Regional Account Director

Regional Account Director, Client Services – EMEA

EssenceMediacom is GroupM’s newest and largest agency, committed to delivering marketing breakthroughs for brands. It has disrupted the old models across media, creative, innovation and analytics to find new opportunities for advertisers and deliver truly integrated media solutions.

Born out of two pioneering agencies, EssenceMediacom fuses Essence’s performance, data, analytics, and creative technology DNA with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise.

As part of WPP, the world's largest marketing communications services group, and GroupM, WPP’s consolidated media investment management arm, we have access to the richest data, most robust benchmarks, and most advanced capabilities in the market. This helps us provide comprehensive solutions to all marketing challenges.

Our ‘breakthrough’ ambition is underpinned by our commitment to ‘continuous learning.’ We aim to ensure our people fulfil their potential by investing in their whole-person wellbeing, careers, and capabilities, which in turn helps grow our clients’ businesses.

EssenceMediacom, with 10,000 people across 120 offices in 96 markets, is one of the world’s leading communications specialists, with billings of more than US $21 billion (Source: COMvergence, 2021). Its global client roster includes adidas, Coca-Cola (TCCC), Dell, Google, Hasbro, Mars, NBC Universal, P&G, Richemont, and Sony.

Reports to: Global Account Director (GAD)

The Role

The Regional Account Director (RAD) is a key role within the Mars Europe team at EssenceMediacom with overall accountability for the performance and growth of the Europe Mars Wrigley account portfolio and revenue. Critical to success will be effective alignment of strategy, structure, operational delivery and resources in order to ensure delivery against agreed client KPIs.

The role includes management of a senior leadership team consisting of Planning leads, a Data Director, an Analytics Director, Strategy Directors and local market senior contacts.

The successful candidate must be confident in senior client relationship management, digital and data led planning, agency team operations, and commercial management. The candidate for the role would ideally have a range of client and category experience, demonstrating strong analytical capabilities and the strong emotional intelligence and gravitas to lead matrix clients and agency teams.

Accountabilities include:

• Strategic management: collaboration with the client and relevant Europe EssenceMediacom stakeholders to agree and implement a progressive strategy for the Mars Wrigley account with a clearly defined scope of work document. To report on a quarterly basis account performance vs. strategic plans to defined stakeholders e.g. GAD.
• Business Partnering: build relationships with key Mars Wrigley stakeholders to get EssenceMediacom high visibility. Hold the position of trusted business partner and advocate to the client, providing advice and guidance on account optimisation.
• Knowledge management: ensure relevant business knowledge is deployed, shared and retained within the team and shared across the wider function where relevant.
• Operational delivery: effectively coordinate, direct and manage the overall Mars Wrigley account across the Europe region. Create and successfully implement clear, robust, and measurable operational delivery plans in line with the agreed scope of work.
• Reporting: own full accountability for the effective provision of client-facing interactions e.g. quarterly business reviews in line with internal reporting requirements and expectations.
• Quality assurance: support the development and effective implementation of quality assurance initiatives across the Mars Wrigley team, EssenceMediacom and the client.
• Account Performance: lead the team to consistently achieve performance standards (KPIs), effectively monitoring ongoing performance and implementing change where remedial action is necessary.
• Performance management: conduct recruitment and retention initiatives, establish succession plans and nurture high potential talent.

A bit about your skills and experience:

• 10+ years media agency experience in both strategic and performance environments.
• Strong analytical skills.
• A depth of experience in client management and matrix organisation management.
• Experience of the latest digital media solutions, from Amazon to programmatic, Influencers to Social, but be able to think and represent across the whole media mix, including TV, outdoor, sponsorship, partnerships and beyond.
• Strong knowledge of eCommerce.
• An understanding of the right strategic balance between eCommerce and brand investment, and the quantification of those strategies.
• Demonstrable experience of running large pieces of business across either a market, regional or global remit.
• Confident interpreter of data and insight.
• Exceptional client relationship building skills.
• An ability to lead multiple internal stakeholders at all levels across multiple disciplines.