Account Director - Integrated Media Strategy

About the role

The Account Director provides strategic recommendations and manages all resources so that a client's marketing needs are met. Acting as a trusted advisor, they articulate client business insights, lead and monitor day-to-day activities, proactively identify new business opportunities, manage and develop their team, and work with other departments to build the client's business. The role is based in Sandton under the Carat brand.

Key responsibilities

• Audience, data and insight leadership: champion an evidence-led planning approach using industry and proprietary tools, turn audience segmentation into channel, geographic, proposition and investment decisions, and make sure insights drive planning decisions rather than staying as descriptive research.
• Client leadership and partnership: act as a senior day-to-day partner to key stakeholders, build trusted relationships across marketing, commercial, procurement and senior leadership, understand the client's business priorities and translate them into media priorities, and give proactive strategic counsel beyond campaign briefs.
• Lead senior presentations, business reviews, strategy sessions and critical client conversations, and connect individual campaigns back to the wider media strategy.
• Develop integrated media strategies across TV, radio, OOH, sponsorship, partnerships and emerging media, grounded in audience understanding, business objectives, market intelligence and commercial priorities.
• Guide the use of audience, research and planning tools to find regional, behavioural and channel opportunities, and turn strategies into executable media plans.
• Translate campaign strategies, segmentation and insights into clear ExCo-level decks for senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrate strong project management by coordinating complex, multi-channel campaigns across stakeholders, workstreams, budgets and timelines.