Account Manager

Following a successful career as an Account Assistant (AAs) and Account Coordinator (ACs), Account Managers are starting to take on responsibility for the day to day management of their accounts.  The role requires more client contact and also relies on the relationships built previously to ensure that clients are getting the best return on investment.  Line management responsibilities, mentoring and acting as a role model to the team also form an integral part of the Account Manager role.

RESPONSIBILITIES, TASKS, SKILLS

Key areas of responsibility are;

• Day to day client management including direct client contact, demonstrating maturity, professionalism and client awareness
• Ability and confidence to lead both internal and external client meetings and calls
• Provide direct line-management, mentoring and sign off for work generated by AAs and ACs
• Responsible for supporting the AAs and ACs in running an efficient sample trafficking process, sets expectations, provides reports and analysis, ensures attendance at inventory meetings and escalates challenges to service and potential solutions to their senior team
• Forge links with global offices and other divisions that support client uptake of other services and the use of other Karla Otto offices – think globally and horizontally to improve results for the brand and clients
• Build relationships with counterparts at relevant media outlets to gain coverage and utilise relationships to effectively secure results
• Work with Directors to monitor brand advertising partner and identify where brand targets are not being achieved, identify solutions and deliver results
• Demonstrate knowledge of Karla Otto’s place in wider commercial environment and can articulate this to junior members of the team to support them with their understanding
• Take ownership for an agreed element of client strategy and contribute towards the wider overall plan demonstrating industry knowledge and creative thinking
• Support with client pitches with confidence, market insight and a strong representation of the Karla Otto brand
• Identify opportunities to integrate other Karla Otto services into existing client scope of work and coordinate with the senior team to pitch add-ons appropriately
• Demonstrate emotional intelligence both internally and externally to ensure that sensible decision making takes place when faced with challenging situations and reasons for the decision are articulated with clear rationale
• Recruitment and development of junior team members
• Foster positive working relationships with other teams: events, digital and logistics, contributing to improving efficiencies and creating collaborative working relationships
• Identifies opportunities to build digital services into client interactions, seeks support from specialist experts and confidently pitches ideas to clients
• Raises digital awareness and opportunities to the wider team by identifying trends and developments that could be included in future client pitches
• Keeps up to date with developments in the influencer sphere and identifies opportunities to suggest suitable influencers for KO clients
• Utilise data and analytics tools (e.g. Google analytics) to monitor the return on investment digital initiatives are providing and make suggestions to improves results were required
• Takes an active interest in trends on social media and is able to talk about these with clients i.e. changes to Instagram i.e. the arrival of Stories

KEY ATTRIBUTES

• Experience as an Account Assistant & Account Coordinator/Executive
• Interest in culture, arts, fashion and lifestyle 
• Overseeing the monitoring and sharing of coverage across print, online and social media
• Enthusiasm and motivation to attend industry events
• Strong top-tier relationships with press and industry peers
• Well-developed stakeholder management skills
• Considerate of wider business environment and activities
• Strong communication skills (both written and oral), research, and organisation skills
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines and prioritise in a fast paced environment
• Confidence to make suggestions, bring ideas to the wider team that focuses on client experience and work alone or as part of a team
• High level of attention to detail and the ability to present and interpret quantitative and qualitative data
• Positive attitude to challenging situations and a willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to complete a project accurately and on time
• Highly motivated and enthusiastic
• Proven negotiation and influencing skills
• Must be efficient in Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint