Account Director

Company: Open Partners
Apply for the Account Director
Location: Manchester
Job Description:

Client Leadership Team Overview:

The Client Leadership Team at Open Partners is the heartbeat of our agency – driving strategic vision, integration and performance through close, high-impact relationships. We blend Media, Creative and Data into cohesive, growth-oriented roadmaps and set the tone for Smarter, Faster, Better across everything we do. This is a privileged team of top-tier talent with drive and ambition who partner with clients to drive true business value and define and demonstrate what Agency of Next means.

Role Purpose

The Client Partner / (Account Director) is a central leadership role within the Client Leadership track, responsible for owning client relationships, leading strategy, and driving commercial growth. You are the day-to-day senior voice of Open Partners for your clients, shaping their marketing and business direction with consultancy-grade clarity, foresight, and influence.

You will lead integrated strategy across media, data and creative, deepen senior client relationships (including decision-makers and emerging Champions), and own the commercial performance of your portfolio. Client Partners are expected to set the standard for how OP shows up: strategic, commercially-minded, relationship-led and relentlessly committed to excellence.

This role is pivotal in defining the future of OP and demonstrating what Agency of Next means in practice – through transformational thinking, integrated planning, and meaningful growth impact.

Role Responsibilities

1. Integrated Strategic Leadership

  • Lead the development and deployment of Effectiveness Roadmaps, RISE strategies, Annual Plans and Business Reviews, ensuring alignment with client priorities and OP’s consultancy vision.

  • Own the creation and delivery of strategic narratives that integrate media, data and creative into a unified story that drives business outcomes.

  • Proactively identify strategic opportunities and risks; bring clear, structured recommendations to influence long-term direction.

  • Lead client meetings with confidence, clarity and consultancy authority, setting the tone for cross-discipline collaboration and strategic integration.

  • Brief and partner with the Client Delivery Centre of Excellence to ensure output quality, alignment and operational excellence.

  • Shape how cross-functional teams collaborate and maintain standards across portfolios.

  • Leads a high-performing client team by setting strategic direction, ensuring clarity of roles and expectations, and creating the conditions for integrated excellence

2. Commercial Acumen & Growth

  • Own commercial performance for your client portfolio – including revenue, margin, forecasting and contract management.

  • Identify and convert upsell, cross-sell and expansion opportunities based on strategic needs and growth levers.

  • Maintain ≥95% forecasting accuracy and ensure all scopes and commercials are aligned to roadmaps and strategic plans.

  • Partner with Principals on multi-year contracts or renegotiations; ensure commercial conversations are grounded in strategic value and demonstrable impact.

  • Understand client business models deeply, connecting OP’s work to commercial KPIs, financial outcomes, and long-term value creation.

3) Relationship & Influence Mastery

  • Build deep, trusted relationships across all levels, acting as a true partner and advisor.

  • Develop and maintain client Champions who advocate for OP within their organisation and influence senior stakeholders.

  • Spend meaningful physical time with clients through onsite sessions, immersion days, planning meetings and workshops to deepen understanding, strengthen trust, and accelerate impact.

  • Demonstrate exceptional communication and influence: guide clients through ambiguity, challenge constructively, and align stakeholders around strategic direction.

  • Lead or support senior conversations, ensuring OP shows up with consultancy-grade presence, empathy and authority.

  • Represent OP with professionalism and credibility, consistently strengthening our reputation and values in every interaction.

4) Consultative Problem Solving

  • Use structured thinking, foresight and analytical rigour to solve complex marketing, commercial and organisational challenges.

  • Prioritise initiatives and solutions based on business impact; turn insight into action with clear sequencing and decision pathways.

  • Lead hypothesis creation, testing and experimentation plans that deepen learning and accelerate growth.

  • Help clients navigate change, uncertainty and transformation, bringing clarity, confidence and next-step options.

  • Contribute to OP’s collective intelligence by sharing perspectives, thought leadership, and strategic frameworks.

  • Help define how AI, automation and agent-based systems should be applied for clients and internally.

5. Media, Data & Creative Fluency

  • Demonstrate strong integrated knowledge across media, creative and data disciplines, ensuring all recommendations ladder into business outcomes.

  • Act as the single source of truth for the client narrative, synthesising specialist input into a coherent, compelling story.

  • Ensure all work across disciplines is aligned, integrated and consistent with the strategic direction of the account.

  • Provide structured feedback to Delivery and specialist teams that improves the quality, coherence and impact of outputs.

  • Bring perspectives on innovation, market shifts and best practice to elevate integrated thinking across teams.

Your KPIs / Outputs

  • Client Satisfaction: NPS > 9 with senior client champions

  • Commercial Performance: Revenue delivery to plan; ≥95% forecasting accuracy; margin aligned to target.

  • Strategic Leadership: 100% delivery of RISE, Effectiveness Roadmaps, KAPs and Business Reviews.

  • Growth: Quarterly identification of qualified growth opportunities; measurable revenue uplift within portfolio.

  • Relationship Depth: Multiple documented Champions; influence evidenced in client decisions.

  • Delivery Excellence: Strong partnership with Client Delivery; integrated output standards maintained.

  • Agency of Next: Leadership in shaping AI/automation/agent vision and OP-wide ways of working.

Role Details

Reports to: Senior Partner

Location: Hybrid

Hours / Days: 37.5 hours, over 5 days per week.

Contract basis: Permanent.

Skills & Experience required:

Must Have

  • App experience – ASO and ASA

  • Proven experience in a client-facing strategic or consultancy environment.

  • Advanced strategic and analytical capability; able to turn insight into integrated recommendations.

  • Demonstrated relationship-building and influencing skills across seniority levels.

  • Strong commercial grounding (forecasting, budgeting, fees, value creation).

  • Excellent communication and narrative-building skills; confident presenting to senior stakeholders.

  • A high standard of professional excellence and personal accountability.

Desirable

  • Experience working across media, creative and data disciplines.

  • Exposure to growth strategy, marketing transformation or commercial modelling.

  • Experience leading integrated planning or cross-functional projects.

  • Experience preparing or presenting to C-suite audiences.

Expectations for all Open Partners Employees:

  • Follow our Employee Handbook

  • Live by our values

    • Smarter – Aim high, train hard, embrace next

    • Faster – Learn fast, adapt fast, act fast

    • Better – Think, say and do what’s best

#J-18808-Ljbffr…

Posted: May 29th, 2026