Strategic Account Director, Media Buying

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Arizona, +27 more states.

📋 Description

• Act as the senior strategic leader and primary contact for one to two key enterprise clients.

• Foster and maintain trusted relationships with C-suite executives, VP-level personnel, and senior marketing leaders within the client organization.

• Spearhead executive-level discussions, including quarterly business reviews (QBRs), annual planning, business evaluations, strategic planning sessions, and renewal negotiations.

• Serve as the main point of escalation for intricate client, operational, or strategic issues.

• Link media performance across CTV, OLV, display, native, audio, and emerging channels to client business goals, marketing priorities, and broader commercial results.

• Uphold a high standard of executive communication, professionalism, and relationship management in all client interactions.

• Create and execute long-term account strategies across the entire programmatic stack, collaborating closely with the assigned media strategist, media buyers, operational leadership, and analysts.

• Convert performance insights and analytics into actionable, executive-ready recommendations.

• Anticipate organizational changes, market developments, and competitive pressures that may influence client priorities or partnership health.

• Assist clients in navigating annual and quarterly planning cycles, budget reallocations, and channel expansion discussions (e.g., scaling CTV, entering retail media, audio, DOOH).

• Ensure agency recommendations are in line with enterprise client realities, including approval processes, brand safety requirements, measurement frameworks, and procurement timelines.

• Maintain fluency in the wider programmatic landscape, including DSP changes, supply-path optimization, privacy regulations, attention metrics, and AI-driven optimization, translating the implications into client strategies.

• Manage retention, net revenue retention (NRR), and account satisfaction across the assigned portfolio.

• Recognize and capitalize on strategic growth opportunities linked to client business requirements, performance trends, and evolving media priorities.

• Facilitate discussions for scope expansion — additional channels, increased budgets, and adjacent service lines — in collaboration with practice leadership.

• Oversee renewal strategies and forecasting, partnering with agency leadership on commercial planning, pricing, and structural agreement evolution.

• Co-manage the client’s staffing and resource budget, making deliberate, accountable decisions regarding the deployment of dedicated and shared resources for client outcomes and engagement profitability.

• Maintain oversight of engagement profitability, resource allocation, and delivery quality across the account.

• Function as a player-coach on the account, leading the relationship and strategy while remaining actively involved in the work.

• Be accountable for delivery quality, timely execution, and integrated work products across media strategy, buying, creative, and analytics.

• Direct day-to-day meetings and client communications in conjunction with project management and media strategists.

• Establish the cadence, standards, and priorities for the integrated team supporting the account; create conditions for a focused, distraction-free team.

• Thoughtfully scale the engagement model as the business grows, adding dedicated resources as account complexity necessitates, without preemptively adding staff.

• Proactively escalate and resolve operational risks, delivery challenges, and stakeholder concerns.

• Assist in establishing scalable best practices for senior-led, performance-accountable account leadership as the practice expands.

⛳️ Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in agency client services, account leadership, or strategic account management, focusing on performance media or programmatic buying.

• Proven experience managing enterprise client relationships at a significant scale, with clear accountability for retention, expansion, and revenue outcomes.

• Direct experience guiding clients through programmatic media strategies — CTV, OLV, display, native, audio — at the executive level.

• Working knowledge (not necessarily hands-on execution) of major DSPs (The Trade Desk, DV360, Amazon DSP, Xandr, or similar), supply-path optimization, attribution and incrementality frameworks, and brand safety standards.

• Established track record of driving NRR and expansion within named enterprise accounts.

• Comfort operating as a player-coach — leading the relationship while staying close to the work, with the maturity to adapt this approach as the team grows.

• Experience navigating complex client organizations with multi-stakeholder structures, procurement cycles, brand and category gates, and longer planning horizons.

• Exceptional executive communication, presentation, and storytelling abilities; comfortable presenting to C-suite executives.

• Experience leading integrated teams without direct authority — strategists, creative, analytics, project management.

• Adaptability to a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment; agency or consulting experience is highly preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Remote Workplace. You can work either from our Boston office or remotely from selected states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, ID, IL, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, SC, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA.

• Paid Time Off. Enjoy generous paid vacation benefits that increase each year of your tenure with us, plus 14 Company Holidays and Summer Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

• 401K + Match. Participate in a 401K plan with a 4% Safe Harbor employer match after one year of employment, along with financial literacy services provided through our retirement provider.

• Life Insurance Benefit. Receive no-cost coverage to provide peace of mind for your family.

• Short Term Disability Benefit. We offer support if you need to be out of work due to illness or injury.

• Healthcare. Choose from several competitive healthcare plans for you and your family, with 80% employer coverage for all medical and dental premiums, 100% coverage for vision, and the option to participate in the FSA program.

• Commuter Benefits. Allocate pre-tax funds towards your commute, potentially saving you up to 40% annually on transportation expenses.

• Continuing Education. Access to monthly team-led webinars, exclusive 829-cohort based learning, digital course platforms, and funding opportunities to attend national conferences and events.