Account Director (F1)

We're excited to be recruiting for an outstanding Account Director to join our London office. This role will lead track-side hospitality programmes and brand activations for one of our motorsport clients, with a strong emphasis on end-to-end product supply, logistics and service delivery across the F1 season. If you're known for exceptional client service and have a proven history of delivering impactful live events, we'd love to hear from you. You'll be a confident and inspiring people leader, committed to mentoring and developing your team, while driving outstanding results and playing a key role within the agency's motorsport and experiential offering. We're looking for a passionate marketer with experience across Formula 1 sponsorships and events. A good understanding of the hospitality ecosystem within F1 will be key to this role, and ideally exposure to working with beverage brands, but not essential. You will be accountable for: Client Management

• Providing guidance as an experienced operator in F1 hospitality, navigating the client through rights-holder requirements and restrictions, while recommending impactful ways to activate within the sport.
• Build a strong understanding of the client's brand identity and objectives, ensuring delivery aligns with defined KPIs and consistently represents the brand to the highest standard.
• Act as point of escalation for day-to-day client stakeholders, developing solutions to client challenges and presenting your approach in a clear, engaging and persuasive manner, always balancing clients´ interests with protecting the agency and team.
• Forward planning to ensure any pinch points are effectively managed and the best resource is available and allocated based on skill sets and project requirements
• Work closely with the client to build strong, lasting relationships across Formula 1 and the wider network, positioning the brand confidently within the sport.
• Support the negotiation of MSAs, scopes of work, fees and financial reporting in partnership with senior leadership members of the account team.
• Lead vendor and supplier negotiations, tracking and contracting in line with company policies.
• There will be a requirement to travel to events throughout the F1 Season.
Team Management
• Lead, manage and develop a team made up of an Account Manager and Senior Account Manager to provide the very highest levels of client services.
• Develop a highly effective, collaborative team who continually surpass client expectations
• Act as a coach/mentor/motivator, adapting to individual personalities and developing the team so each member grows and works effectively including managing goal-setting and performance reviews
• Instil best practice ways of working for the team, with an understanding and mindfulness of company process and compliance requirements.
Account & Agency Leadership
• Confidently establish relationships with and advising senior stakeholders across clients, rightsholders, within the agency and wider Omnicom Network.
• Display an entrepreneurial spirit to growth, regularly suggesting potential opportunities (new targets and existing client growth) and ways of acting upon them
• Act as a beacon for excellence within experiences, ensuring your team is constantly evolving and growing in terms of perception, skillset and ability
• Experienced and confident with taking briefs, presenting creative and dealing with prospects.
• Drive collaboration across the agency and shared services, proactively identifying opportunities to improve existing or implement new processes where required
  
  You will bring a collaborative and inclusive approach with a commitment to developing talent
• You will be a strategic thinker with robust problem-solving skills that enable you to challenge the status quo
• You will be highly organised, with strong attention to detail and confident with managing complex budgets and financial processes.
• You will be commercially minded and experienced in driving both organic growth and new business wins.
• Experience in F1 sponsorship activation and managing guest hospitality programmes within the F1 environment is essential.
• Additional experience working with drinks brands - especially alcohol - including product supply, logistics, and serve is beneficial.
• A desire and flexibility to travel internationally to events throughout the year.
  
  Octagon is a global creative agency, with a speciality in sport and entertainment partnerships. With over 800 team members around the world, we work with brands to create big ideas that fans love and want to engage in, because it's built in and around their passion. Where others see complexity we see possibility, and we believe in pushing authenticity, creativity, and longevity to do great things in the industry that lead the market. Octagon is now part of the Omnicom https://www.omc.com