Group Account Director for Automotive Portfolio

Cox Ideabar is a center of excellence at Cox Enterprises that develops Cox brands, drives value and accelerates growth for Cox businesses through world-class brand, creative, marketing and media services.
The Group Account Director is a critical client partner role demonstrating leadership, strategic direction, exceptional brand stewardship, accountability, business acumen and vision for their portfolio of businesses. Develops and implements complex strategic plans to achieve client's marketing objectives, leads organic growth strategies and business development initiatives. The Group Account Director effectively leverages experience, knowledge, and skills to drive innovative thinking and set challenging team goals and objectives by balancing client, company, and team needs.
This position will have day-to-day relationships with senior client leaders and serve as the key contact for partner agency leads. In addition, the role acts as the steward and mentor for the full team, ensuring strong team unity and ways of working, optimizing talent utilization and growth among all team members while overseeing talent management & development.
This is a hybrid position that will require coming into the Atlanta office on Monday's and Wednesday's. Candidates must live within a commutable distance of the office.
Key Responsibilities Include:

• Manage all aspects of the client business providing superior customer service while maximizing business opportunities.
• Establish strong relationship with multiple senior client stakeholders through a demonstration of industry knowledge and of the application to business challenges
• Maintain each client's respect and confidence as a trusted advisor and confidant offering an eager and open ear, sound judgment, proven business acumen and a range of relevant approaches to various issues and opportunities.
• Proactively monitors communication between agency and client teams ensuring client satisfaction.
• Accountable for overseeing portfolio pacing, project health reviews and required tradeoffs/prioritizations when escalated.
• Lead assigned account personnel and oversee client satisfaction, retention, and growth.
• Interfaces with internal stakeholders and other client influencers to strengthen partnership and agency reputation.
• Handles escalations in conflict and problem resolution with limited direction from leadership.
• Lead and manage the annual planning and quarterly strategy process for most complex accounts.
• Acts as brand steward and maintains deep knowledge of client's business, consumers, industry and competitors.
• Negotiate statements of work and annual retainers.
• Ensures the timely development and execution of plans, campaigns, and projects to assure earnings, growth, and profit goals are achieved.
• Remains in touch with the agency's "day-to-day" business on behalf of clients.
• Assures that client relationships remain harmonious and that the clients receive a quality of service which will encourage further growth and profitability in our relationships
• Works with SMEs to develop strategic recommendations, presenting and defending new ideas that solve clients' business objectives.
• Leads client conflict resolution + maintains open and complete communications of client issues with functional leaders and management.
• Develops briefs for high-profile work, oversee quality of briefs for portfolio of accounts, provide training with brand strategist as needed for assigned personnel.
• Lead cross-department peers and work with vendor/other agency partners to develop integrated POVs and reports that address client needs, guiding the team through ambiguous request by providing clarity to gray areas. Routes deliverables to senior clients for stakeholder reviews when high-touch engagement is required.
• Define the overall presentation strategy for key accounts, provide executive oversight ensuring high quality and strategic alignment. Lead presentations for high-stakes or high-value clients, articulating strategic importance and expected outcomes.
• Effectively and confidently balance the dual expectations and business goals of the client and agency as well as the expectations of multiple clients and agency teams.
• Facilitate cross-departmental and vendor/agency collaboration, guiding decisions to ensure a cohesive campaign strategy, seamless execution, and comprehensive performance evaluation. Balances client needs, internal goals, and team dynamics to achieve optimal outcomes.
• Maintain up-to-date financial forecast and billing for group of accounts, identifying revenue risk, opportunities and profit swings that could impact achievement of annual agency budget.
• Oversees account/brand P&Ls for identifying opportunities for improvement. Consistently deliver revenue and margin targets and improve account financial health.
• Oversees full-time staff. Responsible for performance management, employee development and engagement. Makes talent management recommendations to senior leadership.
• Attends appropriate business/social functions which may enhance the image of the Agency, reveal growth opportunities, identify risks to the business, or solidify client relationships.
• Actively pursue new revenue sources, participate in new business efforts; and advises of the potential for new business opportunities.
• Ensure the use of best practices and conformance with agency policies, processes and procedures.
• 50% Directly manages our largest and most complex agency clients
• 25% Oversee the account team and works alongside project managers and SMEs on assigned clients.
• 25% Leads business development efforts and plans for organic growth of existing clients.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 8 years experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 6 years experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years experience in a related field; or 12 years experience in a related field (significant advertising experience strongly preferred)
• Proven track record of successfully managing large complex client relationships, people and working across agency teams
• Must have experience managing a team of direct reports
• Able to demonstrate a clear, comfortable, persuasive presentation style
• Proficient in MS Office, Excel and PowerPoint skills are essential
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to multi-task and create quality work in volume and manage multiple workstreams at any given time.
• Analytical and strategic problem-solving skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Strategic creative, brand and media experience
• Well-versed with offline and online integrated marketing campaigns

Preferred Qualifications:

• Significant advertising agency experience preferred
• Proven organizational and project management skills with experience in agency/project management systems

About Cox
We are the Cox family of businesses. We've been making our mark since 1898 by building and evolving world-class businesses, staying true to our values, and encouraging top talent to always look for growth and impact while building a career with us. Our primary divisions - Cox Communications and Cox Automotive - are driving a new wave of innovation, powering smart cities with powerhouse broadband communications and pioneering greener, more progressive transportation alternatives for individuals and fleet operators. We're also expanding into new spaces like cleantech and healthcare to rev up our momentum toward building a better future for the next generation. We're looking for the talent today who will be our leaders tomorrow. Sound intriguing? Learn more about where we are today, where we hope you'll be going with us, and the common purpose that unites us at coxenterprises.com.
USD 108,800.00 - 181,400.00 per year
Compensation:
Compensation includes a base salary of $108,800.00 - $181,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.
Benefits:
The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship.
About Cox
Cox empowers employees to build a better future and has been doing so for over 120 years. With exciting investments and innovations across transportation, communications, cleantech and healthcare, our family of businesses - which includes Cox Automotive and Cox Communications - is forging a better future for us all. Ready to make your mark? Join us today!
Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page .
Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer - All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual's age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Statement to ALL Third-Party Agencies and Similar Organizations: Cox accepts resumes only from agencies with which we formally engage their services. Please do not forward resumes to our applicant tracking system, Cox employees, Cox hiring manager, or send to any Cox facility. Cox is not responsible for any fees or charges associated with unsolicited resumes.