Account Director, Client Services (Insurance Client)

THE JOB / Account Director, Client Services (Insurance Client)

CLIENT SERVICES / Responsible for leading Octagon’s client business and day-to-day management of client programs.

***Preference is to be based out of the Stamford, CT or New York, NY office, but the location of this position can be flexible with an availability for working in one of our other office locations-- Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA, or Atlanta, GA. We will also consider a remote-based working arrangement for qualified candidates.***  

The Account Director will be responsible for overseeing the planning, development, and execution of sponsorship marketing and strategic planning efforts on behalf of our insurance client and their sports marketing portfolio. The responsibilities include serving as the lead with our clients and agency partners on thought leadership, portfolio management, and strategic planning for the client’s local and national sponsorship investments.

As part of their responsibilities, the AD will work directly with team and league contacts and client staff to ensure fulfillment of all contractual assets and flawless partnership execution on a day-to-day basis. These duties include the development, maintenance, and execution of customized and comprehensive project plans for each property, as well as a regularly scheduled status report that will keep all parties associated with the project fully abreast of ongoing activity and progress with each element of the sponsorship platform. These include budget, event staffing (if required), creative content, communications, as well as management of third-party vendors and their associated deliverables.

The ideal candidate should have a strong client management background and display the following characteristics: highly organized and detail oriented, consistently meets deadlines, strong written and verbal communication skills, previous experience in developing tactical recommendations and strong working knowledge of the sports sponsorship industry. The Account Director will report to the Vice President, with responsibility to oversee and lead the day-to-day relationships with our clients’ primary teams, agencies and local market contacts. 

THE WORK YOU’LL DO

• Serve as a primary point of contact for the client, ensuring a deep understanding of their business needs and objectives. Build and maintain strong client relationships through proactive communication, strategic counsel, and exceptional service delivery
• Serve as subject matter expert on client’s sponsorship portfolio including terms, assets, financials and property processes, procedures and structure
• Interpret and implement the client’s business strategy to develop impactful partnerships by selecting the right assets and ensuring their effective activation
• Oversee the client’s sponsorship portfolio across MLB (League & Teams), NFL (Teams), and soccer (Leagues Cup). Responsible for partnership management, activation, strategic direction, integration, and negotiation to enhance the value of each sponsorship
• Lead day-to-day property relationships including oversight of the asset allocation process related to sponsorship platform
• Run all monthly and other key meetings with both internal and external constituents and external agencies
• Oversee creation of presentations, progress reports, recaps and other strategic documents on programming
• Build and supervise program budgets, project management tools and timelines
• Lead and mentor AMs, fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration. Support team members' professional growth and development to build a high-performing unit
• Implement client’s sponsorship portfolio, including branded and custom content coordination, media strategy & execution, and continuous portfolio evaluation
• Collaborate with cross-functional IPG agency teams, including media, creative, social and experiential to integrate sponsorship assets into broader marketing campaigns. Ensure seamless execution of sponsorship activations that enhance brand visibility and engagement
• Assess and evaluate existing, new and proposed sponsorship agreements and assets
• Stay up to date with industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging opportunities within the sports marketing arena and the wider insurance category. Leverage insights to inform strategic recommendations and drive innovative partnership solutions
• Additional projects as assigned, which may include: sponsorship evaluations, competitive reviews, POVs, white papers, property research, etc.

THE BIGGER TEAM YOU’LL JOIN

Recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work in Sports”<