Account Director

About The Job

The Account Director is Morrison's most senior day-to-day leader on an account, the person the client calls, and the person accountable for whether that account stays stable, grows, and remains profitable. You own the financials, the strategic direction of the work, and the relationship, reporting to the President and leading 3-5 accounts. The role carries no direct reports, which means you lead through judgment and influence rather than a reporting line, working alongside a Project Manager who owns timelines, production, Asana, and Box so that you can stay out of the production weeds. You partner closely with Strategy, Creative, Digital, Media, Technology, and Resourcing to set where the account is going and to answer for whether the work solves the right problem.

Responsibilities

Account Leadership and Strategy

• Own the brief. Secure craft-lead sign-off and client approval before internal kickoff.

• Accountable for whether the work answers the right problem, not only whether it ships.

• Acquire in-depth knowledge of each client's business: key issues, competitive situation, and industry trends.

• Develop annual client development plans and set growth targets for each account.

• Develop client communication plans and budget recommendations with the relevant discipline leads.

• Identify opportunities to grow the relationship and stay ahead of renewal conversations.

Client Relationship Ownership

• Serve as the senior point of contact for your clients, and lead the onboarding and servicing of new clients.

• Earn and keep each client's confidence as a trusted advisor through consistent performance and a strong range of ideas and solutions.

• Lead client presentations and steer challenging conversations with authority.

• Schedule all client calls, lead the weekly client status call, and send the follow-up recap within 24 hours.

• Sell the work. Send the first, selling-stage rounds yourself, then hand subsequent rounds to the Project Manager.

• Balance client and agency expectations, including saying no when the answer is no.

• Keep the entire team informed of client news, issues, and opportunities.

Commercial Ownership

• Own the financial side of the account. Write SOWs, negotiate them, and secure signature.

• Own change orders, budget conversations, rate conversations, and renewals. Nothing goes to the client financially without your sign-off.

• Own account financial health: budget tracking, monthly projections, invoice approval, and profitability.

• Do not commit to pricing or timelines before internal scope alignment.

Work Quality and Approval

• Review and approve all client-facing deliverables against the brief and client goals. You are the last check before work reaches the client.

• Lead client kickoffs and internal kickoffs, presenting the brief and client context.

• Lead client closeout: cross-reference the SOW against final deliverables, collect feedback, run retrospectives, decide case study eligibility with craft leads, and document what the agency learned about the client.

Internal Leadership and Influence

• Provide senior leadership to the internal team without a reporting line. Set the standard for how an account is run and hold the team to it.

• Direct the Project Manager on priorities and client context without taking over delivery.

• Mentor less experienced account staff by example and through direct coaching.

• Bring the President recommendations, not just problems.

• Keep relationships between account management and other departments productive.

Requirements

• 8-10 years of agency experience in account management, including at least 3 as the senior-most day-to-day contact on an account

• Demonstrated experience writing, negotiating, and closing SOWs, change orders, and renewals

• Fluent in agency economics: scope, burn, rate, and profitability

• Comfortable leading a team you do not manage

• Clear, concise, and persuasive written and verbal communication

• Serves as the final quality check on client-facing work, including proofing and content organization

• High level of organization and thoroughness across a portfolio of accounts

• Proficiency in Asana, Box, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office Suite

• Thrives in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment

• Come in office as needed; 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) is suggested

• A self-starter with responsive communication skills, given our hybrid environment