Client Director (12 Month FTC)

Job Description:

Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organizations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now present in over 145 countries and regions, it has a proven track record of nurturing and developing innovations, combining the talents of its global network of leadership brands to develop impactful and integrated growth solutions for clients. Dentsu delivers end-to-end experience transformation (EX) by integrating its services across Media, CXM and Creative, while its business transformation (BX) mindset pushes the boundaries of transformation and sustainable growth for brands, people and society. 

Carat an award-winning media, content and branding agency that uses its peerless understanding of the passions, motivations, and behaviours of real people to bring brands and their customers together. Carat is privileged to work with some of the most eminent companies in the world.

Role Purpose

The Co-op is the UKs fifth biggest food retailer, the #1 convenience grocer and is a retailer with a difference. It is owned by its members, not its shareholders, making it the worlds biggest co-operative. Portions of Co-op purchases go back into the community and members have the chance to choose which community they want to benefit from this investment. Members also benefit from preferential pricing in store, making the Co-op a truly community and member focused organisation. Every year, the Co-op pays out this money to all causes, with thousands of causes benefiting from a share of tens of millions of pounds.

The Co-op is a recognised leader for their community-led projects, and this - along with market leading sustainability commitments - is a huge focus for the business. The ongoing growth and evolution of their Membership proposition means that we’re tasked, not only with building the brand, but driving instore and online purchase as well as new member acquisition, activation and retention. The client is looking for brilliant collaborators and for us to be the drivers in landing these messages across the paid, owned and earned ecosystem. You’ll work closely with various agencies to deliver strategic communications planning and will have the opportunity to work on a client that not only has a healthy budget but does good in local communities too.

The Client Director will work across the Food part of the business, covering National, Live & Local, Membership & Ecom as well as collaborating with the planning leads across all other business units (such as Legal Services, Insurance and Funeralcare) to ensure we’re truly planning and behaving as “One Co-op”.  

Key requirements

We are looking for an ambitious, self-starting planner who can work autonomously on projects if needed, but also enjoys working within a team with a strong, collaborative working ethos. Co-op’s business requires us to work at a fast pace and be adaptable to frequent change. We are looking for someone who can generate brilliant insights from data and apply them across our strategy & planning. Above all we need bravery and bold thinking, and a constant finger on the pulse of media innovation and the changing landscape.

The client director will also support the Client Managing Partner in managing the commercials of the account, including staff utilisation, project pipeline development, sales conversion, budget forecasting & reporting, and financial management. They will be responsible for supporting the overall growth plan for the Co-op business at dentsu.

We’re looking for a positive, can-do attitude from someone joining the team. Grocery retail experience would be ideal but is not compulsory, but experience across both Brand and Performance marketing is essential, given the nature of the client’s business and its continuous shift towards digital fulfilment of many of their services.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• The successful candidate will be able to build trusting and productive relationships with senior client stakeholders, to think on their feet and respond strategically to challenges to our media recommendations when needed.

• Manage and oversee planning and media delivery at annual, quarterly and campaign cadences – ensuring that key planning principles are communicated and delivered against, while being able to adapt and respond to changing business and market dynamics.

• Ensure all work delivered by your team is of the highest standard.

• Lead strategic direction for your clients by working with the strategy/planning partner, client account directors and digital specialists.

• Set the agenda for the media Test & Learn plan & Innovation Roadmap, and work with the comms and activation teams to ensure that the plan is successfully rolled out.

• Consult on a local basis and work with global counterparts on digital transformation.

• Instil and maintain processes that deliver operational excellence for the account including management of forecasting documents, annual planning laydowns, financial management (invoicing and debt clearance), mid/end of year reviews and PRF Metrics.

• Working with the Client/Managing Partner to devise and implement TRR/Service Review action plans.

• The ideal candidate will have strong skills in managing a team and creating a culture where everyone thrives. We are looking for someone who can effectively manage a team (including client account director, digital account director, account managers and account executives).

• Setting clear progression plans for all team members is essential. The candidate would be responsible for ensuring the dentsu Personal Best process is used to set stretching, but achievable, personal objectives for their direct reports, which contribute to Carat delivering its business plan.

• Background and experience in measurement projects such as attribution, MMM & econometrics would be useful for these accounts.

Other General comments

• Managing the Business: Delivery of multiple workstreams in order to meet client expectations through effective mobilisation of dentsu resources and people at all times

• Implement, monitor and optimise best practice ways of working within the teams, ensuring that process is being adhered to (huddles, information centres, standard and operating procedures etc.)

• Proactive Client Development: Challenge client and team in the pursuit of better work

• Deliver and set examples of immaculate client service: ensure immaculate client service is delivered across all levels, across the team. Drive a culture of proactivity, results and innovation

• Responsible for driving commercial growth: Proactively seek out opportunities for cross-sell and up-sell and consult with Client/Managing Partner on mobilisation of these opportunities, in partnership with field experts across the network.

• Managing Client requirements across the network: Responding in a timely and accurate manner to client requests for information, working seamlessly with internal stakeholders and colleagues across the network in order to deal with their requests.

• Network Client team management: Appropriate management and mobilisation of Carat network / OpCos around client

• Demonstrate the ability to cultivate strong relationships across OpCos to ensure that work is delivered on time and to high quality

• Commercial Finance: Where appropriate, working with Media Booking & Billings team (MBB) to ensure forecasting and P&L management processes are delivered accurately and managed appropriately

• Operational Finance: Where appropriate, work with the Operations Director to ensure that the operational finance process on your client is smooth and error free. Lead issue resolution.

• New Business: Active engagement in new business opportunities as appropriate (both through organic growth on existing clients and also contributing to prospective new business pitches).

Planning responsibilities

• Working with the Strategy/Planning Partner to ensure the planning process is delivered end to end, mobilising appropriate resources from across the network, developing strategic recommendations that are integrated, consumer focused solutions to client business challenges.

• Support the integration of planning solutions into the network and effectively translate strategic plans into consistently good execution, working closely with local leads.

• Compelling and effective storytelling is critical to this role, so a strong grasp of media theory and the ability to consult multiple sources to validate & support media recommendations is key.

• Collaboration with inter-agency partners (across Digital, Creative, PR, Social and Retail) will be a key responsibility for the CD, ensuring a fully integrated response to client briefs is delivered at all times.

• On occasion, the CD will need to navigate complex internal client structures in order to deliver on their responsibilities, so they will need to be able to build a holistic picture of the client’s challenges/needs based on multiple sources and be able to challenge when there might be conflicting information.

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