Senior Account Director (Global Client Leadership) in London

Reporting to: Managing Director

Location: Hybrid working and planned UK/US travel

Working pattern: Designed around outcomes, senior client moments and purposeful in-person collaboration.

We’re not your typical agency. Raptor is one of the world’s fastest-growing independent youth and community marketing agencies, helping major brands connect authentically with the next generation through ambassadors, creators, communities, experiences and social-first campaigns. Over the past decade, we have grown from a start-up into a global agency working across North America, Europe and APAC. Our partners include Google, Airbnb, PepsiCo, Deliveroo, Jägermeister, Tinder and many more. Our ambition is simple: to become the world’s leading youth marketing agency. That means building world-class teams, exceptional technology and a global operating model that lets us deliver brilliantly and consistently in every market.

This is a rare opportunity to shape a senior, high-trust role around one of Raptor’s most important global relationships. You will take day-to-day leadership of the account, become a trusted partner to senior stakeholders and create the conditions for outstanding work across the UK and US. You will have genuine influence: setting the account vision, connecting teams and markets, strengthening the client partnership and helping turn successful delivery into a broader global growth story. Alongside this, you will bring your transatlantic experience to selected UK/US campaigns and wider international opportunities where your leadership will have the greatest impact. The role combines the pace and creative energy of an independent agency with meaningful global scope. It is deliberately focused on high-value leadership, with travel planned around the client and campaign moments that benefit most from being together.

About You

You are an experienced senior client leader who knows how to build trust quickly, bring clarity to complexity and lead integrated campaigns across markets. You are equally comfortable in a senior client conversation, a strategic planning session and the practical detail required to keep delivery moving. You understand the nuances of working across the UK and US: different expectations, time zones, teams and cultural contexts. You can create one clear account direction while giving local specialists the space to deliver work that feels right for each market. You are commercially minded, calm under pressure and generous in how you lead. You bring energy, fresh ideas and solutions, and you spot opportunities to deepen relationships and expand the work without losing sight of quality.

The Role

As Senior Account Director, you will be the senior day-to-day lead for a key client at Raptor. You will own the health, direction and growth of the relationship, working closely with senior client stakeholders and Raptor’s leadership, strategy, creative, production and market teams. You will establish a clear cross-market operating rhythm, ensuring that UK, US, APAC delivery feels connected, consistent and accountable while responding intelligently to local needs. You will also support selected global pitches, programmes and client opportunities where your experience can accelerate Raptor’s international growth.

You Will

• Lead the key account, setting the account vision, priorities, annual roadmap and standards for success.
• Own the senior day-to-day client relationship, becoming a trusted adviser who understands the client’s business, culture and ambitions.
• Create a clear UK/US governance model, including roles, decision-making, communication rhythms, escalation routes and shared ways of working.
• Ensure campaigns are strategically strong, culturally relevant and consistently delivered across both markets, with clear accountability from brief to evaluation.
• Translate complex, fast-moving briefs into focused plans that align client stakeholders and multidisciplinary agency teams.
• Bring UK and US teams together around one account plan while recognising the market-specific insight, regulation and execution each campaign requires.
• Maintain senior oversight of scope, timelines, budgets, resourcing, risks, quality and measurement.
• Lead key proposals, presentations, quarterly business reviews and growth conversations with confidence and clarity.
• Identify and convert opportunities to expand the key partnership across services, audiences, markets and global programmes.
• Support wider cross-market campaigns and global new-business opportunities where transatlantic leadership will materially improve the work.
• Build strong relationships across client, agency, partner and supplier teams, resolving challenges early and constructively.
• Coach and develop account team members, setting a high bar for ownership, communication and client service.
• Keep Raptor’s senior leadership informed of account performance, opportunities, risks and support required.
• Champion repeatable global account practices that strengthen delivery across the wider agency.

Experience

• Significant senior client-services experience within an integrated, experiential, social, creative or full-service agency environment.
• A strong track record of leading complex, high-profile client relationships and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Direct experience delivering campaigns across the UK and US, or comparable multi-market/global programmes.
• Experience aligning multiple agency disciplines, market teams, partners and suppliers around one shared outcome.
• Commercial ownership of scopes, budgets, forecasting, profitability and organic account growth.
• Proven ability to lead pitches, proposals, business reviews and sensitive client conversations.
• Experience managing, coaching and developing high-performing teams.
• An understanding of youth culture, creators, communities, experiential work and social-first marketing is highly valuable.
• Experience in fast-moving technology or innovation-led categories is welcome, but not essential.

Key Competencies

• Global client leadership: Build trusted senior relationships, anticipate what the client needs and create confidence through clear direction, sound judgement and dependable follow-through.
• Cross-market orchestration: Connect people, priorities and decisions across the UK and US, balancing global consistency with local relevance.
• Commercial judgement: Protect quality and profitability while spotting thoughtful, client-relevant opportunities for account growth.
• Strategic and creative thinking: Turn insight and ambition into compelling briefs, plans and ideas, and raise the standard of the work through constructive challenge.
• Communication: Write and present with clarity, adapt to different audiences and make complex information easy to understand and act on.
• Calm, positive leadership: Create momentum in a fast-moving environment, resolve issues early and help teams do their best work across locations and time zones.

Location, Flexibility & Travel

This role is designed to work well for a senior leader based in the UK. There is expectation of a weekly London commute; between key moments, the role can be performed flexibly, with regular remote / f2f collaboration across the UK and US. UK travel: typically one to two days per week, mainly for priority client meetings, team sessions or campaign delivery in London or other UK locations. US travel: expected at approximately four to six trips per year, generally three to five working days at a time and focused on the moments where in-person leadership adds most value. Planning: travel will be scheduled as far ahead as possible, normally with at least four weeks’ notice, and meetings will be grouped to make each trip purposeful. Campaign peaks: occasional additional travel may be needed around launches, pitches or live delivery; this will be discussed and agreed in advance wherever circumstances allow. Review: the travel rhythm will be reviewed together if the account’s needs materially change. The aim is a sustainable, transparent pattern that supports an excellent client relationship and strong cross-market leadership while respecting life outside work.

Benefits

• 24 days’ holiday per year
• Bonus scheme
• Vitality Health cover
• Work from Anywhere scheme
• New business incentives scheme
• Annual summer and Christmas parties
• Team-building and agency activities
• Discounts on local and national brands and businesses

Contract & Salary

Contract: Permanent. Working pattern and start date to be agreed. Salary: £70k - £80k to be agreed, reflecting the seniority and bespoke scope of the role.