Gusto

Director, Client Partnerships

Gusto • $120K — $150K *
Atlanta, GA 30349In-Person
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field.
  • 8+ years of client management or account leadership experience in an advertising or marketing agency.
  • Proven success managing high-value client relationships and delivering strategic results.
  • Strong leadership skills with experience developing teams.
  • Ability to translate client objectives into actionable strategies and deliverables.
  • Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
  • Strong financial acumen, with experience managing budgets and optimizing profitability.
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with multiple priorities.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as senior contact for key clients, building trust and strategic partnerships.
  • Provide insights using AI tools to support industry research and trend analysis.
  • Anticipate client needs and identify opportunities for deeper engagement.
  • Lead impactful meetings with strategic narratives and business reviews.
  • Champion client priorities within the agency and ensure alignment with execution.
  • Oversee execution of campaigns for multiple brand accounts to ensure quality deliverables.
  • Collaborate with team leads to align project timelines and scopes.
  • Monitor workstreams for risks and guide teams towards solutions.
  • Develop strategic direction for client accounts based on insights and competitive analysis.
  • Partner with agency leadership to define growth strategies.

Benefits

  • Leadership opportunities to coach and mentor a team.
  • Involvement in strategic initiatives that drive agency growth.
  • Exposure to cutting-edge AI tools to enhance client services and operational efficiency.
  • Chance to influence high-value client relationships and agency delivery.
  • Dynamic work environment with multiple brand accounts and diverse projects.
Full Job Description
The Director, Client Partnerships, oversees key client relationships, ensures exceptional delivery of agency work, and leads strategic initiatives that drive both client outcomes and agency growth. This role provides senior-level leadership across accounts, manages a portfolio of high-value clients, guides cross-functional teams, and contributes to operational excellence.

Description

Responsibilities:

Client Relationship Management
  • Serve as the senior point of contact for senior clients, fostering long-term partnerships built on trust, strategic guidance, and proactive counsel.
  • Provide high-level insights and recommendations using agency-approved AI tools where helpful to support industry research, category monitoring, and trend analysis.
  • Anticipate client needs, identifying opportunities to enhance service offerings and deepen engagement.
  • Lead impactful client meetings, delivering strategic narratives, business reviews, and forward-looking recommendations.
  • Act as a champion for clients within the agency, maintaining alignment between client priorities and internal execution.

Project Planning and Execution
  • Oversee multiple brand accounts, ensuring impeccable execution of campaigns and deliverables across strategy, creative, production, media, and technology.
  • Collaborate with Project Management and department leads to ensure timelines, scopes, and deliverables are aligned and achievable.
  • Use agency-approved AI tools to support documentation clarity, project planning visibility, and workflow optimization where relevant.
  • Ensure internal teams are informed, prepared, and aligned to deliver high-quality work that meets strategic objectives.
  • Monitor workstreams proactively, identifying risks early and guiding teams to solutions.

Strategic Leadership
  • Lead the development of strategic direction for client accounts, ensuring agency recommendations are insight-driven, competitive, and forward-thinking.
  • Use agency-approved AI tools to support insight gathering, competitive analysis, scenario exploration, and planning inputs, while maintaining strong human-led judgment.
  • Partner with agency leadership to define growth strategies and ensure alignment with broader business goals.
  • Monitor industry innovations, consumer behaviors, and competitor activity to inform client recommendations and long-range planning.
  • Ensure all strategies are measurable, tied to business outcomes, and actionable across internal teams.

Financial and Operational Management
  • Provide the final review for estimates and review with team leads to confirm accuracy across hours, scope, and resource allocation.
  • Provide draft SOWs for leadership review, ensuring scopes reflect client needs, agency value, and operational feasibility.
  • Oversee budgets, financial performance, and account profitability, ensuring project margins remain healthy.
  • Use agency-approved AI tools where helpful to support forecasting, budget modeling, and identification of operational efficiencies.
  • Drive improvements to workflow processes, resource planning, and operational structures across assigned accounts.

Team Leadership and Development
  • Provide leadership, coaching, and mentorship to Client Partnerships team members, guiding growth, development, and performance.
  • Delegate tasks and responsibilities appropriately to Project Managers and Project Coordinators to support efficiency and clarity of ownership.
  • Serve as an escalation point for internal and external project-based challenges, helping teams navigate roadblocks and make informed decisions.
  • Use agency-approved AI tools where relevant to support training documentation, onboarding resources, and team knowledge-sharing.
  • Promote a collaborative, high-performance environment grounded in accountability, clear communication, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications:
  • You have a Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field.
  • You have 8+ years of client management or account leadership experience in an advertising or marketing agency.
  • You have proven success managing high-value client relationships and delivering strategic, measurable results.
  • You have strong leadership skills with experience managing and developing teams.
  • You are able to translate client business objectives into actionable strategies and impactful deliverables.
  • You have excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
  • You have strong financial acumen, with experience managing budgets, forecasting, and optimizing profitability.
  • You thrive in a high-paced, dynamic environment while managing multiple priorities.

About Gusto

Gusto is a cloud-based human resources software platform that provides payroll, benefits, and HR management services to small businesses. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Gusto's platform automates many of the administrative tasks associated with HR, such as payroll processing, tax filings, and benefits administration. The company also offers a range of HR services, including compliance support, employee onboarding, and time tracking. Gusto is committed to helping small businesses succeed by providing them with the tools and resources they need to manage their HR operations more efficiently.
Learn more about Gusto
Size
1,000 employees
Industry
Business Services
Founded
2012
* Ladders Estimates

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