Account Director

Publicis Groupe Africa; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Digitas, a leading Networked Experience Agency, seeks an Account Director to oversee CRM and email campaign outputs, ensuring accurate, compliant, and brand-aligned communications before distribution. You will lead cross-sell initiatives, manage budgets, and guide teams across CVM and CI execution in a fast-paced, data-driven environment.

You will build client relationships, translate business objectives into CRM strategies, and mentor staff on best practices while ensuring performance

Qualifications

• A strong passion for data-driven marketing and customer experience, with a focus on delivering measurable CRM results
• A relevant degree and 5–7 years of experience, preferably within a digital or CRM-focused agency environment
• Proven expertise in CRM and email marketing, with a solid understanding of marketing automation platforms
• Deep knowledge of audience segmentation, personalisation, customer journeys, and lifecycle marketing strategies
• Some familiarity with HTML QA review, Alt-Text sense checking and visual testing
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to interpret campaign and industry dataas well as translate insights into actionable improvements
• High proficiency in campaign reporting, A/B testing methodologies, and performance optimisation
• Excellent time management and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple data-driven campaigns simultaneously.
• Demonstrated leadership ability, with experience guiding creative teams on CVM and CI execution and best practices.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complex data into clear client narratives.
• A proactive, solutions-oriented mindset with the ability to adapt quickly in a fast-paced, data-driven environment.

Responsibilities

• Strengthen client relationships as trusted CRM advisor, lead cross-sell and upsell campaigns.
• Understand client structure and internal processes impacting CRM and data-driven marketing execution.
• Include briefs and cost estimates in the internal CRM for sharing with stakeholders.
• Monitor account financials and ensure CEs are billed per forecast.
• Develop understanding of client products and market to tailor CRM strategies.
• Lead end-to-end workflow planning of CRM-driven creative, focusing on email marketing.
• Manage planning, creative workflow and deployment of targeted email campaigns.
• Create clear briefs around campaign performance, testing, and optimisation.
• Monitor campaign performance and optimize based on CRM metrics.
• Present campaign strategies and test results with confidence.
• Write and steer actionable CRM briefs including segmentation and automation workflows.
• Oversee campaign production from briefing to deployment and post-analysis.
• Manage expectations across clients and teams, identify risks.
• Act as brand and customer experience ambassador across CRM touchpoints.
• Manage recon meetings with head of resourcing and align budgets with targets.
• Coaching team members in CRM best practices and data-driven thinking.
• Ensure resources for CRM delivery including data, tech, and creative.
• Understand campaign performance in relation to revenue and retention.

Skills

CRM & email marketing

Data-driven marketing

Campaign management

Leadership

Marketing automation platforms

HTML QA review

Education

Relevant degree

Tools

Marketing automation platforms

Job description

Company Description

Digitas is the Networked Experience Agency, built on the vision that we create magnetic experiences that earn the right for brands to exist in human networks. Today, and tomorrow. We deliver Networked Experiences by leveraging comprehensive data, technology, creative, media, and strategy capabilities. Digitas delivers ambitious outcomes via unique solutions that include Creative Experiences, Integrated Media, Addressable Relationships, Social Marketing, and Total Commerce. Celebrated by Ad Age as Data and Insights Agency of the Year, U.S Campaign’s Brand Experience Agency of the Year, Media Network of the Year, and celebrated by Forrester and Gartner, Digitas serves the world’s leading brands through a global network comprised of more than 5,500 employees across over 65 offices in 43 countries, including South Africa.

Company Description

Digitas is the Networked Experience Agency, built on the vision that we create magnetic experiences that earn the right for brands to exist in human networks. Today, and tomorrow. We deliver Networked Experiences by leveraging comprehensive data, technology, creative, media, and strategy capabilities. Digitas delivers ambitious outcomes via unique solutions that include Creative Experiences, Integrated Media, Addressable Relationships, Social Marketing, and Total Commerce. Celebrated by Ad Age as Data and Insights Agency of the Year, U.S Campaign’s Brand Experience Agency of the Year, Media Network of the Year, and celebrated by Forrester and Gartner, Digitas serves the world’s leading brands through a global network comprised of more than 5,500 employees across over 65 offices in 43 countries, including South Africa.

The Digitas culture is made up of fearless, inventive, and generous Unicorns of all kinds.

Overview

The Account Director (AD) is responsible for overseeing all CVM campaign outputs, ensuring that all CRM and email marketing communications are accurate, compliant, brand and CI-aligned and client-ready before final approval and distribution.

Responsibilities

CRM & Email Campaign Management

• Strengthening client relationships and becoming their trusted CRM advisor, leading cross-sell and upsell campaigns around customer value marketing, making use of market and brand segmentation, and personalisation.
• Demonstrating a strong understanding of the client’s organisational structure, as well as internal processes impacting CRM, CVM (Customer Value Management) and data-driven marketing execution.
• Including briefs and cost estimates (CEs) in the internal CRM to ensure that briefs and CEs are shareable and actionable by other agency stakeholders.
• Processing and monitoring of the account financials, ensuring that all approved CEs are billed and invoiced in line with the financial forecasting as communicated within the weekly-recon sessions.
• Developing a deep understanding of the client’s products, customer base, and competitive landscape, translating business objectives into effective CRM strategies (onboarding, retention, triggered cross-sell and upsell, win-back, and reactivation).
• Lead the end-to-end workflow planning of CRM-driven creative, with a strong focus on email marketing and customer lifecycle communications.
• Manage the planning, creative workflow and deployment of targeted email campaigns, ensuring accuracy in delivery.
• Creating clear, structured, and insight-led briefs across teams, particularly around campaign performance, testing, and optimisation
• Monitor campaign performance and optimise based on key CRM metrics (open rates, CTR, conversions, retention) as shared by the clients.
• Presenting campaign strategies, test results (A/B testing), and perform industry related case confidently and persuasively
• Writing and steering actionable CRM briefs, including segmentation logic, personalisation requirements, and automation workflows. This includes overseeing campaign production, including briefing, build, QA, deployment, and post-campaign analysis.
• Managing expectations across clients and internal teams, proactively identifying risks in campaign delivery, data integrity, or timelines
• Acting as a brand and customer experience ambassador, ensuring consistency across all CRM touchpoints (email, SMS, push, and automated journeys)
• Manage and oversee monthly recon meetings with the head of resourcing, formatting feedback decks, managing CRM budgets and ensuring alignment with revenue targets and ROI expectations with internal and external resources.
• Coaching and developing team members in CRM best practices, email marketing execution, and data-driven thinking
• Ensuring the right resources are in place for CRM campaign delivery, including data, tech, and creative.
• Understanding campaign performance in relation to broader business metrics such as revenue, customer lifetime value, and retention.

Qualifications

• A strong passion for data-driven marketing and customer experience, with a focus on delivering measurable CRM results
• A relevant degree and 5–7 years of experience, preferably within a digital or CRM-focused agency environment
• Proven expertise in CRM and email marketing, with a solid understanding of marketing automation platforms
• Deep knowledge of audience segmentation, personalisation, customer journeys, and lifecycle marketing strategies
• Some familiarity with HTML QA review, Alt-Text sense checking and visual testing
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to interpret campaign and industry dataas well as translate insights into actionable improvements
• High proficiency in campaign reporting, A/B testing methodologies, and performance optimisation
• Excellent time management and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple data-driven campaigns simultaneously.
• Demonstrated leadership ability, with experience guiding creative teams on CVM and CI execution and best practices.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complex data into clear client narratives.
• A proactive, solutions-oriented mindset with the ability to adapt quickly in a fast-paced, data-driven environment.

Additional Information

Preferred Experience

• Experience working in a high-paced agency environment with high-volume CRM accounts
• Familiarity with data privacy regulations (e.g., POPIA, especially within the FSP industry) and CRM compliance requirements
• Experience with customer journey mapping and marketing automation workflows
• Exposure to omnichannel CRM strategies (email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging)
• Familiarity with prompt-based interaction, generative AI tools, and automation tools to supportideation, campaign planning, and ad hoc campaigns.