Account Director in Toronto

Citizen is a global integrated PR agency that gives ambitious brands the curiosity, confidence and courage to stay ahead of trends, make bold moves & maximize measurable success. We wake up each morning inspired to make every conversation count, partnering with clients to grow their brands and positively impact culture. Across offices and disciplines, this is our single-minded mission.

For this role, you can expect a salary between $105,000-130,000 annually, depending on experience.

As an Account Director you are an important member of the senior team. You are responsible for fully owning your client base, ensuring that campaigns are running smoothly and that your teams are challenged and motivated. You write, present concepts, and develop strategies to best suit your client needs and market trends. As a client leader, you’re responsive and flexible and willing to step in and support your teams whenever needed.

In this role, you will:

• Actively participate in strategy and/or creative process/review alongside account lead, offering input and feedback.
• Collaborate with strategy and/or creative to build plan presentations with direction from account lead.
• Champion innovative work that gets noticed.
• Coach team on client management.
• Manage client satisfaction and loyalty.
• Assume accountability for strategy & execution within agency and client standards.
• Identify and resolve issues quickly.
• Manage client expectations.
• Consistently manage multiple teams and budgets.
• Participate in new business development by increasing business with existing clients, networking and identifying prospects, and contributing to RFPs and pitches.
• Assist junior team members prepare for new business presentations.
• Contribute to annual business planning (accountable to portfolio plan).
• Participate actively in hiring decisions.
• Interact with and gain the trust of senior clients.
• Serve as quality control and ensure only the highest quality work is delivered to clients.
• Be responsible for budgets and proactive to ensure account profitability.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 7+ years of PR experience, agency experience preferred.
• Previous management experience where you were responsible for independently managing a client and a team.
• Ability to lead others and remain calm under pressure; perform regular management and coaching of staff.
• Superior client relationship management skills.
• A strong business acumen and comfortable dealing with analytics and financial control.
• Exceptional organizational skills with proven ability to manage multiple projects at one time, be flexible, respond and adapt to changing client demands.
• A collaborative leader who is innovative and entrepreneurial.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated results in public relations work, client service and account leadership.
• Stellar writing and editing skills required.
• Passion for both traditional and digital communications.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with plan execution.
• Strong presentation and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent at thinking on your feet.

Citizen is guided by four core values that define how we work together and show up for our clients:

• Champion Equity - Fairness First, Always: You can count on us to bring a fair and equitable lens to every strategy and interaction.
• Set the Standard - Forget "good enough." We're obsessed with delivering seriously stellar work, from the big ideas to the nitty-gritty.
• Do What’s Right - We're not afraid of the tough conversations. We'll always give you the straight goods and make the honest calls.
• Empower Curiosity - We thrive on pushing boundaries and exploring the unexpected. That's where the real breakthroughs happen.

What’s in it for you:

• An innovative and entrepreneurial work environment that promotes ingenuity and individuality - with the best of colleagues, and the best of clients.
• Hybrid work models and flexible hours.
• Generous Vacation starting at 3 weeks + 1 extra week over the holidays.
• Agency summer days (exact policy differs per campus and agency).
• Modern, open co-working spaces with coffee & snack bars, located in a great city neighborhood, close to shops and restaurants and easy access to public transport.
• Dogs allowed, dedicated Play Room to support families and Private wellness room (in select offices).
• Team social events - holiday parties, seasonal gatherings, weekly happy hours, inspiring speakers and more!
• In-house learning & development sessions and annual career and growth conversations.
• Access to internal network of opportunities across all agencies.
• Internal EDI group(s), programs & initiatives across Plus Company and opportunities to be involved in employee resource group(s).
• Flexible benefits to support your individual lifestyle and life stage – with access to a personal wellness spending account you can use for a wide range of wellness expenses, including gym membership fees, pet care, education expenses, and much more!
• Comprehensive mental health support including access to a virtual mental health therapy clinic providing you with personalized therapist guided iCBT programs and live therapy, access to health clinicians 24/7, and a holistic array of other health and wellness resources to support you and your family.
• A responsible sick & personal absence days policy designed so you don't have to worry the moment a personal obligation or emergency arises.
• Maternity leave top up program.

We’re humbled by the number of talented people who apply to work with us every day. And, we thank each and every one of you. Truly. We’ll reach out directly to those we’d like to meet for an interview. Creating meaningful work means embracing different perspectives. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on age, colour, ability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. Not only are these provisions protected by provincial and federal law, embracing difference is what makes Citizen Relations what it is—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We pride ourselves on our inclusive and accessible workplace. If you need any accommodations during the interview process to make it work for you, let us know.

By joining Citizen Relations you become part of Plus Company, a unique partnership of forward-thinking creative agencies. As a network, we unabashedly believe anything is possible. Why? Because possibility is what powers the big dreams and limitless drive of an entrepreneur. And entrepreneurial agencies are what we’re made of. A whole network of them.