Account Director - F1

We are thrilled to be recruiting an experienced Account Director who will be a core member of the Race Delivery team across a new F1 partnership for one of Octagon’s biggest clients.

Our ideal candidate would have experience building and executing top level guest programmes at Global F1 circuits. You will lead the sponsorship and rightsholder relationships, as well as the delivery of activations, campaigns and assets across various channels for your client group. An interest in motorsport alongside a passion for creating impactful work with brands and properties is a bonus.

From day one, you’ll be tasked with building and leveraging multiple relationships at all levels, so experience of stakeholder management is essential. Alongside this, you’ll work closely with our internal teams across creative, planning and hospitality, so you’ll need to possess a strong understanding and appreciation of creative and planning processes and output.

To your team, you’ll provide strong leadership and direction, accompanied with a supportive and nurturing approach to enable them to thrive and produce the best possible work. Leading by example, you’ll inspire the team to meet your own high standards. Across the rest of the agency, you’ll manage and galvanise multi-discipline teams to deliver client projects to the highest possible standard. You will report into a Group Director.

There will be opportunities to work across other growth clients within the business on an ad-hoc basis.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Overseeing and driving financial health of account: maximizing long and short-term profit opportunities, remaining financially aware and ensuring that the company’s profit margin is achieved
• Closely overseeing financial tracking, reconciliation and reporting; providing strategically-driven forecasting, leading in budget negotiations and opportunity recognition
• Setting the standard for team operations, running of the account to ensure that projects and deliverables are in-line with strategic imperatives and delivered on time, within budget and to the highest possible standard
• Identifying and effectively handling any budget or client challenges swiftly and responsibly
• Oversee the development and execution of innovative and impactful F1 sponsorship activations, maximizing brand visibility and ROI for partners, exceeding expectations
• Working with cross-functional delivery teams and departments to ensure seamless execution of sponsorship initiatives
• Setting up strong teams to support on client deliverables and implement to the highest standards

Relationship management

• Building solid, unshakeable relationships with clients – gaining their respect at all levels and demonstrating a strong understanding and appreciation of their business.
• Serving as senior client partner, demonstrating the relevant expertise, gravitas and charisma to be seen and respected as a trusted leader and point-person by the client.
• Developing strong relationships from cross-agency departments, understanding how to best leverage and optimize the services and specialisms available while ensuring resources are used profitably.

Championing effective ways of working

• Leading from the front with a ‘can do’ attitude and proactive ownership of projects and process, upholding the highest quality standards, both in service and deliverables
• Delegating effectively with enthusiasm and context; sharing and instilling understanding and eagerness within the team and wider agency
• Embodying a dynamic, positive, energetic and personable attitude – inspiring others and remaining calm under pressure
• Appreciating and adhering to agency and client procedures and systems, educating your team as required.
• Effectively managing direct reports, inspiring loyalty and commitment, providing relevant level of support while instilling confidence, motivation and empowerment
• Completing performance reviews and providing feedback on a regular basis – ensuring career progression is supported, allowing team members to become effective, independent and increasingly capable of working well with less supervision
• Galvanizing the team and boosting morale – creating a collaborative team environment, designed to make work feel rewarding, motivating and fun.

Proactive approach

• Actively identifying, creating and pursuing new opportunities across the client’s brand portfolio
• Outlining, writing, designing and delivering major written and verbal presentations
• Leading projects with strategic prowess, accountability, ownership and effectiveness.
• Working with the Planning Director and Creative Directors to produce quality, compelling creative briefing, delivering relevant inspiration, clarity on deliverables and effective project plans to client and agency teams as required

REQUIREMENTS

The following are essential:

• Minimum seven years’ relevant experience within an agency environment running partnerships and delivering integrated campaigns
• Extensive experience of owning and growing positive and effective relationships with senior client stakeholders, resulting in account growth and evolution
• Ability to cultivate strong, professional and effective relationships with staff and partners at all levels
• Exemplary verbal communication skills; ability to articulate clearly and offer a strong, collaborative and constructive presence and personality in client and internal meetings – communicating with conviction, enthusiasm and confidence
• Capability and comfort in overseeing and driving large budgets, showing excellence of financial management
• Exceptional attention to detail, alongside organisational, time and project management skills.

WHO YOU’LL BE JOINING Recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work in Sports”, Octagon is the global sports, entertainment, and experiential marketing arm of the Interpublic Group.

We take pride in being Playmakers – finding insightful, bold ways to create play in our work, our lives, and in the world. We believe in the power of play to create big ideas and unlock potential for our clients and talent.

We can put ourselves in the shoes of fans because we ARE fans – of sports, entertainment, and culture at large. This expertise allows us to continually evolve the fan experience across sports and entertainment alongside some of the biggest brands and talent in the world.

The world needs play more than ever. Are you a Playmaker?

ABOUT US

Octagon is a global creative agency in sports, entertainment and culture.

We’re part of a wider family of agencies – the Octagon R&CPMK – a group of specialist agencies working with brands, athletes, and celebrities. Group agencies include Futures Sport & Entertainment, FRUKT and No2ndPlace. We’re all part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), one of the world’s most respected advertising networks.

Founded in 1982 with over 800 employees around the globe. Our Headquarters is in Stamford, Connecticut with further offices around the world including: New York, LA, Miami, McLean, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg, Sydney, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Manchester.

We believe that great brands own an idea in the minds of their audience. For Apple, it’s creativity. For Nike, it’s performance. For BMW it’s Joy. For Coca-Cola, it’s happiness. For Mastercard, it’s priceless experiences.

Octagon is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

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