at Teksystems in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Job Description
One North is a full-service digital agency creating experiences that perform, evolve and inspire. Unlike traditional agencies, we stitch together a deep level of expertise across disciplines so that we can do the work of multiple teams. With capabilities in brand and communications, digital experience, technology and infrastructure, and optimization and insights, our designers, strategists and technologists can take on any challenge. We deliver the human element to digital so that your big ideas come to life. One North is a TEKsystems company.
Here’s what the opportunity supported through our TEKsystems Global Services (TGS) Talent Acquisition Team requires:
Position Overview
The Managing Director of the Client Account Team will be responsible for the leadership and overall management of the Client Account Team and will be the tip of the spear when it comes to client health. The team manages the relationships for 70+ clients across the agency. Along with our Client Delivery team, this role is central in managing the health and growth of our client portfolios. The Managing Director will be responsible for coordinating and communicating long-term business growth targets and budgeting and planning with larger strategic initiatives across the business.
Reporting to the Executive Director for One North, the Managing Director of the Client Account Team plays a crucial role in the stability and growth of our client relationships. This includes understanding what our clients want, how they want to engage, identifying key client relationships with growth potential, and building detailed account plans that help us scale. The ideal candidate should have strong relationship management skills, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a proven record working in digital design agencies delivering strategy, design, and technology solutions that transform businesses. The ideal candidate should have experience leading client teams at other agencies and have a story to tell around helping those agencies grow. The Managing Director of the Client Account Team serves as the glue between our clients, the One North practices, and our Business Development Team.
As a member of the Managing Director Team, the Managing Director of the Client Account Team will work with a talented and motivated group of leaders focused on growing and scaling One North. We will look to this individual to collaborate and provide input based on experience.
In this role, the Managing Director of the Client Account Team will be responsible for building a comprehensive strategic account plan and guiding a team of Client Account Directors focused on client retention and growth.
This leader is required to be located in the Chicagoland area for a very flexible hybrid onsite/remote work model at our downtown Chicago office.
Responsibilities
Team Management and Leadership
- Establishes a growth mindset and work ethic for the Client Account Team
- Challenges and inspires the team while understanding and managing the team’s strengths and weaknesses
- Develops growth and development plans for the team, monitors progress, and provides timely feedback
- Connects the team to the right resources within One North and TEKsystems Global Services
- Collaborates with the Managing Directors of Sales, Delivery, and the Practices to identify what the agency needs to grow
- Accountable for setting the highest standards and driving performance metrics
- Partners with the Managing Directors and reports on Team Status, Goals, and Key Initiatives
- Ensures that the team is fully utilized and that we have the right talent mix
Client Relationship
- Serves as the main point of contact for escalations, client growth opportunities, affiliate and client partnership strategies, and thought leadership/marketing needs
- Maintains a big picture view and thinks creatively to solve problems, especially when dealing with complex business challenges
- Works collaboratively and develops strong partnerships with clients, agency resources, and account teams
- Delivers strong ideas as well as brilliant, creative, and flawless execution through the management of interdisciplinary team and with other team leads
- Takes appropriate risks with a relentless focus on results
- Demonstrates passion for the agency, the work, and the client’s business
- Accountable for own actions, agency team performance, and client results
Sales/Organic Growth
- Along with our Sales Team, this role will be responsible for partnering with our Affiliate Team (Adobe, Sitecore, Figma, etc.) to identify growth opportunities and advise on investment strategies
- Responsible for a comprehensive, strategic Account Plans
- Supervises the production of appropriate scopes of work that will help us meet financial goals
- Guides the Client Account Team to partner with Business Development and Delivery to grow and expand the business
- Engages in meaningful discussions with clients and partners to take actions to improve the business
- Identifies new opportunities “from the work” to be pursued in collaboration with the Client Account Managers, One North Client Development, and TEKsystems internal sales team members
- Supports the Client Account Directors as they work with the selling team
- Responsible for pricing strategy and actively involved in the estimating process for scopes of work
- Works with directors to identify sales opportunities with existing client relationships
Creative Advocacy/Work Product
- Creates an environment and atmosphere that encourages the pursuit of big ideas; takes a leadership role in actively nurturing and contributing to the development of creative ideas
- Guides the development of sell-in strategy in partnership with Strategy and Creative teams, pre-conditions the client, and protects the big idea once sold
- Excellent judge of and advocate for creative/digital work and able to argue a case in any client/agency forum
- Champions the agency perspective and is persuasive and articulate when communicating
- Stays connected to the work, striking the right balance of detail versus high-level knowledge to add value on both dimensions and help clients realize their vision with One North’s capabilities
Finance/Billing
- Accountable for healthy financial management of the team, working with delivery monitoring all relationships supported by the project teams
- Provides reporting on account health
Skills & Qualifications
- 10 or more years of experience leading account teams at a large design/digital agency
- 10 or more years of experience working as an Account Director, Group Account Director, VP, SVP, or Client Partner capacity serving the Fortune 500
- Robust experience partnering with Affiliates (Adobe, Sitecore, Figma, etc.)
- Awareness of leading technologies and creative strategies in the agency space
- Ability to speak authoritatively about the business implications of client choices across technology, strategy, and design
- Demonstrated understanding of multiple CMS platforms, data strategy, and creative
- Prior agency (digital, communications, or marketing) experience required
- Experience overseeing multiple large accounts and portfolios
- Experience managing multiple client relationships that range from $5M-$20M a year in revenue
- Experience achieving growth and sales targets
- Experience managing challenging external stakeholders
- Poise, executive presence, and outstanding communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to build a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work culture, both internally and externally
- Experience overseeing and developing a team of people responsible for managing day-to-day account efforts
- Highly collaborative and able to work effectively across leadership to solve issues quickly
- Strong interpersonal skills (externally and internally) and emotiona