Group Director, Business Leadership

Business Overview 

We believe in the power of media to reshape our industry and orchestrate a brand’s entire consumer experience, by balancing both what unites people and what makes them different. When brands unite people in culture, they build Fame, and when brands connect individuals to their unique journeys, they build customer Flow. Initiative builds Fame & Flow for brands like Nike, Amazon, Merck, and T-Mobile. Media responsibility is at the forefront of everything we do, whether it’s creating media plans that reflect the diversity of our communities, promote brand safety, and foster sustainability. Our agency celebrates diversity in an inclusive environment where all of our 6,000+ strong talent across 90+ markets feel seen, heard, and valued. Our vision is to create not only a better media company, but also a better media industry, and maybe even a better world.  

We make a promise to our people that we double down on seeing, celebrating & elevating all the things that make you, uniquely you. And just as we do for our brands and clients, we connect our people to the journeys that matter in building a meaningful career.  

There are four I’s in Initiative and these represent our core values and behaviors.  

• INDIVID[YOU]ALITY – you bring your genuine and unique self to and into the work, every day.  
• INSTINCT – you’re tuned in and armed with intelligence; you have a bias for action – shit happens when you’re around.  
• IMPACT! – you care deeply about the impact you have on our clients, their customers, our community, the media landscape and our world at large.  
• IMAGINATION – your ability to imagine and bring to life the ideas, solutions, and the future of Initiative, makes us THE create media agency in the world. 

Position Summary

• Enterprise client leadership role for large pharma account
• Support Managing Director on key tasks:  Commercial stewardship, staff planning, hiring process, open role tracking, labor reconciliations, internal meeting preparation/follow-ups, QAing other GD’s work, team leadership and guidance, trouble-shooting issues, survey facilitation (2x per year 360 and TRR), and team culture creation and stewardship
• Work closely with MD and brand business leads to ensure seamless communication and information sharing across the team
• Process creation, ownership, and evolution across craft teams
• Organizing/leading select team and client workshops
• Ownership of enterprise level workstreams - budget tracking, org charts, partner with operations and craft teams on compliance error mitigation
• Attend all enterprise-level meetings as the key Business Leadership representative, ensuring critical information and workstreams are communicated back to the relevant agency brand business leads, and assist with follow-through
• Manage the Work Order/Change Order creation process to ensure consistency across brands
• Provide Comms Design enterprise level support

Responsibilities

Client
 Day to day client leader and advisor
 Actively lead the team to deliver brilliant work and flawless execution, ensuring positive client satisfaction scores
 Leadership and authoring of all client proposals, recommendations and points of view
 Ensure all client reporting, budget management, authorization and billing needs are met in a timely an accurate fashion
 Responsible for ensuring a positive relationship between clients and Strategy, Design, Partnerships and SBU leads on your group of accounts
 Astute listener and learning to drive the right solutions
 Agitator / driver to push clients to innovate rather than stagnate
 Ready to professionally push back where necessary to effectively manage client expectations, agency resources and deadlines
 Deepen relationships and craft collaborative partnership with clients’ partners agencies
 Contribute to client QBR meetings
Internal
 Participate in all client briefings, clearly articulate client needs and objectives to the integrated Strategy, Communications Design and Partnership leads
 Apply a client lens to all areas of Initiative product, ensuring solutions developed are business-appropriate and meet agreed-upon KPIs
 Regularly educate your team, your Group Director and Initiative leadership on your clients’ business, culture and industry
 Involve leadership and Group Director in key client engagements
 Partner with discipline leaders to stay informed and aware of new developments internally and externally
 Promote an open working en