Account Director

Oliver Agency; Durban; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Oliver Agency in Durban, South Africa, is seeking an Account Director for a hybrid role (3 days in studio). You will lead the account management team to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget, while mentoring staff and ensuring client satisfaction.

You will report to the Head of Delivery and work with Operations to drive day-to-day activities and ongoing improvements across the department, with a strong focus on governance and profitability.

Qualifications

• 6+ years account management experience within marketing & advertising.
• Ability to lead the account management team to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
• Mentor project managers to grow the team and capabilities.
• Strong analytical mindset and solutions orientation.
• Comfortable presenting to senior clients and internal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Take overall responsibility for the Account Management team’s project governance, defining and upholding best practice, while driving continuous project management excellence.
• Lead high-value, key projects, creating robust plans and budgets, working with other project team members to execute delivery.
• Proactively review processes and recommend changes to deliver efficiencies in timings and costs.
• Monitor all project progress and act as escalation point for the Account Management team to remove obstacles.
• Monitor profitability across the department, identify risks and implement mitigation strategies to ensure on-brief delivery within budget.

Skills

Leadership

Project governance

Budgeting

Client relations

Mentoring

MS Office

Communication

Presentation skills

Analytical mindset

Tools

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

Job description

Established in 2004, OLIVER is the world’s first and only specialist in designing, building, and running bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. We partner with over 300 clients in 40+ countries and counting. Our unique model drives creativity and efficiency, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate deeply with audiences.

As a part of The Brandtech Group , we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting‑edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our AI solutions enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision‑making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results.

Role: Account Director

Location: Durban, South Africa (hybrid, 3 days a week in studio)

About the role:

Working in partnership with our client, the Account Director will be leading and inspiring the account management team to ensure delivery to a high standard and to agreed scope, budget and timeframe, meeting (or exceeding) customer expectations. As an Account Director, you will be responsible for project governance across the team, as well as monitoring and tracking performance and profitability.

This role will include line management and so you will help to mentor individuals, so they are able to learn and flourish as individuals. As an Account Director, you will report into the Head of Delivery and work with the Operations team to ensure smooth day-to-day activities, and continuous improvements across the department and account.

What you will be doing:

• Take overall responsibility for the Account Management team’s project governance, defining and upholding best practice, while driving continuous project management excellence.
• Lead high-value, key projects, creating robust plans and budgets, working with other project team members to execute delivery.
• Proactively review processes and recommend changes which are likely to deliver efficiencies to timings and costs.
• Monitoring all project progress, to be a point of escalation for the Account Management team and remove obstacles before they impact any deliveries.
• Effectively monitor profitability across the department, identifying risks and implementing mitigation strategies to ensure projects are delivered on brief, on time and within budget.

What you need to be great in this role:

• The ability to lead the account management team to deliver high-quality work that is on time and within budget.
• The ability to parachute into situations, troubleshooting and coordinating resolutions to issues related to the delivery of projects.
• Understanding of the importance of prioritising work/shifting priorities as required to meet ever-changing client requirements and deadlines.
• Experienced and confident in creating and maintaining project documentation and processes.
• Be proud of your work, often taking on the final quality assurance to ensure delivery to the highest quality
• Have 6+ years account management experience within marketing & advertising.
• Be comfortable with mentoring project managers and managing resources.
• Have a good level of skill Microsoft Office.
• Proactively manage the team and your workload while being self-sufficient.
• Have a strong analytic mindset, and be solutions orientated.
• Contribute towards growing the client relationship through a high standard of quality work, working alongside the Client Service team, collaboratively.
• Confidently communicate and are comfortable presenting to senior clients or internal stakeholders.
• Ensure that all documents, guidelines and templates are accurate, useful and in use by the wider team.
• React quickly in a fast-changing environment and have the mindset to adapt quickly to changes.
• Have a strong commercial understanding and be adept in the client's financial reporting systems.

#LI-MR1 #LI-MIDSENIOR #LI-HYBRID

Our values shape everything we do:

Be Imaginative to push the boundaries of what’s possible

Be always learningand listening to understand

Be actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist across our community, clients and creations

Our recruitment process does not employ artificial intelligence for selection. We use AI to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgement. Candidate evaluation and selection are conducted without AI-supported screening or decision-making. We are committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate.

OLIVER, a part of the Brandtech Group, is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected. All applicants shall be considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, neurodivergence, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by local laws.

OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability, with science-based emissions reduction targets. Collectively, we work towards our mission, embedding sustainability into every department and through every stage of the project lifecycle.