As an Account Manager, you will be responsible for the management of a client account and primary project owner on the account. This could range from a single large account to multiple medium sized accounts.
An account comprises of multiple projects; this account is also a Key Client (KC) of Superunion Africa. Depending on the account, you will be reporting directly into the Client Service Director and/or Business Unit Director.
Key responsibilities & accountabilities
- Secondary owner of the client relationship at the account level – Marketing Manager (MM) and Brand Manager level
- Effectively handle most aspects of client communications at a MM and BM level
- Building, strengthening and growing the relationship between the agency and client (middle management)
- Managing the project team (account support, strategy and creative) and workflow
- Meeting overall profit margins, targets and farming targets assigned to the account
- Oversight, reporting and quality control of each project for this account
- Develop and implement approach and process (in support of the overall company process)
- Identify, interview and recruit candidates for the group account
- Support direct line manager in recruitment activities (identify and initial interviews only)
- Implement internal processes to improve efficiency on each project
- Weekly forecast on finances, people and farming potential within each active project
- Actively implement agency standards, directives and process in day to day activities
- Drive the development of case studies and PR material for each big project, driving agency equity and credentials for the agency within each project
- Learning and applying theories/methodology within your day to day activities
- Reading, following and researching relevant content to grow your own knowledge on each project
- Supports the Client Service Director and/or Business Unit Director in developing and implementing process and systems
- Ability to scope and negotiate fees on the account with the support of the Client Service Director and/or Business Unit Director
- Development of KC plans and quarterly forecast support
Role specific professional and technical skills
- Very good writing and delivery skills relating to internal and external communication
- Solid presentation skills at a MM and BM level
- Ability to manage a large client with multiple projects
- Excellent time management and organizational skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Good business writing capability
- Excellent understanding of strategic and creative brand content
- Solid understanding of global and local business operations and reporting pertaining to the agency
- Good understanding of local reporting, directives and approaches within our business
- Excellent understanding and experience in design, strategy and production process
- Fully conversant with Microsoft (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) and TrafficLive
Job Behaviours
- Leading from the front: Champion positive change by creating a sense of direction and purpose at a project level. Encouraging a sense of mutual responsibility and encouraging high performance and delivery.
- Team player: Passion for meeting objectives together.
- Accuracy: Attention to detail and a passion for reporting.
- Showing interest: Express interest in your project team’s ensuring that you understand personal diversity, strengths and weaknesses.
- Being agile: Being able to adapt your approach to projects to ensure we deliver within client expectations.
- Continually learning: Keep learning and developing new skills and trends by participating in professional seminars, reading relevant research and insights, doing own desktop research.
- Effective communication: Persuade and influence others using logic and reason. Negotiate your way to find and express solutions for broad and complex issues.
- Client centric views: Ensuring that all decisions and executions are based around building a lasting partnership with the client and taking personal responsibility for improving and correcting customer service problems and eliminate underlying problems. Take extraordinary steps to retain and grow these relationships.
- Collaborating: Develop a relationship with key stakeholders (Client Service Director and Exco) to achieve common goals for the agency (policy, process, methodology, targets).
- Being resilient: Prevail in all circumstances and being able to make important decisions and the confidence to see these through.