Associate Director, Account Management

The Associate Director of Account Management manages a team of Account Managers to shepherd client partnerships and campaigns through pre-sale planning/ideation to post-sale execution.   They partner with senior Sales and Operations leadership to track our Sales pipeline, RFP response, campaign execution/delivery, and coordination of billing activities.  They monitor and balance workload across the group, and provide ongoing support and feedback to the team to execute flawlessly.   They act as the point of escalation for the team.  

The Associate Director works cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Operations and Product teams to continually improve our processes, products and capabilities to meet client objectives and maximize the revenue opportunity for Hearst.

This experienced people-leader will use their excellent communication skills to lead teams and build strong relationships internally and externally.  

• Manage and lead a group of category aligned Account Managers, at various levels, aligning experience levels with client needs.   This requires the Associate Director to have solid partnerships with Sales leadership, to understand our client needs, goals and manage the team to support those goals.
   
• Instill operational rigor for the Account Management team to meet success metrics and organizational goals.  Ensure Account Managers fulfill expectations of their role and daily responsibilities.
   
• Use reporting to monitor inbound sales pipeline, all the way through campaign launch, delivery and client billing.  Escalate issues to appropriate internal contacts to remove obstacles, resolve issues, or find alternative solutions to ensure client satisfaction. 
   
• Develop strategies to service and deliver upon client goals – using the full portfolio of capabilities and ad products.   Articulate and escalate unmet client needs to help evolve our products and services.  Manage projects with and for your category teams to move the business forward.
   
• Support and work with Sales, Marketing and Research teams on pre-sale research and pitch capabilities.   Communicate directly with agencies, clients, internal teams and outside vendors as necessary on custom program implementation.
   
• Partner with Yield to ensure appropriate pricing and margin requirements to maintain a healthy business.  
   
• Ensure all campaign details align between the media plan, agency IO, and order and maintain this alignment throughout the campaign lifecycle.  Book campaigns in our Order Management system when they have sold.  Understand billable models for our ad products and client requirements.   Understand client’s terms & conditions (working with our contracts team) making sure all paperwork is compliant.
   
• Ensure that campaigns launch on time, and deliver what was sold.  Synthesize performance and delivery to update orders as needed.  Work with post sale teams on any order revisions or optimizations while staying informed of campaign performance.
   
• Contribute to and analyze wrap reports and identify upsell opportunities from performance.  Use post-sale learnings to recommend renewal opportunities.
   
• Maintain an expert understanding of our brands, ad products and internal processes.  As an experienced leader in managing accounts, you will juggle multiple projects to proactively improve our processes or product recommendations, and work with your leadership team to see them through implementation and execution. 

• Minimum of 5+ years successful experience In media and sale planning / or strategy, with demonstrated success in managing complex programs for our biggest advertisers.
• Minimum of 2 years managing people and performance, using quantitative and qualitative attributes to gauge employee performance.
• You’re able to independently prioritize multiple tasks in a face-paced environment under tight deadlines across multiple accounts
• Very strong organizational skills and eye for detail.  Strong time management and problem solving skills.
• Communication Skills:  Ability to effectively communicate with clients and internal stakeholders, facilitating clear understanding of needs and expectations.  This includes excellent written communication.
• Relationship building:  Establish and maintain strong relationships with clients to foster loyalty and trust.  Demonstrated ability to renew business based on strong prior performance.
• Collaboration:  Work with internal teams (Sales, Marketing) to synthesize client needs and express them through media plans/programs.  You have a flexible, personable attitude, ability to develop relationships with all levels of personnel
• You have a bachelor’s degree   
• Familiarity with ad platforms and systems: Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, Salesforce.

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