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Role Description

The Client Account Director owns the senior client relationship and serves as the primary strategic partner to client leadership. This role is accountable for long-term account growth, financial performance, and overall client success.

Reporting to the Managing Director, the Client Account Director guides the direction of client engagements—surfacing new opportunities, solving complex business problems, and aligning One North’s capabilities to client needs. This role acts as the connective tissue between the client, agency teams, and sales partners, ensuring continuity, trust, and momentum across initiatives.

The ideal candidate brings deep digital agency experience, strong executive presence, and a proven ability to grow and retain accounts through strategic insight, creativity, and disciplined execution.

Location: Chicago is strongly preferred but open to remote within the U.S. (up to 25% travel)

Responsibilities

• Client Leadership & Strategy
  • Cultivate and maintain long-term, senior-level relationships with key client stakeholders.
  • Develop and implement strategic, long-term account plans that align with client business goals and drive growth.
  • Act as the primary senior escalation point for resolving complex client issues and ensuring high satisfaction.
  • Identify new business opportunities, secure upsell opportunities, and lead pitch presentations.
• Team Leadership & Collaboration
  • Own the handoff from sales to delivery, ensuring client expectations are clearly understood, refined, and operationalized by project teams, even when inputs are ambiguous or evolving.
  • Oversee multiple project teams across disciplines to ensure timely delivery of services and creative outputs.
  • Coach and develop Client Account Managers and account teams.
  • Partner with project management and discipline leads to ensure every deliverable meets client expectations and aligns with strategy.
  • Inspire strong collaboration across strategy, creative, brand, technology, and delivery teams.
• Growth, Sales, & Relationship Management
  • Own a defined base portfolio of client accounts, with responsibility for retention, growth, and long-term relationship value.
  • Participate in joint account planning with sales teams to align on targets, pursuits, and pipeline priorities and partner closely to expand existing client relationships.
  • Identify and develop new opportunities emerging from ongoing work and client conversations. Lead pricing strategy, scoping, estimates, and negotiations in partnership with sales teams.
  • Ensure SOWs align with client objectives, agency strategy, scope, and financial goals.
• Financial Oversight
  • Maintain accountability for financial health, forecasting, and profitability of accounts.
  • Drive profitable growth across a portfolio of accounts while balancing client value and agency health.

Qualifications

• 5 or more years in an Account Director, Group Account Director, Client Partner, or similar role at a digital, marketing, or design agency
• Ability to engage credibly across business, technology, and creative discussions
• Demonstrated ability to manage a portfolio of 5–10 clients with multi-million-dollar recurring revenue, consistently owning, retaining, and expanding complex client relationships.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to influence C-level executives
• Demonstrated success partnering with sales teams to expand existing accounts
• Experience translating sales-stage commitments and ambiguous client needs into clear, executable direction for delivery teams
• Solid business and financial acumen, including forecasting, scoping, and profitability management

Benefits

• Medical, dental & vision
• 401(k)/Roth
• Insurance (Basic/Supplemental Life & AD&D)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health & Dependent Care Spending Accounts (HSA & DCFSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Tuition Assistance
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Paid Family Leave)

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Chicago, IL.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $112500.00 - $168700.00/yr. We reserve the right to pay above or below the posted wage based on factors unrelated to sex, race, or any other protected classification.

Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses, profit sharing, etc.

Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan or program terms.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Mar 24, 2026.