Senior Account Director

COACT AGENCY; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

COACT AGENCY is seeking an experienced Senior Account Director to lead day-to-day client partnerships, translate business priorities into integrated programs, and drive high-impact campaigns across global marketing, ABM, trade shows, and experiential activations.

You will mentor junior team members, manage multiple workstreams, and collaborate with strategy, creative, media, and production to deliver outstanding results for senior client stakeholders in a fast-moving agency setting.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in account management, client services, integrated marketing, advertising, or a related client-facing role, preferably within an agency environment.
• Experience leading complex client relationships and integrated marketing engagements.
• Experience across Global Integrated Marketing, Trade Show/Experiential Activations, Account-Based Marketing, and Strategic Earned + Paid Media.
• Experience overseeing integrated campaigns that bring together multiple disciplines such as strategy, creative, digital, social, content, media, communications, and experiential.
• Experience mentoring junior and mid-level account team members.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple clients, programs, priorities, budgets, and stakeholders simultaneously.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior day-to-day partner for assigned client relationships.
• Translate business objectives into integrated marketing strategies and actionable programs.
• Lead client meetings, presentations, planning sessions, business reviews, and strategic conversations.
• Lead integrated programs across global marketing, trade show and experiential activations, ABM, earned media, paid media, digital, social, content, and creative.
• Guide Account-Based Marketing programs, partnering with strategy, content, digital, media, and client teams to develop targeted campaigns around priority accounts and audiences.
• Oversee trade show and event activations, coordinating strategy, creative development, content, communications, and supporting campaign activity before, during, and after events.
• Partner with media and communications teams on strategic earned and paid media programs, ensuring channel strategies support broader client and campaign objectives.
• Help establish campaign objectives and measurement plans, using performance insights to inform recommendations and future work.
• Mentor and support Account Managers, Project Managers, Account Coordinators, and other account team members.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Communication

Relationship-building

ABM strategy

ABM execution

Trade shows

Experiential programs

Account leadership

Forecasting

Budget management

Account planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing/Business/Advertising/Communications

Job description

COACT is a global creative marketing agency that brings bold ideas to elevate businesses and brands. Our collaborative approach blends diverse perspectives to create dynamic, culturally relevant campaigns that spark growth and leave a lasting impact for our clients and partners. We believe in fostering a strong sense of community within our industry, and we're seeking an experienced Senior Account Director to join our team.

Overview

As a Senior Account Director, you’ll serve as a senior day-to-day leader across key client relationships, helping translate business priorities into clear strategies, integrated programs, and strong work.

You’ll lead complex client engagements across Global Integrated Marketing, Trade Show and Experiential Activations, Account-Based Marketing (ABM), and Strategic Earned + Paid Media , partnering with internal teams and external partners to keep strategy and execution connected.

This role requires someone who can see the big picture while staying close to the work. You’re comfortable leading senior client conversations, managing multiple workstreams and stakeholders, navigating complex organizations, and creating clarity for the teams responsible for delivering the work.

Key Responsibilities

Client & Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a senior day-to-day partner for assigned client relationships.
• Develop a strong understanding of the client’s business, industry, audiences, priorities, and broader marketing ecosystem.
• Translate business objectives into integrated marketing strategies and actionable programs.
• Lead client meetings, presentations, planning sessions, business reviews, and strategic conversations.
• Build relationships across client organizations and help align multiple stakeholders around shared goals.
• Anticipate client needs, identify potential challenges, and bring forward thoughtful solutions.

Integrated Marketing & Campaign Leadership

• Lead integrated programs across global marketing, trade show and experiential activations, ABM, earned media, paid media, digital, social, content, and creative .
• Connect individual tactics and channels to a larger strategy, ensuring work is cohesive from planning through execution.
• Lead global and multi-market initiatives while helping teams navigate different stakeholders, audiences, timelines, and deliverables.
• Guide Account-Based Marketing programs , partnering with strategy, content, digital, media, and client teams to develop targeted campaigns around priority accounts and audiences.
• Oversee trade show and event activations , coordinating strategy, creative development, content, communications, and supporting campaign activity before, during, and after events.
• Partner with media and communications teams on strategic earned and paid media programs , ensuring channel strategies support broader client and campaign objectives.
• Help establish campaign objectives and measurement plans, using performance insights to inform recommendations and future work.

Account Growth & Management

• Identify opportunities to deepen and expand existing client relationships based on real business and marketing needs.
• Partner with Client Services and agency leadership on account planning, scopes, renewals, and organic growth opportunities.
• Support the development of scopes of work, estimates, timelines, and account plans.
• Maintain visibility into client satisfaction, upcoming priorities, risks, and opportunities.
• Ensure expectations remain aligned around scope, budget, timing, deliverables, and outcomes.
• Lead and provide direction to cross-functional teams supporting assigned accounts.
• Mentor and support Account Managers, Project Managers, Account Coordinators, and other account team members.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, expectations, and communication across account teams.
• Support onboarding for new clients and team members.
• Model strong client service, communication, organization, and accountability.
• Ensure teams have the business and client context they need to make informed decisions and deliver strong work.
• Maintain visibility into account budgets, scopes, timelines, and resourcing.
• Partner with project management and agency leadership to keep engagements on track and identify potential issues early.
• Support forecasting, scope management, and account profitability.
• Manage multiple projects and workstreams while keeping priorities clear across internal and client teams.
• Ensure work is delivered on time, within scope, and at a high standard of quality.
• Look for opportunities to make account processes simpler, clearer, and more effective.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with strategy, creative, media, digital, communications, experiential, and production teams from planning through execution.
• Translate client needs into clear direction and useful context for internal teams.
• Facilitate alignment between client objectives, strategic recommendations, creative ideas, and execution.
• Lead internal account planning and status discussions for assigned business.
• Advocate for both strong client relationships and strong creative work.
• Help teams navigate dependencies and handoffs across channels, disciplines, markets, and partners.

Qualifications

Required Experience

• 6+ years of experience in account management, client services, integrated marketing, advertising, or a related client-facing role, preferably within an agency environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex client relationships and integrated marketing engagements.
• Experience working across Global Integrated Marketing, Trade Show/Experiential Activations, Account-Based Marketing, and Strategic Earned + Paid Media .
• Experience overseeing integrated campaigns that bring together multiple disciplines such as strategy, creative, digital, social, content, media, communications, and experiential.
• Experience collaborating with senior-level client stakeholders and cross-functional agency teams.
• Experience guiding or mentoring junior and mid-level account team members.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple clients, programs, priorities, budgets, and stakeholders simultaneously.

Skills & Expertise

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to connect client business goals to actionable marketing recommendations.
• Strong communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to translate complex information into clear direction for both clients and internal teams.
• Strong understanding of integrated marketing and how paid, earned, owned, digital, experiential, and creative channels work together.
• Understanding of ABM strategy and execution , including targeted audience/account approaches, integrated content, campaign activation, and measurement.
• Experience supporting trade shows and experiential programs , with an understanding of how events connect to broader campaign and business objectives.
• Understanding of earned and paid media strategy and the role each plays within an integrated campaign.
• Experience with scope development, budget management, forecasting, and account planning.
• Comfortable navigating client feedback, shifting priorities, and challenging conversations.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Comfortable working in a collaborative, fast-moving agency environment.
• Able to balance strategic thinking with hands‑on account leadership.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Advertising, Communications, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent professional experience will also be considered.