Senior Account Director (UK Based)

We are Thirst

We’re not anyone’s agency. We are strategic & creative partners to the best and most ambitious beverage brands in the world. And we do things differently: the quality of thinking we provide. Our upfront investment in strategy. Our genuinely global team chosen for their expertise rather than their locations. And our proactive approach to developing and delivering the creative solutions you need. It all ensures we can produce consistently amazing work that sells, whatever the channel.

We’ve got offices in New York and Glasgow, people all over the world, and a team that likes to play nice and push themselves. Never to the limits of mental or physical exhaustion (we’re building a different kind of culture here) but to the edge of their professional comfort zones. We’re always challenging both ourselves and the brands we work with to do better, go bigger, and be bolder.

We are looking for a Senior Account Director to join our Client Leadership team.

As a Senior Account Director you’re an expert in your field, you’ll represent Thirst at the highest level & drive solutions for our top-tier global clients. Being a natural leader and savvy entrepreneur, you’ll get the best work from our team & clients whilst unlocking new opportunities for growth.

Key Responsibilities:

Client Leadership:

• Expert service to clients and delivering expert service via team
• Balance intuition with intellect, bringing a unique point of view to clients and brands
• Operating both remotely and in person, with clients all over the world
• Connect and develop new relationships with senior stakeholders within Global Group Businesses
• Lead relationships with C-suite level clients
• Develop deep bonds with our very top clients across the Group Business, understanding their challenges and goals
• Inspire clients through design and strategy to position ourselves as the expert and unlock new opportunities

Team Leadership:

• Supporting CL team and hub to grow and nurture key client relationships and action client development
• Responsible for mentoring and leading teams on key Tier 1 clients
• Support the Client Leadership Director in the mentoring, training and development of team members including PDRs
• Delegate clearly and get the best out of team members to allow yourself to go after the right opportunities
• Positively challenging the team to ensure all client work is of the highest standard and will have a positive impact on their business
• Interrogate wins and losses to understand learnings and team development opportunities

Client Development:

• Develop annual brand plans and set annual targets for your clients
• Develop key clients into repeat revenue Tier 1 clients, reaching targets £500 – £1m+ per year
• Building a deep knowledge of clients business and brand plans, to create development plans, understanding objectives, opportunities, commercial success and drive to conversion with team
• Develop the team to action client growth and development daily
• Responsible for thinking about the longer term, big picture opportunities within a client group and pursue proactively
• Aware of trends or global events that could impact a clients’ business

Strategy:

• Expert understanding of Thirst’s strategic process and able to support on strategic tasks and offer a strong point of view
• Able to positively challenge team leads with confidence and insight to deliver the best work possible
• Supporting CL team and hub to ensure work is on brief, on budget and inspiring for our clients
• Be a client expert, acting as their voice within the agency
• Use insights and strategic understanding of your client’s business & brands to create new briefs and achieve great work
• Work with research partners to deliver insights

Creative:

• Expert understanding of Thirst’s creative process, deliver maximum profitability while delivering world class work via team
• Able to unite teams towards a world class goal and deliver inspiring work for our clients
• Leading client presentations with team in a way that is fitting with our culture, ethos and expert positioning
• Always aware of client expectations and feedback to get to the heart of what’s really going on
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Working with the creative leads to unlock new opportunities, develop a client from one project to £500k – £1m+ a year

Production:

• Support CL team and hub in expert production management, engaging the right team members at the right time
• Ensuring CL team and hub deliver exceptional projects to completion, including last 5%
• Developing a strong understanding of sustainability through design and pushing projects when required

Culture:

• Knowing and loving both the design and drinks industries
• Being a champion for our strong, simple, shit hot ethos
• Passion for great design and a deep understanding of what works in market
• Be a source of knowledge to our own team and clients, sharing latest thinking and design inspirationBe knowledgable on market, category and consumer trends as well as brand and design trends to offer interesting point of view and understand project opportunities
• Champion outstanding collaboration between departments