Account Director Commercial · London HQ ·

Location: London Hybrid (2 / 3 days in the office)

native has been building for 10 years, but we're still very much a startup: fast-moving, ambitious, and building with intent. We're creating the infrastructure that connects students, Students’ Unions, universities, and advertisers through a managed marketplace. Our goal is to deliver for students by increasing student engagement while enabling Students’ Unions to secure sustainable funding. For advertisers, we offer meaningful, measurable routes to student audiences. The more aligned these incentives are, the more defensible and scalable our business becomes.

The Opportunity

We're hiring an Account Director who leads a team of three to four account managers while personally owning a focused book of around 10 to 15 higher-value accounts. It is a hands-on, hybrid role: you coach and manage the team day to day while modelling consultative selling on your own clients. native's account base has largely been sold transactionally, often a single space at freshers' fairs, so most clients have had a great experience but have never been shown the wider opportunity. Some have not been contacted for the best part of a year. This role exists to change that, shifting the team from transactional selling to consultative, relationship-led growth.

Performance Objectives

• Take full ownership of the team. Directly manage, coach and develop the three to four account managers.
• Shift the team from transactional to consultative selling.
• Embed a regular client-contact cadence (for example monthly relationship calls), account planning and organic opportunity-spotting.
• Grow a personal book of c.10–15 higher-value accounts.
• Model the consultative approach first-hand, growing accounts from £5K bookings to £100K+ in annual bookings over time.
• Lift team performance and share of wallet.
• Increase retention, repeat spend and average deal value across the team's book.
• Raise the talent bar. Assess a mixed-ability team, upskill those with potential, and support fair, decisive performance management.

What you’ll be working on

• Lead, coach and develop a team of three to four account managers.
• Own and grow a personal book of c.10–15 higher-value accounts.
• Embed a consultative, insight-led account management model.
• Coordinate the client relationship across campaigns.
• Drive CRM discipline, accurate forecasting and clear pipeline visibility across the team.
• Operate as a true player-coach: hands-on in deals and client conversations while still hitting your own number.

What we’re looking for

• Proven consultative account management with a clear track record of growing account spend.
• Genuine people-management experience: ideally a current or recent player-coach.
• Ability to take transactional sellers and develop solution-selling behaviours in them.
• Trusted-advisor persona: curiosity, relationship-building and commercial judgement.
• Strong prioritisation and light project-management / coordination skills.
• Comfortable carrying a personal target and commission.
• Media, advertising, experiential/events, student marketing or B2B services a plus.

Whats in it for you

• Pension contributions of 5%
• 25 days off (excluding bank holidays)
• Day off on your birthday
• Share Options for all
• Work from home set-up budget
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme
• Paid maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are actively creating an equitable environment for everyone at native to thrive. Diversity and inclusion are a priority for us and we are making sure we have lots of support for all of our people to grow at native. At native, we embrace diversity in all of its forms and foster an inclusive environment for all people to do the best work of their lives with us.