Senior Account Director

Excel-Sports-Management; New York (NY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits

Discretionary bonus

Job summary

Excel Sports Management in New York, NY is seeking a Senior Account Director to lead high-value client relationships, shape partnership strategy, and drive cross-functional collaboration with Operations to deliver growth and excellence.

You may oversee 2–3 key accounts and mentor junior team members while aligning revenue objectives with strategic enterprise outcomes. A dynamic leader with strong negotiation skills is essential.

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years of experience in agency, sponsorship marketing, or brand leadership.
• Proven experience managing large, complex client relationships.
• Demonstrated success growing revenue and expanding scope.
• Strong financial and commercial negotiation experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the business lead across account(s).
• Shape long-term partnership strategy aligned to enterprise objectives.
• Lead growth through multi-year expansion strategies.
• Mentor Account Managers and Account Coordinators.

Job description

Excel Sports Management is an industry-leading sports agency representing top-tier talent, blue-chip brands and marquee properties. Our success is rooted in our people, our high character reputation and our commitment to creating a diverse and welcoming workplace. We focus on team chemistry, collaboration, strong relationships, valuable networks, and ambitious ideas to deliver innovative solutions that keep our clients and agency ahead of the curve.

Excel Sports Management is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).

Position Summary:

As a Senior Account Director, you are a business leader across high-value client relationships. You set the vision for partnership growth, influence enterprise-level stakeholders, and shape how the agency shows up strategically within complex organizations. You may support a single enterprise-scale client or oversee 2–3 important accounts. You operate as a trusted advisor to senior and executive client leadership while partnering closely with Operations to ensure delivery excellence supports commercial ambition.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as the business lead across account(s).
• Demonstrate deep client understanding—grasping the client’s business, industry, organizational dynamics, and objectives to guide partnership direction.
• Shape long-term partnership strategy aligned to enterprise objectives.
• Advise senior client stakeholders with confidence and clarity.
• Navigate complex stakeholder ecosystems and procurement environments.
• Lead relationship strategy across senior stakeholders, strengthening trust, influence, and decision-making velocity.

Growth and Portfolio Expansion

• Own growth targets across assigned accounts.
• Develop and execute multi-year expansion strategies.
• Identify whitespace opportunities across business units, channels, and markets.
• Architect integrated solutions by mobilizing capabilities across the agency to solve complex client challenges.
• Play a central role in new business efforts and high-profile pitches.

Strategic Integration & Agency Leadership

• Align Business and Operational leadership around shared goals and financial outcomes.
• Ensure agency capabilities evolve in response to client and category shifts.
• Influence internal decision-making to prioritize high-impact opportunities.
• Serve as a visible leader within the agency and externally in the marketplace.
• Maintain a strong industry presence and network—leveraging relationships across brands, properties, leagues, talent ecosystems, and partners to unlock differentiated opportunities for clients and the agency.
• Maintain visibility into account financial performance.
• Guide revenue forecasting and long-term financial planning.
• Lead negotiation discussions related to scopes, retainers, and renewals.
• Own commercial decision-making across accounts—including agreements, pricing strategy, profitability management, and deal negotiation—in partnership with executive leadership as appropriate.
• Mentor Account Managers and Account Coordinators.
• Help identify future business leaders within the organization.
• Model composure, decisiveness, and strategic clarity in high-stakes moments.

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years of experience in agency, sponsorship marketing, or brand marketing leadership.
• Proven experience managing large, complex client relationships
• Demonstrated success growing revenue and expanding scope of business.
• Strong financial and commercial negotiation experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Exceptional strategic and commercial acumen.
• Senior-level client management experience with executive presence.
• Demonstrated success driving significant revenue growth.
• Ability to balance ambition with disciplined business judgment.
• Skilled at leading through influence rather than direct execution control.
• Deep understanding of integrated marketing ecosystems.
• Outcome orientation, ensuring work ladders to measurable business impact.
• Strong industry and cultural expertise, bringing deep knowledge of sports, music, entertainment, and cultural trends to identify emerging opportunities and right-fit partnerships.

The pay range for this position is $170,000 - $190,000 per year. This position is also eligible for benefits and discretionary bonus.

Please note that the foregoing compensation information is a good-faith assessment associated with this position only and is provided pursuant to the New York City Salary Transparency Law.

Ultimately, the salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, time in role, business sector, and geographic location, among other criteria.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

Excel Sports Management provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Excel Sports Management is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, disability, genetic predisposition or genetic carrier status, veteran status or any other legally protected status. We are committed to fostering and creating a dynamic workforce and environment that values diversity and inclusion and strives to recruit a diverse slate of candidates to help us achieve that goal.To help us monitor and assess our recruitment efforts, we invite you to self-identify as part of any group set forth below. Completion of this form is voluntary and will not affect your opportunity for employment or the terms or conditions of your employment. This form will be retained separate from your application for employment. Your voluntary cooperation is appreciated.