Client Services Director

About Elmwood

Elmwood Design Consultancy is a leading global design agency renowned for creating impactful and innovative brand experiences. With a rich history of design excellence, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of creativity and design to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

As an agency, our goal is to be an invaluable agency partner to our clients and help them grow their brands based on evidence based marketing principles. With access to MSQ’s broader capability set, particularly in digital and tech, we bring greater insight and channel specific expertise to meet the needs of today’s leading brands.

As a Client Services Director of a Client Centric Business, you are responsible for the overall agency

performance and operations, ensuring financial goals attainment, development and growth of agency/client

strategy, relationships and goals, while coaching client service staff members to always improve fluency.

About the role:

Client Services

• To create and develop commercial opportunities with existing clients maximizing accounts and overall
• revenue growth by at least X% (based on Agency’s goals)
• To build a pipeline of future work and ensure that Agency’s existing revenue target is achieved (based on any given year’s budget)
• To develop, lead and inspire the team including recruiting, on-boarding, coaching, and overall performance management and accountability (effectiveness and efficiency)
• To input into the strategic direction and associated tactics of client accounts based on a strong understanding of their marketing and business objectives; strategic brand design and commercial delivery
• To own and maintain relationship with primary client point of contact and build relationships with senior Directors and above
• To develop a rapid understanding of client needs and what it takes to drive growth for their business, manage senior client expectations, increase client satisfaction and engagement; including on time, strategy and budget, including elevating TRR scores
• To be a strategic partner to MD and teams on key growth aspects of the business, including new business and commercial strategy
• To negotiate beneficial and competitive rate cards, contracts and policies with client procurement teams
• To build strong ties with leads across disciplines and studios to produce successful global brand accounts, maintaining high levels of communication throughout account lifecycle
• To create, document and deploy CS practice trainings, regular knowledge share sessions to share and learn new strategies for optimizing and enhancing business performance

Leadership

• To embody, cultivate and grow the Elmwood culture and spirit across teams
• To compose team structures (hiring, development, replacement etc) that drive high value to Clients, Staff and Agency and in line with commercial (P&L, ECR, multiplier etc) and growth expectations
• To drive client service excellence, collaboration and a culture of delighting clients
• To contribute to the development of a culture that enjoys the challenge of meeting stretching financial and performance targets
• To ensure that your teams are continually developing Agency’s offers and marketing expertise
• To attract, develop and retain talents, building a track record of developing leaders and attract the best CS in the industry
• To communicate performance expectations and support the team by building required competencies,
• providing feedback, managing behaviours and performance gaps
• Monitor individual & team performance and workload, address learning, development needs, and performance issues
Actively participate in the Annual Performance Review process

Operations

• To analyse information skillfully provided by various team members (cross functions and at all levels)
• To problem solve creatively and develop alternative solutions, especially when it comes to resourcing, processes, client satisfaction
• To assist in preparing and implementing forecasts, annual business plans and budgets
• To develop and maintain quality control procedures and processes for overall optimisation; i.e. Paprika
• (finances, workflow, timesheet), Production and work closely with the Head of Ops/Traffic
• To support the successful integration within and across functions as well as offers/disciplines
• To be a point of escalation and collaborate with other function leaders and key agency partners (internally and externally) to meet and exceed growth, retention and clients experience goals
To pursue new ways to contribute to overall agency and client profitability

Desired Skills and Expertise

• 20 years experience in brand world experience (static/dynamic) across consumer and corporate brands, with a bent towards CPG packaging
• Excellent written and presentation skills especially in English
• Ability to manage multiple projects and project team across disciplines simultaneously
• Plenty of curiosity, rigour, initiative and passion to excel
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Problem solver
• Excellent prioritisation and negotiation skills
• Team-player
• Strong sense of responsibility and commitment
• Fully proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) and Keynote application
• Minimum an undergraduate degree, ideally in Business, Marketing or Communications