Vacancy: Senior Account Director (maternity cover)

Your next chapter is with us. We are a strategic collective dedicated to human-centred brand experiences. At Audience, we organise our expertise through a unique mountain-inspired structure, from our Atlas leadership to our Junior explorers. We value impactful thinking, united working and rock-solid standards. Sound like a team you’d like to be a part of?

Job Description

• Date released: 01/07/2026
• Start date: Ideally 18/08/2026
• Reports to: Head of Performance & Culture
• Salary and contract: 9 month initially and TBC beyond
• Routine working location: UK, 3 days per week in our London office

What you'll do

At Audience, we don’t just handle accounts, we build relationships that actually mean something. We’re obsessed with the blend of art and science (what we call Audience‑ology). It’s our way of understanding human behaviour to create experiences that stick. So as an Account Director, you’re the glue. You sit right in the middle of our clients’ biggest challenges and our team’s best creative ideas. You’re here to make sure the work is brilliant, the client loves it, and the numbers really deliver.

As our Account Director, you are a senior navigator for client success. You aren’t just a point of contact, you are a strategic partner. You’ll be looking after a portfolio of tier‑1 brands, making sure we’re seen as a strategic partner, not just another event supplier.

Strategic Partnerships: You help form the brief, from light musings to detailed objectives. You’ll interrogate briefs and work with the Growth & Strategy team to make proposals that really hit the client’s broader business goals (not just pretty visuals).

Commercial Ownership: You own the financials for your accounts. That means managing project statuses, forecasting spend against targets, and reporting back to the senior team. You’ll ensure we hit our GP targets without cutting corners on quality.

Team management: You’ll lead and support our Account Managers, setting the bar for how we communicate, how we manage budgets, and how we protect our clients' brands. This also includes direction for junior teams to manage the tier 2 and 3 brand relationships.

The Handover: You’ll bridge the gap between the initial pitch and the final delivery. You’ll map out the scoping and briefing process to ensure the production team has everything they need to succeed.

Strategic client development: You’ll know the client better than they do, proposing ideas before they realise they need it. This level of client engagement will yield organic inbound briefs, whilst you build up a 5‑star client roster.

Departmental Stewardship (Interim): As this role provides cover for a Head of Department vacancy, 10% of your time will be dedicated to operational stewardship. You’ll act as a day‑to‑day point of contact for the department, providing mentorship and troubleshooting support. You will not be expected to shoulder the full strategic weight of the HoD role; the wider Senior Leadership Team will step in to support strategic direction and senior‑level decision‑making, allowing you to focus on maintaining departmental continuity and stability.

What we're looking for

You are a commercially‑minded lead with a knack for building trust. You don’t just "manage" accounts; you grow them by spotting the opportunities others miss. You’re as comfortable talking ROI and ensuring client satisfaction at c‑suite level as you are casting a 3‑year campaign with our strategists. Ultimately, you’re a better friend to the client than another agency could ever be.

You also need to possess…

• Commercial Rigor: You have a sharp eye for the numbers. You take pride in transparent, weekly WIP reporting and can forecast client spend with high accuracy, ensuring no "hidden surprises".
• Strategic Instinct: You’re a consultant at heart. You understand how to align an event to a client’s broader business goals, moving the relationship from "supplier" to "indispensable partner."
• Quality Control at Scale: You have the experience to lead a team that delivers high‑volume, high‑quality work without ever letting the brand guardianship slip.
• Growth Mindset: You have a proven track record of retaining and growing existing accounts year‑on‑year, ideally hitting specific growth targets through proactive recommendations.
• A storyteller: You take internal teams on a journey, uncovering solutions the client will be impressed with and pitching this back confidently with cohesion of our approach and confident conviction.
• Collaborative Leadership: You’re great at the "handover." You know how to brief the Experience Delivery teams so they have exactly what they need to succeed, ensuring a smooth internal flow from pitch to live.
• Relationship Focus: You’re driven by client satisfaction (NPS) and take pride in hearing that your clients—and your team—genuinely value your involvement.
• Industry acumen: Experience working with global brands on their worldwide campaigns and knowing this world well, directly in events or on an integrated‑level, understanding the standards clients have at this level need.

The workplace you'll join

Please visit audience.co.uk/our‑culture for more information about our culture and how we work. If you can get onboard with our fundamentals below, you’ll fit right in!

Our kind of people? Curious. Proactive. Detail‑focused. The kind of people who take ownership, bring ideas to the table, and enjoy the process as much as the outcome.

Freedom fuels great work: No clock‑watching here. We’ve removed fixed working hours, giving you the flexibility to shape your day around when you’re most productive and we’ve created spaces to promote collaboration and calm in the office.

Grow as fast as you want to: Whether you’re sharpening your skills or stepping up to something new, we invest in your journey with training, development budgets, and clear paths.

Creative, collaborative, genuinely fun: Our space is where ideas bounce, evolve, and come to life. Expect energy, openness, and a team that celebrates wins together - in meetings and at socials.

People first, always: From healthcare and mental wellbeing support to enhanced parental leave and meaningful time off, we’ve built benefits that actually support real life.

The everyday perks: Think of a well‑stocked kitchen, dogs in the office, health plans, decent parental leave, extra holiday and those small extras that make your day better.

Apply now by sending your CV and cover letter to jobs@audience.co.uk