Experiential Account Director

• Account Director - Experiential & Events
• 3 days remote, with travel to client meetings and event sites as required
• Type: Full-Time, Permanent
• Reports to: Senior Director

The Opportunity

We're working with an exciting and growing experiential marketing and events agency based in Harpenden to recruit an Account Director to join their expanding team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced events or experiential professional looking to take ownership of high-profile client accounts, lead complex live activations and play a key role in the continued growth of an ambitious agency.

The agency works across a diverse portfolio of both B2B and B2C clients, delivering everything from smaller-scale activations through to large-scale and international campaigns.

Their work brings brands' marketing strategies to life through engaging, relevant and memorable experiences.

Projects can range from in-house training events, festivals and bespoke pop-ups to PR stunts, mass sampling campaigns, merchandising and large-scale structural builds.

The business also places a strong emphasis on sustainability, working closely with clients to develop reusable structures and more sustainable approaches to event production wherever possible.

The Role

As Account Director, you'll take a senior role across a portfolio of key client accounts, acting as a trusted strategic partner while overseeing the successful delivery of complex experiential and live event campaigns.

You'll combine commercial ownership, client leadership, strategic thinking and operational delivery, while supporting and developing more junior members of the team.

This is a role with genuine scope to grow.

As the agency continues to expand, there will be opportunities to take on greater responsibility, develop your skill set and progress your career within the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the senior day-to-day lead across key client accounts.
• Build strong, long-term relationships with clients and become a trusted strategic partner.
• Understand client objectives and translate them into clear, actionable briefs.
• Identify opportunities for repeat business, account development and organic growth.
• Support new business activity and contribute to winning new opportunities.
• Take full commercial ownership of assigned account P&Ls.
• Manage campaign budgets, revenue forecasting and expenditure.
• Oversee financial approvals, margin optimisation and final project reconciliations.
• Ensure projects are delivered commercially and within agreed budgets.
• Manage budgets across multiple projects, potentially ranging from £250k to £1m+.
• Line manage Account Managers and Account Executives.
• Conduct regular 1-to-1s and formal performance reviews.
• Identify training and development opportunities for team members.
• Support the growth and development of junior talent.
• Manage freelance resource, including sourcing, contracting and briefing.
• Production & Event Delivery
• Work closely with production teams to ensure projects are delivered to a high standard.
• Maintain oversight of projects from initial brief through to live delivery and post-event reconciliation.
• Ensure client expectations are consistently met throughout the delivery process.
• Support the delivery of complex experiential activations, events and builds.
• Oversee venue sourcing, supplier relationships and contract negotiations.
• Manage site logistics and structural build requirements.
• Ensure appropriate Health & Safety procedures are followed, including RAMS and relevant local compliance.
• Work collaboratively with production partners and suppliers to deliver safe, effective and commercially viable events.
• Pitching & Creative
• Take ownership of projects and contribute strategically to creative development.
• Work collaboratively on creative presentations and pitch decks.
• Balance ambitious creative concepts with practical production requirements and available budgets.
• Present confidently to existing and prospective clients.
• Help develop ideas that are both creatively engaging and deliverable in the real world.

About You

We're looking for an experienced Account Director or senior Account Manager with a strong background in experiential marketing, live events or FMCG brand activations.

You'll be commercially astute, confident working with senior clients and comfortable operating in a fast-paced agency environment where no two projects are the same.

• Key Experience & Skills
• 6+ years' agency experience within experiential marketing, live events, brand activations or a related environment.
• Strong knowledge of the experiential and events industry, with the confidence to represent an agency at a senior level.
• Proven experience managing significant campaign budgets, ideally in the region of £250k-£1m+.
• Strong commercial understanding, including P&L management, forecasting, margins and project reconciliation.
• A track record of developing existing accounts and identifying new commercial opportunities.
• Experience of direct line management, team development and freelance resourcing.
• Excellent relationship-building skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with clients, colleagues and external partners.
• Strong operational knowledge across areas such as custom builds, mass sampling, venue management, logistics and live-event Health & Safety.
• Exceptional organisation, planning and time-management skills.
• Excellent pitching, presentation and deck-writing abilities.
• Comfortable managing multiple projects, priorities and deadlines simultaneously.
• Willingness to travel nationally and attend occasional overnight or weekend event builds and live activations when required.
• Full, clean UK driving licence.
• What's on Offer
• 22 days' annual leave plus Bank Holidays.
• Hybrid working - 2 days in the Harpenden office and 3 days working remotely.
• TOIL (Time Off in Lieu) for weekend site builds and live event activations.
• The opportunity to work across a varied portfolio of exciting experiential and events projects.
• A genuine opportunity to grow with an ambitious and expanding agency.
• Scope to develop your responsibilities, skills and career as the business continues to grow.

Why This Role?

This is more than a traditional Account Director position.

You'll have the opportunity to make a genuine impact within a growing agency, taking ownership of major client relationships and projects while helping shape the continued development of the business.

You're ambitious, commercially minded and passionate about experiential marketing, events and creating memorable brand experiences, this could be an excellent next step in your career.

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