Job Details

About Erich & Kallman

E&K is a full service, independent creative agency based in San Francisco and Austin. We are committed to making work that people love for ambitious clients that believe in the power of advertising. And we are Ad Age's Small Agency of the Year for 2024. Cool!

Account Director Primary Job Responsibility

Serve as a senior account resource both internally and to senior-level clients. Beyond managing the usual day-to-day with the account group, the account director should also be a champion of the agency and be confident enough to have the tough conversations. They have a true handle on financials and constantly look for opportunities to expand the agency relationship with clients, and are able to think strategically as well as manage.

This role is based in E&K's San Francisco, CA office. Hybrid office schedule: 3 days per week in the office (T/W/TH) and 2 days per week working remotely (M/F).

Be a problem solver:

• Advise senior agency management on the status of the business, client relationships and specific opportunities or challenges.
• Know when to own, when to delegate and when to manage up.
• Engage with key team members as needed to fully understand a situation and work to develop solutions.
• Have an understanding of the implications and impact of action on subsequent events.
• Write and critique high-level presentations and own the process with Account Supervisors and Strategy.

Excel in collaboration:

• Work with Clients to advance their business needs and develop long-range communications and marketing plans. Fosters Agency involvement in these plans.
• Develop rapport and productive relationship with key client IAT partners e.g. media agency, research firm, etc. to ensure information flow and meaningful collaboration between agencies.

Serve as client lead and champion of agency's work:

• Build trusted relationships with senior clients to guide the business and the overall client/agency working relationship.
• Lead the Conversation
  • Ability to concisely and effectively communicate the agency's point of view and teach this skill to other members of the agency team.
  • Be an active listener (both internally and especially with clients), demonstrating real‑time problem solving (in tandem with Creative leadership).
  • Demonstrate a command presence with the internal team as well as the client.
• Serve as active and centralized leader: help manage relationships across departments (Account, Strategy, Media, Production and Leadership).
• Serve as a knowledgeable, steady hand to clients from the onset of a relationship
• Oversee success tracking and monitoring.

Financial Health and Growth:

• Understand how to help develop a client scope of work.

• Monitor scope and identify and manage scope creep or opportunities for expansion.

• Seek out opportunities for organic growth within existing client relationships by expanding agency scope.
• Manage the account's growth, profitability, and the value‑add relationship with the clients.
• Responsible for the financial profitability and growth of the accounts they lead.

Team Development:

• Manage/Mentor team members - identifying opportunities for growth, overall support, teaching moments and real‑time feedback.
• Ensure the team enjoys high morale (across departments), is appropriately rewarded, and consistently delivers superior work.
• Understand and teach mechanics of the creative process and how to get to the best work.
• Keep the team informed and inspired (i.e. de‑briefings after big client meetings).
• Uphold Account Management department as second best at everyone else's job- become an expert on all aspects of agency departments.

Required Experience and Skills

• Proven track record on social forward account management
• Bachelor's Degree preferred
• 8+ years' experience in an account management role, preferably at creative agency
• Proven ability to run a profitable account
• Clear communication and strong listening skills
• Instinctively proactive and solutions‑oriented
• Has a “can‑do” attitude
• Experience with new business a plus
• Proficiency in Google Drive, Sheets, Slides, Docs, Calendar, Outlook, Powerpoint, Keynote and Slack

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all‑inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the agency.