Account Director at Dentsu in Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Account Director Location: London Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organisations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now operating in over 145 countries and regions, we bring together the power of a global network of leadership brands to deliver impactful, end-to-end growth solutions. With over 120 years of innovation at our core, we empower brands to create meaningful progress through integrated services across Media, Customer Experience Management (CXM), and Creative. Our business transformation (BX) mindset, combined with a focus on experience transformation (EX), drives sustainable growth for brands, people, and society. Our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and diversity enables us to continuously evolve, pushing boundaries while delivering measurable impact in a fast-changing world. About Merkle Merkle, a dentsu company, powers the experience economy. For more than 35 years, the company has put people at the heart of its approach to digital business transformation. As the only integrated experience consultancy in the world with a heritage in data science and business performance, Merkle delivers holistic, end-to-end experiences that drive growth, engagement, and loyalty. Merkle’s expertise has earned recognition as a “Leader” by top industry analyst firms, in categories such as digital transformation and commerce, experience design, engineering and technology integration, digital marketing, data science, CRM and loyalty, and customer data management. With more than 16,000 employees, Merkle operates in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, visit www.merkle.com. Purpose of the Role As Account Director, you will lead end to end client success across your client or clients, ensuring they achieve their desired outcomes and maximise the value of working with Merkle. You will be the main point of contact looking to understand their business, market and competitors, allowing you to build strong relationships through proactive engagement and delivering strong commercial performance. You will partner with capabilities and Integrated Delivery teams to facilitate successful onboarding and delivery ensuring all teams have what they need to achieve client goals. You will own the Key Account Plan focused on driving account growth through strategic planning, client engagement, and proactive problem solving. This role is integral in strengthening dentsu’s partnerships, ensuring delivery of client outcomes, and enabling long-term client retention. It is ideal for experienced account leaders who thrive on building trusted relationships, ensuring operational excellence, and driving measurable impact across digital, data, CRM and CX engagements. The client is a large retail organisation based in Leeds. We are open on location, with candidates able to be based in Leeds, London, or Manchester. We operate a hybrid working model; however, ideally, we would like the successful candidate to be on-site with the client once a week. Job Description: Whatyou’lldo Lead account planning and execution across assigned clients, ensuring alignment with clientobjectivesanddentsu’scommercial priorities. Build andmaintainmid-senior client relationships, acting as the primary point of contact for delivery, performance, and commercial discussions. Collaborate closely with Strategy, Growth, Delivery, and specialist teams, ensuring coordinated delivery and consistent messaging. Contribute to onboarding, governance, and reporting processes, ensuring high-quality standards and operational consistency. Lead renewal and retention conversations, supporting expansion opportunities and strengthening long-term client partnerships. Monitor client health and performance metrics,identifyingrisks, improvement opportunities, and proactive interventions. Resolve delivery escalations, supporting teams to troubleshoot issues and ensure seamless client experience. Howyou’llsucceed Achieve strong client satisfaction,demonstratedthrough improved NPS/ TRR, healthy relationship scores, and reduction in issues. Drive retention and renewal outcomes,meetingor exceeding targets across assigned accounts. Deliver revenue and commercial performance, includingaccurateforecasting, upsell support, and efficient delivery management. Supporthigh-performing delivery teams,evidencedby team engagement, skill progression, and consistent delivery quality. Maintain operational excellence, ensuring structured governance, clear communication, andtimelydelivery. Foster collaboration, supporting culture-building, cross-practice alignment, and knowledge sharing across teams. WhatYou’llBring Essential Strong experience in clientleadership, account management, or delivery roles in digital, data,CRM, or CXenvironments. Proven ability to manage multiple client accounts and oversee day‑to‑dayclientoperations. Strong stakeholder management skills, with confidence engaging mid‑senior client contacts. Solid commercial acumen, including managing budgets, forecasts, and supporting account growth. Excellent communication, organisational, and problem‑solving skills. Ability to handle escalations with composure andmaintainstrong client trust. Desirable Experience in multi-solution engagements (digital, CRM, CX, media, or data). Knowledge of onboarding processes, governance frameworks, or client health measurement. Exposure to contract renewals, upsell motions, or revenue planning. Experience working with cross-functional delivery teams in matrixed organisations. What we offer This is a permanent role. This role can be based in Leeds, London or Manchester. As well as a competitive salary, the candidate will enjoy a benefits package that they can tailor to their needs, which includes: Atdentsu, we care deeply about our people. Our flexible benefits package supports your health, wellbeing, and financial future with company-funded private medical insurance, virtual GP access, and an employeeassistanceprogramme. Enjoy 25 days of annual leave plus extra days for your birthday, wellbeing, and volunteering. From discounted gym memberships and retailperksto electric car leasing and travel insurance,dentsuempowers you to thrive both at work and in life. Inclusion and Diversity At Dentsu, we embrace diversity and inclusion, valuing the unique perspectives and contributions of every individual. We believe that diversity fuels creativity and innovation,benefitingour employees, partners, and communities. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or any other protectedcharacteristic. Beyond recruitment, we strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. We recognize the importance of work-life balance and are open to discussing flexible working arrangements for all roles. If you need reasonable adjustments due to a disability or medical condition during our recruitment process, please contact us at accommodations@dentsu.com, quoting the reference number of the role that you are applying for. Your needs will be handled with respect and confidentiality to ensure an inclusive and accessible experience. This job description is a summary of the essential functions of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. The responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the jobholder might differ from those outlined in the job description. Other duties, as assigned by the supervisor, might be part of the job. Location: London Brand: Merkle Time Type: Full time Contract Type: Permanent Additional Locations: Leeds