Overview

The Associate Director, Client Experience Leadership is responsible for managing senior client relationships and leading mid-sized teams to deliver integrated media strategies that drive measurable business outcomes. This role balances strategic oversight with hands-on leadership, ensuring both the quality of execution and the strength of strategic direction. The Associate Director partners closely with senior leadership to elevate client work, foster cross-team collaboration, and drive continuous improvement across accounts. At this level, the focus shifts from executional detail to oversight, leadership, and strategic influence.

Responsibilities Client Leadership & Strategy

• Lead day-to-day client relationships, serving as the primary contact for senior client stakeholders
• Manage expectations across multiple workstreams, ensuring consistent delivery and client satisfaction
• Translate client business objectives into actionable, integrated media strategies
• Lead client presentations and strategic discussions, clearly articulating recommendations and performance narratives

Strategic Planning & Performance

• Own the development of data-driven media recommendations aligned to KPIs and broader business outcomes
• Ensure media plans connect channel tactics to overarching client objectives, growth goals, and performance narratives
• Partner with analytics and strategy teams to optimize campaigns against key performance metrics (e.g., ROI, engagement, brand lift) and identify growth opportunities

Quality Assurance & Oversight

• Review, QA, and approve media plans, budgets, and reporting across multiple workstreams prior to client delivery
• Ensure all outputs meet a high standard of strategic rigor, accuracy, and client-ready quality

Team Leadership & Development

• Manage and mentor Supervisors, Senior Associates, and Associates, building team capability and ensuring strong performance
• Provide guidance, coaching, and feedback to support team development and growth
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive team environment aligned with agency values

Operational Excellence

• Drive workflow efficiency and process improvements across accounts
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve team effectiveness and enhance client satisfaction
• Support consistent execution across teams through strong organization and oversight

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Growth

• Partner across media, strategy, and analytics teams to support integrated planning and execution
• Support cross-channel strategy and business development initiatives, including pitch support and broader agency planning
• Share relevant industry updates and trends to inform team development and client work

Required Skills

• 5-7+  years of experience in media, marketing, or client account leadership roles
• Proven experience managing senior client relationships and leading multiple workstreams or accounts
• Experience managing and developing mid-sized teams, including Supervisors and junior team members
• Strong client leadership skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and manage complex relationships
• Strategic thinking, with the ability to translate business goals into actionable media strategies
• Advanced communication and presentation skills, with experience leading client-facing discussions
• Strong analytical mindset, with the ability to connect performance data to business outcomes
• Operates with a leadership mindset, balancing strategic oversight with hands-on support when needed
• Proactive and solutions-oriented, identifying opportunities for growth and improvement
• Committed to fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture
• Proven ability to oversee multiple projects while maintaining quality, accuracy, and strategic alignment
• Strong people management skills, including coaching, delegation, and performance management
• Ability to drive process improvements and enhance team efficiency
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally and influence across teams

Benefits

Why Assembly?

• We care about your growth – we offer competitive salaries and annual compensation reviews
• We recognize and celebrate your success…all the time! Whether it’s through company meetups, employee recognition programs, or just a regular day, we make sure our people’s achievements are known and appreciated
• We’re truly a people-first organization. That’s why we offer a Flexible Time Off policy that puts you in control of your work-life balance, as well as market-leading primary and secondary caregiver and parental leave policies
• We have a hybrid in-office/remote working policy that focuses on bringing people together in-person when it’s needed most, i.e., team strategy brainstorms, learning & development opportunities, and company meetings
• We care about social and environmental Impact – we have dedicated Impact Champions who collaborate globally to make sure we’re leaving the world better than we found it
• We have an amazing group of Employee Resource Groups who form close knit communities and are committed to guiding the agency to become more inclusive, diverse, and representative of the world around us
• We’re part of Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing. We’re nimble and digital-first, and we’re quickly growing to take on the biggest legacy hold cos

Compensation (Text Only)In order to comply with equal pay and salary transparency laws in various locations, we believe the target range of base compensation in all locations within the United States for this role is $90k - $120k. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and location.