PR Account Director at Ogilvy South Africa

An Account Director should be an experienced, broadly capable project and account manager who handles a wide range of assignments, projects and/or clients with a high degree of success and independence. She/he has strong client relationships and is considered a potential company leader.

He/she is a senior contact for clients within the agency while managing and overseeing a team (including the Newsroom team) to ensure delivery and service level agreements are met.

As a senior member of the business, he/she delivers on new business and grows existing accounts organically.

Concept

• An Account Director has demonstrated high-level professional knowledge and skills. She/he is able to manage large accounts or a few smaller ones, with little top cover from her/his Business Director, Director and/or Managing Director, as well as the staff assigned to the business.
• She/he should have strong project management, strategic understanding, budgeting, counselling, programme, people management and business development skills with increased emphasis and demonstrated success in building business and people. She/he has the confidence and support of client contacts and strong relationships with the client organisation.
• An Account Director demonstrates the ability and wherewithal to deliver on our vision, performance requirements and growth projections. An Account Director has strong relationships with and the confidence of the client and can lead and direct PR campaigns and programmes that are strategically aligned.

Account management

• Status reports to be developed and e-mailed to 24 hours prior to a status meeting
• Contact reports to be prepared, and issued within 24 hours of a status or client meeting
• Coverage reports analysis to be completed by 7th of every month
• Competitive analysis to be completed as and when
• Issuing press releases before 10am daily in collaboration with the media specialist team
• Billing invoices and PO numbers to be sourced by 23rd of every month
• Distribution of client invoices and statements to be delivered by 10th of every month
• Management of task lists and adhering to client and media deadlines together with team
• Manages times effectively and ensures each client is receiving its months allocation of time hours
• Meets billability targets established for the position
• Makes accurate adjustments on client revenue by 25th of each month
• Manages the account executive team and drives performance
• Understands and implements the clients strategic objectives detailed in the communications strategy
• Quality controls all content
• Provides relevant and strategic advice and counsel to client when required
• Extremely proficient on Workbook within 2 months of joining Ogilvy PR
• One on one team sessions to be held by 7th of every month
• Monthly session to be held 28th of every month with business director to discuss clients
• Quarterly client health reports to be completed by 7th of the month of the scheduled board meeting
• Completing your own timesheets and approving completed timesheets from your team daily
• Attending and providing updates during Daily Scrum sessions with team held at 9am each day
• Driving organic growth and upselling to present clients

Client relationship management

• Key daily contact for client
• Develops strategically aligned content plans and proposal for the client
• Achieves exceptional outcomes for current clients while managing an extended portfolio
• Offers crises communications counsel in partnership with the Director of Newsroom
• Oversees provision of account resources and ensure integration across all Ogilvy business units
• Implements client relationship programme designed by client service team
• Checks and QCs content before it reaches client
• Provides high level insights and data analysis into reports for clients
• Assist and alert client to any potential crisis or negative publicity within 2 hours of the news breaking
• Champions the agency's brand and values

Media engagement

• Ensures media lists are kept up to date by informing media specialist team by 10th of every month of any new additions
• Develop and maintains senior level media contacts including industry spokespeople, and sector influencers
• Establish at least two new media contacts per month by 30th of every month
• Setup one media one on one per month by 15th of every month
• Drafting media motivations 24 hours prior to distribution
• Pitches and positions interviews and places coverage when required
• Drafts newsworthy and relevant pitch motivations for media

Social media, digital and influencer engagement

• Understands social and digital media landscape and keeps abreast of social media and digital trends
• Understands influencer marketing and is able to include ideas in proposals and plans
• Understands social media content, content and channel best practices
• Is able to advise client at an intermediate to advanced level on these platforms and content

New business development

• Partakes in new business pitches
• Development of new business proposals
• Research
• Input and creative ideas for new business pitches
• Attends and participates in new business pitches
• Seeks out and converts upselling opportunities within present client base

Event management

• Able to manage an event together with a team end to end

Professional skills

• Leadership and management skills in a PR environment
• Creative thinker
• New business development experience and track record
• Punctuality
• Excellent project management and organisational skills
• Strong negotiation and delegation skills
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with a high degree of emotional intelligence
• Business and commercial acumen
• Routinely contributes to agency growth and performance as project, team, group and agency leader
• Delegates effectively with sufficient time frames and clear briefs
• Routinely recommends and implements solutions when problems arise
• Assists peers in problem solving
• Uses talents of colleagues in own problem solving
• Routinely seeks and shares information with colleagues
• Participates actively in team, staff and client meetings
• Routinely invests in building agency and client accounts and resources
• Works with group account director to identify and address training, leadership and career development needs
• Continually seeks new ways to learn, improve and contribute
• Exhibits creative thinking and solutions for news business and existing client work
• Participates actively in team, staff and client meetings