Senior Account Director

Location
:
New York City or The Bay Area, California

Work Site Type
:
Hybrid

Building a Brand Starts with a Story

FIRST is a leading global brand experience agency serving clients in various industries, including financial services, technology, new & traditional media, aerospace, healthcare, and professional services. FIRST has received numerous accolades, including being listed among the 2025 Most Innovative Marketing Agencies of the Year by Chief Marketer, named Top Agency of the Year 2024 by Event Marketer, highlighted as a Global Agency of the Year, over 100 Employees by C&IT, and listed among the "200 Top Marketing Agencies" in 2024, 2023, & 2022 by Chief Marketer.

The Senior Account Director supports FIRST’s vision to be one of the world’s most respected global brand experience agencies. This leadership role drives strategic growth, service excellence, and long-term partnership success across enterprise-level clients.

Acting as a senior advisor and trusted partner, the Senior Account Director collaborates with senior stakeholders to understand evolving business goals and translate them into impactful, insight-driven strategies that enhance brand engagement and deliver measurable results.

With strong commercial acumen, this individual is accountable for the financial health and sustainable growth of their portfolio, ensuring profitability through strategic foresight, value creation, and a deep understanding of client business dynamics.

The ideal candidate is a client-focused, strategic leader who inspires confidence, fosters collaboration, and embodies the FIRST commitment to service excellence, partnership integrity, and forward-thinking brand experiences.

Your Contributions

• Lead the strategic direction, development, and overall success of account(s), working across global teams to drive results and innovative ideas
• Act as the primary point of contact for client stakeholders, fostering trust and ensuring alignment across programs and priorities
• Responsible for developing and executing annual account plans, growth strategies, and client engagement initiatives
• Lead quarterly business reviews and strategic touchpoints to reinforce value and strengthen the client relationship. Develop and support executive-level reporting, data insights, and strategic planning, contributing to business reviews and leadership decision-making
• Monitor client satisfaction trends and proactively address issues, risks, and opportunities for improvement and growth
• Oversee contract lifecycle management, including scope changes, contract renewals, SOWs, Work Orders, addendums, and procurement interactions
• Responsible for oversight of the scope of work and for the account achieving contract compliance and performance requirements (KPIs, SLAs, reports required); ensuring the account delivers on expectations and remains within the bounds of the contract
• Support invoicing workflows, annual budgeting, and monthly reconciliation processes, including scalable services and travel and expenses, in collaboration with Account Operations
• In collaboration with Business Analytics / Commercials, responsible for accurate and timely forecasting of contracted pipeline activity
• Develop a thorough understanding of the client’s business, industry and keep abreast of external issues and events that could impact client objectives
• Lead all new business opportunities within the account(s), from initial discovery through to proposal submission and contracting
• Build and manage a pipeline of organic growth opportunities, identifying areas where FIRST can expand services and add strategic value
• Lead cross-functional teams through the proposal/RFP process, from brief to solution design to final pitch, ensuring quality and alignment

Please be aware that we know experience does not always look like we describe it. If you believe you would be an excellent fit for this role, please apply - we would love to see how you could fit at First.

• This role is best suited to a candidate with 10+ years of experience in client services, account management, or program leadership within a global agency, brand experience, or events environment
• Proven experience…