Account Director in City of London

Please note, this is a key position within the agency. For this one, we need people well versed in the work we do and with a good idea of how it can be evolved. We’re a creative CX agency and our workstreams run from digital, OOH, CRM, to high standard creative campaigns for luxury globally renowned clients, and coming in at this level, we’ll need you to have a good understanding of how this can all be done well, and evolved.

Here at Havas CX helia, we’re on a mission to become the best customer engagement agency in the UK and making work that hits differently. And you’re a big part of making this happen. Better together. What’s the secret to our success? The power of collaboration. Whether that’s across our two teams in London and Cirencester – or our far-reaching global network. 18 countries, 1,200+ people, 25 Villages. When you work with us, you’ll also be joining Havas CX – an international group dedicated to delivering meaningful customer experiences across the entire customer journey. Your new colleagues will include the strongest CX minds from a global talent pool. You’ll be in good company. Together we transform brands through our unique approach.

Your future: Helping brands strengthen their consumer relationships is what we’re all about – flexing and blending our creative and data skills to make each and every interaction truly meaningful. But it’s not just brands we empower. Working for Havas CX helia means you’re working for a company that loves to empower its people, too. While you bring the can-do, entrepreneurial attitude, we’ll equip you with the skills to pull off big ideas – and everything else you need to make the most of your natural talents. Both professionally and personally, we help you make a difference – so you can enjoy a rewarding career in our industry.

Overview: We’re looking for a proactive, curious and driven Account Director (FTC) to work on one of our flagship accounts. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys variety, takes real ownership of their work and team, and thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced agency environment. You’ll be comfortable managing complex, multi-channel campaigns, building strong client relationships and working closely with internal teams to deliver high-quality, impactful work.

Key Responsibilities:

• Managing a diverse range of fast-paced projects across brand and product advertising.
• As a customer engagement agency, understanding the end customer is critical. You’ll bring a strong creative eye alongside a solid appreciation for how strategic insight and data inform decision-making and optimise performance.
• A naturally strong leader, you inspire colleagues and clients when talking about creative, audiences and data. You distil complexity into clear, compelling narratives that drive confidence and action.
• You have exceptionally high standards for yourself and your team, with relentless attention to detail and excellent organisational skills, ensuring work is delivered efficiently, profitably and right first time.
• Responsible for ensuring that you and your team deliver all projects on time and to budget, maintaining client satisfaction through ‘brilliant basics’ (briefs, proposals, timing plans, estimates, status meetings, daily stand-ups and resourcing).
• Highly adept at developing robust creative briefs alongside our strategic planners to bring solutions to life.
• Seen by both client and agency as authoritative and knowledgeable on the client’s business, strategy and market sector.
• Acts as an escalation point on workload priorities as needed, both internally and with clients.
• Owns and develops key client relationships (senior and junior), building trust and long-term partnerships.
• Commercially astute, with a clear sense of ownership and accountability. Contributes to and delivers against the Client Development Plan, with responsibility for profitability, growth and overall account direction.
• Proactively identifies opportunities for organic growth and incremental work.
• Equally comfortable leading strategic initiatives as well as overseeing the day-to-day delivery of BAU.
• Highly numerate, with responsibility for forecasting, budget control and overall P&L management.

Attributes/Competencies:

• Operates as a mature and strategic leader, with extensive agency experience and demonstrable progression in account management roles (10+ years), including significant exposure to integrated, multi-channel marketing campaigns.
• Brings strong, hands-on experience across a broad range of disciplines and channels, including: Always On Tactical (e.g. DCO, PMAX, PPC), paid social, digital display, brand campaigns, original editorial content, shoots and events, media partnerships, original still and moving image production, global-to-local adaptations, design and copy briefs, customer magazines, web campaign landing pages and retailer toolkits.
• A strong interest in luxury and automotive branding is highly desirable; experience in these sectors is a significant advantage and will be highly valued.
• Demonstrates an in-depth understanding of clients’ businesses and market sectors, with the ability to identify growth opportunities and add measurable value.
• Demonstrates a clear understanding of the agency’s strategy, vision and commercial position, and confidently articulates this. Understands the wider group’s capabilities and how to leverage them to support client and agency growth.
• Builds and maintains strong, trusted client relationships at all levels.
• Accomplished at working in close partnership with planning, creative and production teams to deliver best-in-class work – always looking to see how processes can be improved.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; an engaging and persuasive presenter who brings ideas to life and leads client presentations with confidence and authority.
• Confident in analysing campaign and programme results, translating data into clear insights, actionable recommendations and meaningful testing opportunities.
• Proactively keeps abreast of client sectors and the wider marketing industry through relevant publications, alerts and events.
• A genuine passion for marketing and customer engagement.
• A strong leader with a sense of ownership; calm, adaptable and able to think on your feet in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
• A successful people manager with a proven track record of developing and growing high-performing teams.
• A great team player who builds genuine, positive relationships internally and externally.
• Extremely well organised, with meticulous attention to detail in day-to-day working practices.
• Broad experience across multiple sectors and clients, demonstrating consistent success across both.

The Six Helia Habits:

• Get Involved: You take ownership of outcomes rather than sticking narrowly to your role. You willingly step in, collaborate and help drive projects forward — ensuring the work succeeds, not just your part of it.
• Have a Voice: You speak up, contribute ideas and challenge constructively. You bring energy and opinion to conversations, and you see being active and vocal as the default, not the exception.
• Find a Way: You don’t get stuck on limitations — whether they’re client constraints, brief challenges or process barriers. You think creatively, problem-solve with optimism and look for practical ways to move things forward.
• Be Playful: You bring curiosity, experimentation and positivity to the work. You’re not afraid to explore, try new approaches or inject creative thinking into everyday tasks — even when deadlines are tight.
• It Only Counts If You Make It: You turn thinking into action. You help transform good ideas into real, tangible outcomes — moving beyond theory to delivery and results.
• Make It Better Than It Was: You’re always looking to elevate the work. You don’t settle for “good enough”; you ask, “Is this the best it can be?” and push for quality, craft and continual improvement.

Here at Havas helia across the group we pride ourselves on being committed to offering equal opportunities to all potential employees and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, disability and other factors that have no bearing on an individual’s ability to perform their job.