Account Director in London

Grey London, part of WPP, is on a mission to create the most influential brands of the next decade, through the power of Famously Effective ideas. Famously Effective ideas extend far beyond the confines of advertising or marketing channels. They stretch our potential influence into wider culture – by breaking norms, smashing stereotypes, saving lives, changing minds, writing history, shifting conversations, and transforming perspectives.

The Account Director is a key role on any team at Grey London. We’re looking for an experienced and established Account Director on a 12-month fixed-term contract - a driven, ambitious leader with a passion for creating exceptional work. You thrive in collaborative environments, bring a solutions-focused mindset and embody a true ‘one-team’ spirit. If you are passionate about creativity, enjoy leading and inspiring teams and want to further your career in an agency that places both creative excellence and commercial success at the heart of everything we do, this role is perfect for you.

In Account Leadership at all peer levels, our main principles are:

• Creative hunger - We expect you to be deeply invested in the work, championing quality and helping create the conditions in which great work can thrive. This includes bringing strategic rigour and understanding to the process, so ideas are not only exciting but grounded and defensible.
• Partnership - Build strong relationships internally within your team, across the department and the wider agency, as well as with clients and external partners where relevant. You’ll play a key role in driving clarity and alignment, ensuring everyone is working towards the same strategic goal.
• Strategic impact - This is about delivering the best possible outcome while making the most efficient use of time and resources. You’ll apply strategic thinking to guide decisions, defend the work with confidence and know when to pick up the phone versus send an email - getting the best out of those around you.
• Energy - A crucial aspect of the role. Account Leadership sets the tone in every interaction. Positivity, a can-do attitude and a willingness to lean in and move things forward are essential, alongside the ability to bring clarity and momentum to both internal teams and clients.

As the Account Director, you will be central to every stage of a campaign, acting as the driving force behind its success. You will bring people together - across disciplines, teams and partners, ensuring everyone is aligned, motivated and working towards a shared goal. While you won’t be expected to do everything yourself, you are accountable for making sure everything happens, by the right people, at the right time and to the highest standard. You will own the day-to-day client relationship at all levels, leading with confidence and clarity. With a strong grasp of both the strategic and commercial picture, you will champion creative excellence while maintaining accountability, guiding the work, shaping decisions and ensuring we consistently deliver our best.

Day-to-day, you’ll be getting involved and leading:

• Build and lead strong client relationships, alongside the wider inter-agency team of specialists and external partners, acting as the central point of contact and a trusted source of clarity, direction and sound judgement.
• Be the driving force behind the work, both within Grey and with the Client, shaping the overall direction and ensuring all output is strategically grounded and creatively ambitious. You will confidently push back and sell in ideas, always anchored in the brand’s strategic principles.
• Partner closely with production, bringing a strong understanding of production processes to implement effective strategies that deliver high-quality work on time and on budget.
• Lead, manage and mentor junior team members, including Account Managers and/or Account Executives, supporting their growth while ensuring high standards across the account.
• Own the pace and rhythm of a busy account, expertly balancing proactive and reactive demands. You’ll deliver with excellence on what’s required, while also identifying opportunities to add value, improve processes and evolve ways of working for both the agency and the client.
• Drive commercial excellence, taking ownership of financial management across the account. You will be confident with forecasting and burn management, ensuring resources and fees are managed efficiently and transparently (alongside the Project Management team).

The Accounts: At Grey, we have an exciting client portfolio, working with brands across a range of sectors – from health & wellness, to tourism, automotive, FMCG, telecoms, energy, sports & active wear – alongside pro-bono projects for charity groups. This variety will keep you challenged and engaged, allowing you to broaden your experience and have an impact on culture. Within this role, the majority of your remit will be focused on a restricted category brand. The brand is highly strategic, with demanding business challenges that require creative problem-solving and consumer-centric thinking.

We need someone who:

• Demonstrates strong experience leading multiple campaigns, from brand platforms through to tactical briefs, with full ownership across all stages.
• Has a proven track record in delivering integrated campaigns, able to navigate complexity, manage multiple moving parts, and bring clarity through smart prioritisation.
• Is strategically rigorous, with the ability to clearly articulate brand strategy, shape creative output and confidently defend the work against both strategic and creative ambitions.
• Has a sharp creative eye, understanding what makes great work, how to protect it through the process and how to sell it effectively to clients and stakeholders.
• Builds and sustains strong client relationships, with experience working across multi-layered organisations (global to local), adapting approach as needed.
• Highly organised and commercially aware, able to manage multiple workstreams while maintaining control over budgets, timing and resources.
• An excellent communicator, both written and verbal, with strong presentation skills and a natural ability for clear, compelling storytelling.
• Passionate about developing talent, with experience mentoring or line managing and a commitment to nurturing and growing others.
• Experience in restricted categories is very welcome, bringing additional expertise navigating regulatory requirements while still driving creative and strategic impact.

What can you expect from us? At Grey, you’ll have the opportunity to work at an incredible studio, with some of the most creative and inspired people in the industry, all whilst getting to grow & shape your career with us. We offer a competitive salary, lots of training, plenty of benefits and wellbeing perks too.

Inclusion & Belonging: At Grey, we know that the more diverse the input, the more famous and effective the output. Different perspectives spark bigger ideas, braver creativity and better work - and that starts with how we welcome new talent. We embrace applications from people underrepresented in our industry and value the unique skills, experiences and viewpoints everyone brings. Our goal is simple: create a place where everyone can belong, and no one feels the need to hide any part of who they are.

That spirit runs through our application process too. If there’s anything - from neurodivergence, to a health condition, or any other circumstance - that might shape your experience, just let our People team know. We’ll work with you to make the adjustments you need to show your best, and we’ll treat whatever you share with respect.