Business Unit Director

The Business Unit Director holds the key account management role within the client service team and is ultimately responsible for servicing the client and managing the health and long-term success of the client-agency relationship. They have overall control and management of all through-the-line campaign activity, as well as strategically and operationally leading the team in campaign development, day-to-day activities and interaction with clients.

The BUD provides strategic input on campaigns and day-to-day work, driving internal planning as well as external client / stakeholder strategic brand direction via demonstration of clear understanding of client’s strategic requirements, and effective communication thereof to all agency team members.

**Responsibilities**

**1. Client Relationship Management**
- Build lasting, trusting relationships with both junior and senior clients alike
- Demonstrate clear understanding of client’s strategic business requirements
- Drive internal planning and external client / stakeholder strategic brand direction
- Strong problem-solving ability along with experience of knowing when to escalate potential risks and/or solutions to senior clients and agency colleagues when needed
- Maintain strong control of the rollout of client projects
- Build credibility with client, embodying the agency’s profile and commitment to excellence
- Proactively escalate issues to the Client when needed, thereby preventing project milestones being missed, or budgets being negatively impacted
- Actively seek new opportunities for client business growth and delivering business solutions to client
- Ownership of client work scopes

**2. Project Management**
- Provide strategic input and frameworks for all campaigns and day-to-day work to Ensure timeous and accurate execution of briefs and projects against agreed timelines, milestones of development and execution plan
- Execute integrated campaigns in partnership with multiple agency stakeholders, ensuring campaigns work across all touchpoints
- Lead agency collaboration with Production and Traffic Departments to ensure expediency and efficiencies with regards to timing, quality of output, and minimization of pressure and wastage
- Implement, monitor and manage the workflow process as tasked, escalating to the Client where necessary
- Proactive management of all project timelines
- Hands-on project management and leadership of key strategic campaign development, or whenever needed
- Above average attention to detail and strong risk mitigation skills are critical success factors and requirements for this role
- Ensure complete delivery, on time, for all projects
- Always monitor the required output standards by personally ensuring all work is on brief and to the desired quality of level prior to client submission
- Assist with optimisation of internal resource allocation and utilisation
- Solid writing, communication and presentation skills
- Understand the agency’s structure, processes and procedures and actively contribute towards the improvement thereof to ensure output excellence

**3. Financial Management**
- Strong financial tracking and fiscal management skills
- Oversee project profitability, ensuring client service team identify, escalate and manage opportunities for cost optimization
- Maintain efficiencies, economies of scale & resource optimisation, ensuring jobs are delivered according to the allocated budget
- Management of client retainer recons to ensure accurate time tracking against budgets
- Weekly management, updating and tracking of finances (CE's, PO's, Billings) and reporting to ensure optimal financial control
- Coordinating retainer data with input from 99c Operations for approval by Exco and presentation and negotiation with client
- Handle all periodic recons of hours and presentations of the recons to Client
- Oversee and efficiently manage account resource allocations versus agreed retainers, Negotiate freelancer fees with Client should additional resource capacity be required
- Move, reallocate or rescheduling of projects to ensure smooth and efficient delivery of high-quality work to client when required, to reduce pressure on agency resources

**4. Team Leadership**
- Mentor and lead team while driving their successful output of project execution
- Maintain excellent intercompany and interdepartmental communication and knowledge transfer
- Assist the client service team, and the agency in general, in identifying and utilizing opportunities for optimization and harmonisation / integration of the various agency departments, partner agencies, and partners
- Ensure provision and oversight of Reports from Client Service Director and other team members.

**5. Strategic Ability**
- Analysis and input into media plans and schedules, evaluating and assisting with strategic media decisions whenever necessary
- Actively seek relevant research and insights to contribute to creative and strategic development

**6. Individual and Te