Account Director - 13 Month Mat Cover FTC

A Hybrid working model

The Role

Please note this is a Mat Civer- 13 months FTC contract

Our Account Director (AD) is a knowledgeable and trusted Client lead, accountable for end-to-end project delivery, management of client and agency relationships, and leadership of a diverse and dynamic team, including direct line management responsibility for one or more Account Managers/Executives, supporting their growth and development. Responsible for operational discipline, delivery, resource optimisation and profitability management across Clients and projects, the AD is the key point person for the projects they lead — accountable for delivering on time, on specification and on budget, with particular fluency in print and digital production at scale, luxury and premium brand standards, and moving image/content production.

You are calm, collected and steady under pressure — a safe pair of hands who brings order and confidence to high-volume, fast-moving production environments. You are not a creative by background, but you are fluent enough in creative process and language to hold your own in conversation with creative partners, challenge and support their thinking from a production lens, and be seen by both client and agency as the production expert in the room. You possess strong problem-solving skills, a passion for production, marketing and advertising, and a desire to learn. Highly organised and accountable, you build trusting Client and team relationships, collaborate across multi-disciplined teams, and draw on the expertise of WPP Production's resources and capabilities to ensure we execute flawlessly, at scale, and to the elevated standards luxury and premium clients expect.

Key Areas of Responsibility

Communication

• Responsible for managing the day-to-day client relationship with a focus on Client delivery
• Oversee the on-time delivery of high-volume print and digital projects and ensure smooth delivery and swift resolution of issues to maintain client confidence in WPP Production's capabilities
• The key day-to-day Client Delivery contact with clients, agencies and all associated WPP Production teams — recognised by both sides as the go-to production authority
• Deep understanding of the client's brand, category and audience — including luxury/premium sensitivities around brand tone, positioning and exclusivity — to deliver high satisfaction levels; share feedback with wider team and escalate delivery concerns to Senior Account Director / Client Director
• Act as the primary client contact for project delivery, structuring regular status and communications with clients, defining scope and approach, setting and managing expectations and deliverables, and troubleshooting issues calmly and confidently as they arise
• Work with client brands, creative and agency partners to ensure a clear understanding of the production brief, deliverables and timeline for each project across print, digital and moving image, and relay those details to the team as necessary
• Confidently engage in discussions around creative concepts and direction with agency/creative partners — not to direct the creative, but to represent production feasibility, timing, budget and scale considerations credibly and constructively
• Accountable for ensuring all team members are aware of timelines and deliverables

Collaboration

• Partner with Client Services, Production and Finance to ensure a smooth process, proper resource allocation and superior results
• Directly manage, mentor and develop a team member(s), setting clear objectives, providing regular feedback, and fostering a culture of ownership and accountability
• Develop and maintain high levels of team effectiveness, trust, communication, collaboration, productivity, diversity and engagement
• Demonstrate strong collaboration skills with internal agency teams (including creative teams — Art Directors, Designers, Copywriters) and key external partners to ensure quality and adherence to production and brand guidelines for key deliverables
• Act as a trusted production sounding board to external creative and account teams, balancing creative ambition with production feasibility, timelines, budget and scale

Process

• Manage medium-to-complex projects independently and with a team, from initiation through to completion, across print, digital and moving image production
• Bring proven experience of managing production at scale — high volumes of assets, multiple markets/formats, and complex versioning/adaptation requirements — with calm, methodical oversight
• Work collaboratively with all internal team members to facilitate the development of effective strategies and briefs that lead to great work
• Understand and anticipate client needs, taking them into account when framing and making delivery decisions
• Possess an understanding of project and client management techniques and bring process innovation to how we manage our engagements
• Manage client objectives, budget, expectations, deliverables and timelines and communicate changes/direction to team members
• Keep projects on track through clear team status, task lists, timing schedules, risk register, trackers, status and contact reports
• Participate actively and knowledgeably articulate status internally and during client interactions
• Leverage our on-site, onshore, offshore network to deliver great work in the most efficient and effective way
• Identify improvements to existing workflow and processes
• Identify potential project risks and develop contingency plans; escalate to Senior Account Director / Client Director as needed
• Review team structure and resources on an ongoing basis to ensure client is serviced appropriately
• Ensure the highest quality and elevated attention to detail is always delivered to clients, consistent with luxury and premium brand standards

Leadership

• Create a culture of fresh-thinking, collaboration, respect, equality, diversity and inclusion, with a focus on learning, development and growth
• Provide day-to-day management, coaching and performance guidance to direct report(s), ensuring clarity of role, workload and development path
• Contribute to WPP Production's culture by exhibiting ownership, professionalism, passion and leading by example
• Remain calm, composed and solutions-focused under pressure, setting the tone for the wider team
• Take ownership and find solutions, whilst supporting the wider team by removing barriers to success
• Retain the best talent

Financials

• Demonstrate strong commercial abilities and business and financial acumen
• Own project budgets and tracking of all ongoing costs throughout the project lifecycle, reconcile estimates to actuals on all projects, and resolve budget discrepancies between disciplines, vendors and clients
• Manage POs, financial reporting, tracking, billing against all project budgets — including high-volume print/digital production costs
• Manage financial aspects of assigned accounts including development of SOWs and change orders, estimates, profitability analysis and utilisation, working with Finance where appropriate
• Responsible for monthly billing and tracking of all production budgets
• Ensure a thorough understanding of commercial arrangements and SLAs across assigned accounts and ensure specific details are understood by the broader team
• Protect margins
• Proactively seek and identify new revenue opportunities across your clients

Requirements

• Project / Client management related experience within an interactive or integrated agency, with a strong understanding of print and digital production processes, and good working knowledge of video, content, social and other key channels
• Proven experience managing production at scale — high-volume, multi-format, multi-market print and digital campaigns
• Good understanding of production and the creative development process, content production, technology, quality assurance testing and marketing methodologies
• Not required to be a creative themselves, but must be comfortable and credible discussing creative concepts, direction and feasibility with creative partners, clients and agencies, acting as the trusted production voice in those conversations
• Experience with luxury and premium accounts/brands — comfortable navigating elevated standards, brand guidelines, sign-off processes and attention to detail these clients expect, along with sensitivity around brand tone, positioning and exclusivity
• Experience with retail clients — understanding of retail marketing cycles (seasonal campaigns, store openings, product launches), multi-market/multi-territory rollouts, and the fast turnarounds retail calendars often demand
• Familiarity with moving image production — understanding of film/video production processes, from pre-production through to shoot, edit, post-production and final delivery/versioning
• Ability to manage complex projects with varying components, demonstrating ability to deliver on time and on budget
• Prior experience managing, mentoring or supervising junior team members
• A calm, collected, and unflappable demeanour — able to stay composed and clear-headed under pressure and at pace
• Experience of building solid client relationships, including with senior/brand-side stakeholders in luxury and premium environments
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and relationships cross-functionally
• An appreciation for how great work gets done and a commitment to ensuring flawless execution and delivery
• Proven ability to collaborate with dynamic cross-functional teams, including close work with creative teams (Art Directors, Designers, Copywriters), to deliver on projects
• Demonstrates an ability to solve problems with solutions that work for all stakeholders without compromising quality of deliverables or the project
• Must be commercially astute, able to build scopes, create budgets and track profitability
• Proven negotiation skills
• Strong client relationship skills including presenting to clients and the ability to think on your feet
• Strong written/oral communication skills
• Experience of working with offshore teams a plus
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, wireframing/workflow tools, online project management/collaboration/ticketing tools e.g. JIRA, Smartsheet, Trello, Miro etc.

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