Director, Client Partnership

WHY DEPT®? We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA. We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter. At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build. THE ROLE: Director, Client Partnership, autonomously leads high-value client portfolios, driving strategic growth, commercial success, and the delivery of complex integrated workstreams and multi-service retainers. As a trusted business partner, the Director deeply understands our clients’ business challenges and proactively architects solutions that drive measurable impact. This role requires a sophisticated blend of commercial acumen, strategic vision, and leadership. Directors are adept at navigating, negotiating, and expanding scopes of work while integrating multidisciplinary teams to deliver excellence. Serving as the primary senior anchor for their portfolio, the Director, Client Partnership manages senior-tier client relationships alongside the Client Partnership leadership levels, ensuring client satisfaction, team health, and account profitability, driving sustainable portfolio growth. WHAT YOU’LL DO: Strategic Leadership & Client Partnership Business Transformation: Act as a strategic advisor to senior client stakeholders, aligning our agency's capabilities with the client's overarching business goals. Portfolio Integration: Synthesize siloed workstreams into a cohesive, big-picture narrative, ensuring client strategy is seamlessly applied across all interdisciplinary teams. Creative Excellence: Inspire, motivate, and direct cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact, brief-led creative solutions that push boundaries. High-Impact Communication: Masterfully navigate complex presentations and critical conversations, tailoring messages flawlessly for internal teams, executive leadership, and C-suite clients. Commercial Management & Compliance Portfolio Health: Own the financial health of the portfolio, including accurate revenue forecasting, reconciliation, margin management, and profitability tracking. Scope Architecture: Lead the development, pricing, and negotiation of complex Statements of Work (SOWs) and high-volume retainers, ensuring they are profitable and scalable. Risk Mitigation: Oversee scope management across the portfolio, ensuring all deliverables remain strictly compliant with signed contracts, and proactively mitigating scope creep. Business Development: Partner with Growth and Executive leadership to spearhead new business pitches, productize agency services, and drive organic growth within the existing portfolio. Team Leadership & Talent Development Talent Cultivation: Directly manage, mentor, and inspire a high-performing Client Partnership team, fostering a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and psychological safety. Workload Optimization: Monitor team utilization and capacity, effectively delegating responsibilities while actively managing client expectations and pushing back when necessary. Escalation Anchor: Serve as the definitive internal and external escalation point for project, prioritization, or relational challenges. Growth & Influence Proven track record of managing, mentoring, and scaling client services teams. Ability to secure buy-in for bold ideas and navigate resistance through high-impact, empathetic communication. Expertise in facilitating cross-functional alignment, breaking down internal silos to own projects from inception to completion. Strong upward management skills, knowing precisely when to loop in executive leadership for strategic interventions. Deep experience managing high-volume, multi-service agency retainers for major brands. Strong literacy in agency financial operations, including profitability levers, resource models, and legal/contractual frameworks. Proven background in driving sophisticated organic social strategies, digital transformation, and creator/influencer-led ecosystems. Look beyond the immediate portfolio to align client initiatives with the agency's broader macroeconomic strategy, values, and long-term goals. Masterfully connect data points and market trends to solve complex business problems, understanding both immediate solutions and long-term consequences. Seamlessly navigate and leverage the agency's global service offerings and department leads, knowing how and when to pull in specialized expertise to expand the client footprint. Drastically improve the effectiveness of client interactions and internal workflows, ensuring every touchpoint delivers premium value. WHAT YOU BRING: 8+ years of progressive client services or account management experience within a fast-paced agency environment, with at least 2–3 years operating at a Director level. A proven track record of managing and organically growing a high-volume portfolio of brands (ideally encompassing multi-service, integrated digital retainers). Demonstrated experience leading short- and long-term business strategies for major brands, translating complex business challenges into actionable creative and digital solutions. Strong financial fluency with deep experience in revenue forecasting, profitability tracking, margin management, and architecting/negotiating complex SOWs and pricing models. Deep domain knowledge in digital transformation, high-volume organic social ecosystems, and creator/influencer-led marketing campaigns. Proven experience d