Global Account Director (Global QSR)

Company Description

Leo Burnett is a communications agency powered by its HumanKind operating system, with the belief that creativity, data and technology work together to transform human behavior and drive prosperity for clients. Part of Publicis Communications, Leo Burnett Worldwide is one of the world's largest agency networks with 85 offices and more than 8,000 employees. The global agency works with some of the world's most valued brands including Bank of America, Bridgestone/Firestone, Campbell's, Hillshire Farm, Jim Beam, Kellogg's, Kraft, Marshalls, MillerCoors, Nestle, Nintendo, P&G, Samsung and UnitedHealthcare among others.

Job Description

Background

Leo Burnett is seeking a Global Account Director (SVP level of experience) who can manage an American multinational fast food chain, which is a Top 20 Publicis Groupe client with whom we have worked since 1982.  Among all Publicis Groupe clients, it is the business that is most scaled across our 4 key pillars of creative, media, technology, and data/CRM.  The primary agencies engaged on this business are Leo Burnett, Starcom, Publicis Sapient, Epsilon, and Digitas.  We manage the business as a Power of One organization: a singular Global Client Leader, and a multi-disciplinary/multi-region OpCo set the agenda, supported by local operations across 36 local markets. The focus of the global leadership is to set the vision for growth (QSR and agency), enable world-class standards for product excellence, and support market success.  In so doing, global leadership partners with the client's HQ to drive their strategy, agenda, and programs.

We lead the creative business in 28 local markets and are present on every continent, largely through the Leo Burnett agency.  The Leo Burnett creative product on this business is legendary, with a rich, decades-long history of famous work and awards.  Today, the creative ambition at for this client has never been higher, and our challenge is to elevate the brand to a global cultural icon (particularly for Gen Z) by better tapping cultural insights and modernizing our creativity.

The Role

Reporting to the Global Client Lead, the Global Account Director partners with the Global Creative Director and Global Strategy Director to manage our creative excellence agenda – and growth – across HQ and our local market network. This includes:

• Direct engagement with our ‘Focus 6’ group of leading markets on big bet creative projects, helping guide these ideas to become our award-winning global standard.  We engage with this group much as a creative boutique within the network. Also, fostering the opportunity for our best ideas to cross borders as global idea platforms, and generate new revenue.
• Opening opportunities for global projects directly with the client's HQ, building relationships with these clients.  
• Engaging with HQ on an annual scope of work including global strategic initiatives, thought leadership development, and the creation/implementation of best-practice-driven thinking and programs.
• Network management and oversight, in partnership with our Global Operations Lead:
  • Monitoring our local product, packaging for leadership team, and extracting insights that can stimulate actions and programs
  • Scaling our best work and thinking to enable markets to open local opportunities and elevate their product
• Being a champion for shifting our work into non-traditional channels, for driving cultural impact, and for fostering collaboration with Power of One colleagues.

The Candidate

The successful candidate will have a track record building creative-driven business – proven in product and revenue.

• Strong leadership capability.  Able to find the path forward in ambiguous circumstances, and bring others – colleagues and clients – with them.  Can internalize the vision/plan for the business, define/communicate their own agenda within it, and translate this to actionable initiatives.  Don’t await a brief or instructions – but always looking for the next step.
• Collaborative.  Able to bring together colleagues and clients from different backgrounds, agencies, cultures and build strong trustful relationships founded on transparency, authenticity, and thoughtful action.
• Modern marketer.  Implicitly understands the need to meet consumers where they are today and the implications for the creative business.  Understands key social platforms in particular, consumer behavior on those platforms, and how great ideas can be built for these spaces.  Intrigued by the creative opportunities brought by growing capabilities in data and technology.
• Growth Mindset.  Actively seeks opportunities to expand the business and push the limits of our assignment.  Explores opportunities that are adjacent to creative business where other Power o