The Role
Lead and grow strategic client partnerships across some of the world's most ambitious brands, helping shape experiences at the intersection of experiential, technology, retail, content, and culture. As an Account Director, you'll serve as a trusted client partner, building executive relationships, identifying opportunities for growth, and working with cross-functional teams to manage and deliver exceptional work.
In this position, you will act as a trusted client advisor, strategic thinker, and team guide. Working alongside Creative, Production and Technology teams, you will execute high-impact initiatives and address key organizational goals. Beyond exceptional execution, your impact relies on establishing deep, enduring client connections that cultivate long-term growth, expanded opportunities, and organic revenue.
What You'll Do
- Provide strategic and tactical leadership while building trusted relationships with all client stakeholders.
- Service more than one account at a time.
- Champion the client's business objectives while ensuring creative excellence and flawless execution.
- Build trusted relationships with stakeholders at every level of client organizations, becoming a valued advisor beyond individual projects by anticipating client needs, identifying opportunities to deepen partnerships and proactively expanding Hovercraft's impact within existing accounts.
- Partner closely with Creative, Production, and Technology to strengthen the overall Client relationship, achieve tactical internal goals, and develop integrated solutions.
- Partner with the Production team and Creative leads to shape scopes of work, establish expectations, and educate clients on our process.
- Ensure pod financial health across projects by partnering with Production on budgets, staffing, forecasting, and resource planning.
- Co-lead project briefing with Creative Directors.
- Collaborate with Executive Leadership on account planning, organic growth opportunities, and strategic client initiatives and help scale the account discipline with a unique perspective on how Hovercraft can differentiate amongst the competition.
- Existing Business: Foster growth by identifying and assessing opportunities with existing client ecosystems.
- New Business: Support growth efforts with warm and cold outreach, participate in pitch material development with the sales & creative teams.
- Forecast and report on client programs: Track program performance and provide useful insights to leadership to support business operations and strategic planning.
- Proactively manage risk and client satisfaction: Identify issues, conflicts, or disruptions early and drive effective solutions that protect the client relationship and the work.
- Serve as the primary communication channel for realignment of scope, timing, budget and other client requests or actions that have the potential to impact Hovercraft's ability to execute a project or critical workstream.
What We're Looking For
- Remote/Hybrid - Portland or LA metro based with the ability to travel to key client meetings and activations
- 8+ years of experience in Account Management or Client Services within a leading experiential, creative, integrated, or innovation agency.
- Proven experience leading integrated brand programs from strategy through execution for enterprise-level clients.
- A track record of building trusted client relationships that lead to long-term partnerships and continued business growth.
- Deep understanding of complex client organizations and the ability to navigate multiple stakeholders with confidence.
- Experience managing large-scale budgets, multi-disciplinary teams, and complex workstreams simultaneously.
- Strong commercial instincts with experience supporting proposals, statements of work, and strategic account planning.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills with the ability to lead executive-level conversations.
- Calm under pressure with a solutions-oriented mindset and a passion for delivering exceptional client experiences.
- A collaborative leadership style that brings together Strategy, Creative, Production, and Technology around a shared vision.
- A genuine curiosity about clients' businesses, a strong point of view on great work, and a desire to build relationships that create lasting value.
Location
Portland, OR
This role is based in the Portland metro area with the ability to travel to client meetings and activations as needed. Experience working with Nike or within the broader Nike ecosystem is strongly preferred. Candidates should understand how to navigate large, matrixed organizations and have experience delivering integrated work for globally recognized brands.
Los Angeles, CA
This role is based in the Los Angeles area with the ability to travel to client meetings and activations as needed. Experience working with leading technology, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, or consumer brands is highly valued, along with a proven ability to build strategic client relationships and lead integrated brand experiences.
Compensation & Details
The total average salary range for this position is $150,000 - $160,000 annually, plus comprehensive benefits. Job level and actual compensation will be decided based on factors including, but not limited to, individual qualifications assessed during the interview process (such as skills and prior industry experience, potential impact), market demands, and specific work location. The listed range is a guideline, and the range for this role may be modified.
Please include resume (or LinkedIn profile), and portfolio via URL or PDF, if applicable.
Hovercraft is a remote-first company, working primarily on Pacific and Mountain time. Anyone/anywhere in the United States is encouraged to apply. You must be eligible to work in the United States of America.
At this time, we are unable to support employment arrangements that require E-Verify participation, including STEM OPT extensions. Additionally, we are not currently offering employment visa sponsorship for this role. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without current or future employer sponsorship requirements.
We appreciate your interest in our team and encourage candidates whose work authorization aligns with these requirements to apply.
Recruitment Notice
We use AI-assisted tools solely to help identify and highlight keywords related to critical design skills and relevant experience within applications. These tools support our recruiting team by improving consistency and efficiency; they do not make hiring decisions. All applications are reviewed by humans, and AI is not used in a discriminatory manner or to evaluate personal characteristics unrelated to job requirements.
