The Role in Brief: The Account Director, Strategic Partnerships will lead a portfolio of Hybrid's key education partners, taking responsibility for client success, retention, and long-term growth while providing leadership and development across the account management team.
Reporting to the Group Account Director, this individual will directly manage and mentor Senior Account Managers and Account Managers, establishing effective working processes that ensure exceptional client service, strategic campaign delivery, and consistent communication.
The Account Director will serve as a senior strategic advisor to university partners, translating their enrollment and marketing objectives into integrated digital marketing strategies while ensuring internal teams are aligned to deliver measurable results.
Working closely with POD Leads, Paid Media, SEO, Analytics, Creative, Production, and other cross-functional teams, this individual will drive operational excellence, strengthen client relationships, support business development, and foster a collaborative, high-performing team environment.
The ideal candidate combines strong agency account leadership, digital media knowledge, people management experience, and a consultative approach to client relationships. They should be comfortable balancing strategic oversight with operational accountability, developing team members, and identifying opportunities to bring innovation and additional value to partners.
Primary Responsibilities: Client Success & Strategic Account Leadership - Lead and oversee a portfolio of key strategic education partners, taking responsibility for client satisfaction, retention, and long-term account growth.
- Partner closely with the Group Account Director to ensure client relationships remain strong and account strategies support broader commercial and organizational objectives.
- Serve as a senior strategic advisor to clients, developing a deep understanding of their enrollment, recruitment, marketing, and business objectives.
- Guide the development of integrated digital marketing strategies that connect partner objectives with paid media, SEO, creative, analytics, and other marketing solutions.
- Ensure Senior Account Managers maintain effective operational management of their accounts, delivering a seamless and consistent client experience.
- Lead strategic client discussions, business reviews, and planning conversations, translating campaign performance into actionable insights and recommendations.
- Maintain current knowledge of digital media, higher education marketing, emerging technologies, and industry trends to provide informed strategic guidance to clients and internal teams.
- Oversee campaign delivery quality, ensuring appropriate testing, optimization, performance monitoring, and ongoing management of digital and third-party marketing activities.
- Serve as the primary escalation point for complex client challenges within the team, developing and managing clear internal and external action plans to ensure timely resolution.
- Work with the Group Account Director to establish both short- and long-term strategic opportunities for innovation while maintaining a strong focus on clients' immediate student recruitment and marketing needs.
Team Leadership & Development - Directly manage, coach, and mentor a team of Senior Account Managers and Account Managers, establishing clear performance expectations and supporting professional growth.
- Develop and implement individual development plans that align employee goals with team priorities and organizational objectives.
- Conduct regular performance discussions, formal reviews, and ongoing coaching to support employee development, accountability, and career progression.
- Foster a collaborative, supportive, and high-performing team culture built on strong communication, shared accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Provide strategic guidance to account managers, encouraging thoughtful campaign planning, proactive client communication, and informed decision-making.
- Support effective resource allocation and workload management, ensuring team members can balance multiple client priorities while maintaining service quality.
- Promote collaboration across Hybrid's international offices, leveraging shared expertise and resources to deliver consistent client experiences.
- Establish high standards for professionalism, work ethic, client service, and alignment with company values.
Operational Excellence & Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work closely with POD Leads and the Group Account Director to ensure efficient day-to-day operations across strategic client accounts.
- Collaborate with Paid Media, SEO, Analytics, Creative, Production, and other specialists to align campaign strategies, timelines, deliverables, and performance expectations.
- Support the development and implementation of standardized planning, communication, reporting, and account management processes that improve efficiency and consistency.
- Identify opportunities to improve workflows, reduce operational friction, and strengthen coordination between account management and specialist teams.
- Ensure reporting frameworks, dashboards, and client-facing performance materials provide meaningful insights and align with partner needs.
- Collaborate with senior leadership and relevant finance stakeholders to support effective account financial management, resource planning, and team performance.
- Encourage the responsible adoption of AI-enabled tools, automation, and emerging technologies to improve team efficiency, reporting, and client service.
- Maintain oversight of campaign quality and account delivery, proactively identifying potential challenges and coordinating solutions before they affect client satisfaction.
Account Growth & New Business Development - Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships through additional digital marketing services, strategic initiatives, and innovative solutions.
- Partner with the Group Account Director to support account retention, renewal planning, and long-term commercial growth.
- Collaborate with Marketing, Business Development, and Bids teams on new opportunities, proposals, RFPs, and strategic pitches.
- Participate in new business presentations and discovery conversations as needed, bringing senior-level account and digital marketing expertise.
- Encourage and support Senior Account Managers in participating in pitches and business development activities to broaden their commercial experience.
- Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, positioning Hybrid as a long-term strategic marketing partner rather than solely a campaign delivery provider.
Basic Qualifications: - Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant professional experience.
- 5+ years of experience leading key client accounts within digital media, advertising, marketing, or a related agency or professional services environment.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex client relationships and overseeing integrated digital marketing campaigns.
- Strong understanding of digital media strategy, including paid search, paid social, display, programmatic, SEO, and campaign performance measurement.
- Experience managing, mentoring, or developing account management professionals, with the ability to provide clear direction, coaching, and performance feedback.
- Proven ability to develop and maintain strong client relationships, manage expectations, resolve escalations, and support retention and account growth.
- Experience collaborating across digital media, creative, analytics, production, and other cross-functional teams to deliver successful campaigns.
- Ability to interpret campaign performance data and translate findings into strategic recommendations for clients and internal stakeholders.
- Strong organizational and operational management skills, including experience balancing multiple client accounts, deadlines, and competing priorities.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to engage confidently with senior client stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to improve workflows, implement processes, and drive consistency across client-facing teams.
- Ability to work from EAB/Hybrid's Philadelphia office in accordance with the team's hybrid work expectations and travel to partner meetings as needed.
Ideal Qualifications: - Experience working within a digital marketing, media, advertising, or integrated agency environment.
- Experience supporting higher education institutions, enrollment marketing, student recruitment, or other complex consideration-based marketing environments.
- Experience leading or overseeing Senior Account Managers, Account Managers, or other client-facing professionals.
- Experience supporting client renewals, account expansion, upselling, cross-selling, and new business development.
- Experience leading executive-level business reviews, strategic planning sessions, or consultative client workshops.
- Familiarity with digital advertising and analytics platforms such as Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, programmatic platforms, and GA4.
- Experience collaborating with geographically distributed or international teams.
- Experience implementing reporting frameworks, operational improvements, and standardized account management processes.
- Familiarity with AI-enabled marketing technologies, automation, and emerging digital media trends.
- Demonstrated ability to build trusted-advisor relationships with clients while maintaining a strong focus on measurable campaign outcomes.
If you've reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome new perspectives and learn from each other's unique experiences. We would encourage you to submit an application if this is a role you would be passionate about doing every day.
Benefits: Consistent with our belief that our employees are our most valuable resource, EAB offers a competitive and inclusive benefits package. Our benefits currently include:
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; dependents and domestic partners eligible
- 20+ days of PTO annually, in addition to paid firm and floating holidays
- Daytime leave policy for community service and flextime for fitness activities (up to 10 hours per month each)
- 401(k) retirement savings plan with annual discretionary company matching contribution
- Health savings account, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending account, and pre-tax commuter plans
- Employee assistance program with counseling services and resources available to all employees and immediate family
- Wellness programs including gym discounts, incentives to promote healthy living, and family access to the leading app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
- Fertility treatment coverage and adoption or surrogacy assistance
- Paid parental leave with phase back to work program for birthing and non-birthing parents
- Access to milk shipping service to support nursing employees during business travel
- Discounted pet health insurance coverage for dog and cat family members
- Company-provided life, AD&D, and disability insurance
