Account Director

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Account Director is a senior client service leader responsible for the health, growth, and strategic direction of a portfolio of client relationships. This role operates at the intersection of client partnership, internal team leadership, and business development --- equal parts trusted advisor, operational driver, and agency advocate.

This is a role for someone who is equally comfortable in a client strategy session and a project kickoff, who can translate ambiguity into clear direction, and who holds themselves and their teams to a high standard --- not for its own sake, but because it genuinely moves the work forward.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Client Partnership

• Serve as a trusted, senior point of contact for clients --- building deep relationships grounded in transparency, reliability, and genuine advocacy for their business
• Lead day-to-day and strategic communication across client and internal teams, ensuring consistent alignment, no surprises, and a high bar for follow-through
• Champion quality across all deliverables, holding the agency accountable to its commitments and ensuring clients feel the value of the partnership
• Own client budget management --- tracking spend, pacing media and project budgets, and proactively reporting on burn rates and variances

Strategy & Planning

• Provide thoughtful strategic counsel that moves beyond task execution --- connecting client goals to agency output and helping clients see the bigger picture
• Lead cross-functional project teams with clarity of direction, ensuring that insights and strategy translate into plans that teams can actually execute
• Foster a culture of strategic thinking across departments, pushing for work that is grounded in why, not just what

Business Development

• Identify and cultivate growth opportunities within existing accounts --- expanding scope, deepening relationships, and anticipating needs before clients surface them
• Lead onboarding for new projects, translating SOWs into clear, actionable direction for internal teams
• Own scope development and timeline planning, ensuring proposals are grounded in realistic budgets and client expectations; guide Associate Account Directors through scope creation and step in to lead across the broader portfolio as needed

Agency Leadership

• Mentor and manage Associate Account Directors and junior team members through hands-on guidance, direct feedback, and active investment in their development
• Contribute to the evolution of the agency's client service model --- surfacing process gaps, recommending improvements, and modeling what excellent account leadership looks like in practice
• Provide leadership coverage across client and internal priorities, enabling the Group Account Director to stay focused on high-level strategy and agency growth
• Show up for the team and the culture --- this role sets a tone

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Experience

• 6--9 years of account management experience, with at least 3 years at the Account Director level or equivalent senior client-facing role
• Agency background required; integrated marketing, digital, or creative agency experience strongly preferred
• Proven track record managing complex, multi-workstream accounts with significant budgets (7-figure preferred)
• Experience leading multiple brands under a single portfolio of brands
• Understanding of how to navigate complex client organizations, position the agency and forge long- standing relationships with client partners
• Experience managing and developing direct reports
• Demonstrated ability to develop and close organic growth opportunities within existing accounts

Skills & Strengths

• Strong strategic instincts. You should be able to counsel clients on business challenges, not just campaign execution
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; confident presenting to senior client stakeholders
• Fluency in scope development, project budgeting, and SOW writing
• Highly organized with strong attention to pacing, timelines, and financial detail
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and making judgment calls without hand-holding
• Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools (Teamwork or equivalents)

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Compensation

• Base salary commensurate with experience

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Bonus PTO days to celebrate the day you were born, volunteering and personal wellness
• Summer Fridays
• Fully Remote
• Referral Bonuses

ABOUT EI DIGITAL

Ei Digital is an independent marketing, creative, and digital advertising agency. We build brand experiences that move people --- and we do it with a team that's small enough to care and experienced enough to deliver. We work across strategy, creative, digital, media, and production, and we're looking for leaders who can help us raise the bar across all of it.

Ei Digital is an equal opportunity employer.