus program that gives you $1,000 each year to recognize teammates doing great work
• Up to 14 weeks of paid parental and medical leave, plus a paid, part-time transition back to work, designed to support recovery, bonding, and balance for all parents
• Generous paid time off that increases with tenure, plus Me Time Off (MTO) for the real-life moments that don’t require a full PTO day
• Paid holidays and agency-wide closures, with additional flexibility built into our time-off approach
• Bereavement leave that recognizes loss in all its forms, including miscarriage
• Protected “Heads Down” time every Wednesday afternoon, reserved for deep focus and uninterrupted work
• Hybrid work model with intentional in-office collaboration and flexibility where it works best
• Mental health, financial wellness, and well-being resources to support you as a whole person

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are an EOE and proudly embrace diversity in all its forms. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, veteran status, or disability.