Account Director (Maternity cover)

About Us:

ASK US FOR IDEAS (AUFI) exists to connect brands with the top 1% of the industry's creative agencies. Over the last decade, we’ve built a powerful network. Hundreds of the most imaginative, innovative, exceptional creative agencies in the world.

We work with brands of all scales - from household names to disruptive start-ups and high-growth scale-ups - and help them connect with this network, finding them their perfect agency partners that align with their values and set them up for long-term success across BRANDING, DIGITAL and MARKETING.

Set up by two lifelong friends, now a team of 12, we pride ourselves on making a meaningful difference to the brands and agencies we work with.

Learn more about AUFI, what we do and why we do it in this article originally published in IDEA Magazine.

Our approach:

We Listen – We take the time to understand our clients, their brand, and their brief to pinpoint their unique creative or business challenge.

We Advise – We help refine their requirements, establishing a clear scope, timing, and budget so we can brief the right agencies.

We Connect – We introduce them to a curated shortlist of agency partners, saving them time and ensuring productive conversations from the start.

We Support – We stay involved in the process without interfering, helping clients ask the right questions to make the best decisions.

Now, we’re looking for a talented Account Director (Maternity cover) to join our team and help shape how brands and agencies connect.

The Role: Account Director (Maternity cover)

As Account Manager / Director, you’ll play a key role in ensuring our clients find the right agency partners. You’ll be working with a diverse range of businesses, from ambitious start-ups to established global brands, helping them navigate the agency search and selection process with confidence.

In this role, you will meet marketing and brand leaders from across a huge variety of sectors – from F&B and Beauty to AI and Fintech – all at different stages, from start-ups to global multinational businesses. Helping them assess their own needs as they relate to a creative brief and the business challenges they face. You will also liaise with our global network of creative agencies – typically founder-led, independently owned agencies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Developing a deep understanding of the clients’ needs as the first point of contact, translating their challenges into clear and actionable agency briefs.
• Guiding clients through the agency briefing and selection process, offering insights on scope, budget, and timelines.
• Briefing agencies on client requirements and assess their initial responses to the brief.
• Curating shortlists of tailored agency recommendations
• Crafting and refining introductions to agencies, ensuring each introduction is meaningful, relevant and high-value.
• Supporting clients with questions about agency recommendations and proposals, helping them make informed decisions.
• Liaising with both clients and agencies to gather and share feedback, ensuring a smooth and effective selection process.
• Building and nurturing relationships with agencies, ensuring that you are informed about their evolving experience, capabilities and strengths.

About you:

We’re looking for someone who thrives in a dynamic, client-facing role and brings a strategic mindset to the table.

Ideally, you’ll have:

• Account management or Client Services experience: A minimum of 3-5 years in a client-facing role in the creative industry or an adjacent / related advisory or consultancy business.
• Strong Communication Skills and Brief Writing Experience: Excellent communication and advisory skills, with the ability to simplify and distill complex business challenges and requirements into an easy to digest and compelling written agency brief.
• Knowledge of the agency landscape: A strong understanding of branding, digital, and marketing capabilities within an agency and business context. We work with over 600 agencies globally across branding, digital, and marketing disciplines so familiarity with these capabilities and the broader agency ecosystem would be highly beneficial.
• A flexible working style: You thrive in a collaborative team environment but are equally comfortable working independently and managing your time and resources effectively.

Why join us?

• Work with a wide range of exciting brands and agencies.
• Be part of a small, expert (and fun) team with big ambitions and a great culture.
• Enjoy a flexible, supportive work environment.
• Opportunity to shape the future of brand-agency partnerships.

Role specifics:

• Mat leave cover, 9-12 month contract.
• Part / full time 3 or 5 days/week
• Salary FTE £40,000 - £50,000 pa (dependent on experience).
• FTE 25 days paid holiday.
• Hybrid WFH / Office balance.