Account Director (F1)

Octagon is a global creative agency, with a speciality in sport and entertainment partnerships. With over 800 team members around the world, we work with brands to create big ideas that fans love and want to engage in, because it’s built in and around their passion. Where others see complexity we see possibility, and we believe in pushing authenticity, creativity, and longevity to do great things in the industry that lead the market. Octagon is now part of the Omnicom. It’s a great space to play – in the world of culture, content, and events – and if you’d like to be a part of it, we would love to hear from you.

Our Values: Our values: empowerment, intelligence, inclusivity, innovation, and impact, guide our behaviours as people and shape the way that we operate as a team. As a senior member of the organisation, you will find ways to embody these in your own job as well as provide leadership and oversight on how those values come to life in all our staff and how we collectively operate.

About the Role: Account Director – Motorsport Experiences. We’re excited to be recruiting for an outstanding Account Director to join our London office. This role will lead track-side hospitality programmes and brand activations for one of our motorsport clients, with a strong emphasis on end-to-end product supply, logistics and service delivery across the F1 season. If you’re known for exceptional client service and have a proven history of delivering impactful live events, we’d love to hear from you. You’ll be a confident and inspiring people leader, committed to mentoring and developing your team, while driving outstanding results and playing a key role within the agency’s motorsport and experiential offering. We’re looking for a passionate marketer with experience across Formula 1 sponsorships and events. A good understanding of the hospitality ecosystem within F1 will be key to this role, and ideally exposure to working with beverage brands, but not essential.

You will be accountable for:

• Client Management: Providing guidance as an experienced operator in F1 hospitality, navigating the client through rights-holder requirements and restrictions, while recommending impactful ways to activate within the client’s brand identity and objectives, ensuring delivery aligns with defined KPIs and consistently represents the brand to the highest standards. Act as point of escalation for day-to-day client stakeholders, developing solutions to client challenges and presenting your approach in a clear, engaging and persuasive manner, always balancing clients’ interests with protecting the agency and team. Forward planning to ensure any pinch points are effectively managed and the best resource is available and allocated based on skill sets and project requirements. Work closely with the client to build strong, lasting relationships across Formula 1 and the wider network, positioning the brand confidently within the sport. Support the negotiation of MSAs, scopes of work, fees and financial reporting in partnership with senior leadership members of the account team. Lead vendor and supplier negotiations, tracking and contracting in line with company policies. There will be a requirement to travel to events throughout the F1 Season.
• Team Management: Lead, manage and develop a team made up of an Account Manager and Senior Account Manager to provide the very highest levels of client services. Develop a highly effective, collaborative team who continually surpass client expectations. Act as a coach/mentor/motivator, adapting to individual personalities and developing the team so each member grows and works effectively including managing goal-setting and performance reviews. Instill best practice ways of working for the team, with an understanding and mindfulness of company process and compliance requirements. Confidently establish relationships with and advising senior stakeholders across clients, rightsholders, within the agency and wider Omnicom Network. Display an entrepreneurial spirit to growth, regularly suggesting potential opportunities (new targets and existing client growth) and ways of acting upon them. Act as a beacon for excellence within experiences, ensuring your team is constantly evolving and growing in terms of perception, skillset and ability. Experienced and confident with taking briefs, presenting creative and dealing with prospects. Drive collaboration across the agency and shared services, proactively identifying opportunities to improve existing or implement new processes wherever required.

About You: You will bring a collaborative and inclusive approach with a commitment to developing talent. You will be a strategic thinker with robust problem-solving skills that enable you to challenge the status quo. You will be highly organized, with strong attention to detail and confident with managing complex budgets and financial processes. You will be commercially minded and experienced in driving both organic growth and new business wins. Experience in F1 sponsorship activation and managing guest hospitality programmes within the F1 environment is essential. Additional experience working with drinks brands – especially alcohol – including product supply, logistics, and service is beneficial. A desire and flexibility to travel internationally to events throughout the F1 season.

We’re pleased to offer a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to the following: Core benefits (available from start date) – flexible holiday allowance, AXA private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, pension scheme with 4.5% employer contribution, Employee Assistance Programme. Flexible benefits (available after probation) – Gymflex, dental insurance, travel insurance, health cash plan, Cycle scheme, interest‑free season ticket loans. A Flexible Workplace – we have a number of initiatives in place to ensure that our team have the flexibility to balance work with their lives, this includes flexible holiday and flexible working options. We also run a number of internal programmes to support physical and mental wellbeing, alongside learning and development opportunities to support career development and progression.

Important Note: This job description serves as a guide to the scope and range of activities that may be required of the incumbent and may change at any time according to the needs and priorities of the Company. 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. We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at JobAppAccommodation@ipgdxtra.com. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or vendors; rather it is strictly for applicants who require special assistance accessing our employment website. Due to volume, messages sent to this email address that are not related to an accommodation cannot be answered.