Senior Account Director - 12 Month FTC

ABOUT US

tms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world’s leading brands. With 1,200+ employees across 26 countries, we offer an impressive range of solutions – from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.

Operating as a creative agency, a strategic consultancy, a sourcing business, and a technology provider, we engage with over 110 million customers every single day for our clients, including McDonald’s, T-Mobile, O2, Starbucks, and adidas.

Most importantly, we're a place where you can achieve great things, and be recognized as the best.

WHAT MATTERS THE MOST

Breakthrough, business-driving ideas come from extraordinary people with the freedom to be their most authentic selves at work. Authenticity and diversity are critical elements of our business. They can only be realized when we create access and equity for all. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging and aspire to be ever-evolving.

tms is a place where brilliant people are better together. If you want your ideas to be heard and to contribute to a culture of inclusion and authenticity, bring us your voice! Visit us at tmsw.com.

WHY WE THINK YOU WILL LOVE THIS ROLE

Since tms became Priority from O2’s Partnerships Agency at the end of 2019,  the business has grown to become one of the agency’s leading accounts with an embedded team of Client Service experts dedicated to it. 
 
In June 2021, O2 merged with Virgin Broadband bringing together two of the UK’s most iconic brands, combining 46 million+ broadband, mobile, phone and home subscribers, and 18,700 employees.

In light of the merger Priority, has evolved from a consumer loyalty and reward programme into Virgin Media O2’s “customer engagement programme” that now sits at the very heart of their newly merged business. The strategy we have implemented has set the telco apart from its competitors, giving Virgin Media O2 customers amazing access to exclusive experiences, offers and prizes. Internally it is considered as the key strategic focus for the business moving forward and at the centre of their commitment to become truly customer centric.  

As Senior Account Director you will be an important strategic player for Priority – working with Strategy to set the Priority vision for the next 6 months (and next 6 years); solving Virgin Media O2’s and partners’ genuine business challenges; providing innovative thinking and innovative creative ideas. This is a truly awesome opportunity to lead and be part of a team who will create and build customer experience solutions that drive fame for Priority.

Finally, we guarantee that you will leave changed. Because we help our people to achieve their goals. Come her to experience. To experiment. To make mistakes. To challenge your own limits. 

WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE AGENCY

As a Senior Account Director on Priority you will be integral to delivering best in class customer experiences and you will be comfortable leading this from the front.  From strategic development and understanding business challenges, to translating them into communication and partnership opportunities, looking at every touchpoint we have to connect their customers. 

You will be expected to engage and support brand planning processes, working with the client to help uncover business issues and develop a compelling strategy to deliver market-leading campaigns and partnerships with an ‘ideas first’ approach. 

By understanding the client business, you will also be expected to help develop proactive solutions to share with the client, creating new business and creative opportunities for tms. 

Digging deeper on the details:

Client Partnership and Development

•    Lead the client-agency relationship and ensure commitments on both sides are met to set our client and tms up for continual success
•    Create and build relationships with key client partners to ensure that tms supports Priority as an extension of their own team
•    Develop strong relationships with external partners including our client satisfaction consultancy, third-party agencies and partnership brands
•    Collaborate closely with other agencies to ensure the best possible customer experience of Priority, and work together to pro-actively propose areas that can add value to the business
•    Take an inquisitive approach to the client’s business, learning their objectives, key contacts, new products, upcoming initiatives and challenges to help assess fit the right agency solutions for them
•    Create and deliver memorable and engaging client presentations, setting the tone and benchmark for your team to learn from and the client to expect from us
•    Continually ask the questions others don’t in order to identify new opportunities to deliver fresh and relevant campaigns and activations for our client and unlock growth opportunities

Project Management

•    Work collaboratively with colleagues across the wider agency to develop strong strategies, inspiring creative and lead the account team around our creative ambition to deliver extraordinary work whilst implementing and recommending internal processes to enable this
•    Oversee the preparation of post project reviews and evaluation reports ensuring the team are working in line with legal compliance
•    Support the Account Director to produce quarterly reviews on performance
•    Have a good understanding of the account workings and current workstreams to ensure you’re ready to support the junior team to deliver best in class campaigns 

Account Management

•    Work in partnership with the Strategy & Innovation Lead to set and implement the vision for the account, and ensure our strategic expertise continues to be highly valued within Virgin Media O2, both now and in the future
•    Collaborate with the Strategy team to create insights that drive creative excellence, deliver informed creative briefs and define detailed customer journeys and experiences
•    Lead the implementation of partner management technology, ensuring your team are coordinating and managing partner assets, the partnerships calendar, budgets and financial processes 

Team Management and Agency Leadership

•    Be a visible leader within the agency, championing the work you and your team deliver for our client and encourage knowledge sharing
•    Manage the performance and development of your team members: an Account Director, Senior Account Manager, Account Manager and an Account Executive, supporting them to reach their potential
•    Take responsibility for hiring, motivating and mentoring your team, ensure you embed them into the agency and build relationships across the agency
•    Act as an inspiring manager and leader across your direct team and project teams, ensuring work is delivered to client and agency expectations 

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO HAVE

You will have a solid background in account handling and a passion for creating brand experiences for customers.  An inspirational people manager, who can manage competing deadlines and support others to manage and deliver on their priorities. You will know what makes consumers tick and how to strategically leverage brands successfully to customers. 

•    Experience of working in an integrated agency environment, client side or as a Marketing Manager, telco experience would be great (but not essential)
•    Solid knowledge of loyalty and partnerships
•    Able to lead by example, be solutions orientated with a continuous-learning mindset
•    You have experience managing a large client account with a strategic and growth focussed approach, creating opportunities with clients and across the agency alike to grow revenue
•    You have the confidence to stand firm and push back when reasonably necessary when working with partners 
•    Experience working with the most senior level clients, building relationships to unlock the best opportunities for the agency
•    Strong strategic thinking skills with demonstrable track record 
•    Experience in working on a fast paced, always on account, with the ability to stay calm under pressure
•    Able to lead creative and client service teams to deliver great creative work, with a passion for insight driven work 
•    Excellent presentation skills (writing, reviewing and delivering) and ability to express ideas with clarity, confidence and logical reasoning 
•    Proven ability to develop solutions that address client’s business issues and opportunities  
•    You thrive on taking ownership of your projects and deliver best-in-class executions  

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