Associate Managing Director, Aquent Studios

Aquent Studios is a dynamic partner to a leading technology company, driving innovation and excellence in creative, marketing, and managed services. We are passionate about transforming how work gets done, empowering our clients to achieve their ambitious goals through strategic solutions and unparalleled talent. Join our team and be part of an organization that values creativity, efficiency, and continuous improvement, making a tangible impact on some of the world's most recognized brands.

Are you a visionary business leader with a passion for cultivating impactful client relationships and driving significant growth? We are seeking an exceptional individual to step into a pivotal role, where you will be instrumental in expanding our partnership with a cornerstone client in the technology sector. This is your chance to lead from the front, shaping the future of how a major enterprise leverages cutting-edge marketing, creative, and operational solutions. You will not just manage an account; you will be a strategic architect, identifying untapped opportunities, developing innovative solutions, and leading their implementation to deliver transformative results. If you thrive on challenging the status quo, fostering deep client connections, and building a legacy of success, this role offers an unparalleled platform for your expertise.

What You'll Do

• Partner with senior leadership to strategically grow the account, engaging new client groups and expanding the scope of work across the organization.
• Cultivate robust stakeholder relationships and identify new business opportunities within various product groups and business units.
• Deeply understand client business priorities, organizational challenges, and emerging needs, translating them into compelling engagements using current, expanded, or new service capabilities.
• Maintain a strong pipeline of incremental opportunities, driving continuous growth and partnership expansion.
• Lead discovery sessions with subject matter experts to understand client needs, desired outcomes, and operational requirements.
• Develop comprehensive solutions leveraging Aquent Studios' full suite of capabilities, including marketing operations, creative services, AI and automation, events and experiences, and content development.
• Define scope, deliverables, resource structure, and implementation plans for client engagements, ensuring positive financial performance and margin improvement.
• Develop competitive pricing and financial models that align with requirements and profitability objectives.
• Lead responses to RFI & RFP requests, and skillfully write and negotiate proposals, Statements of Work (SOWs), contract renewals, and change orders.
• Maintain full business ownership of engagements from sale through implementation, ongoing operations, renewal, and expansion.
• Develop strategic account plans focused on client priorities, retention, and growth, including proactive renewal and expansion strategies.
• Lead client governance and executive business reviews (QBRs), demonstrating business impact, operational efficiency, innovation, and cost savings.
• Proactively identify account risks and implement corrective actions, while monitoring scope adherence, expansion, and leakage.
• Oversee revenue, gross profit margin, and financial performance for the account, executing against growth, profitability, and operational targets.
• Ensure timely and accurate invoicing, and advance innovative, efficiency-driving approaches such as AI, automation, and new workflows.
• Track and report on account health, pipeline opportunities, and progress against growth and margin-improvement goals.
• Partner with delivery leads to ensure seamless execution of engagements, ensuring teams understand contractual scope, business objectives, and financial expectations.
• Maintain visibility into all work, ensuring quality, resource alignment, milestones, risks, and overall delivery performance.
• Support resource and capacity planning to align skillsets with the scope of work.
• Lead the resolution of significant client, commercial, or operational issues.
• Foster a culture where ideas are shared, creativity is encouraged, and team members are empowered to take ownership of their work and results.
• Coach and provide feedback to support professional growth, skill expansion, and increased responsibility within the team.

What You'll Bring

Must-Have Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in account management, client services, or a consultative client-facing role, ideally within technology, creative services, managed services, agency, or consulting environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing relationships with large-scale or enterprise-level clients, including exposure to senior stakeholders across multiple business units or teams.
• Familiarity with services provided by a creative agency, such as content, creative, integrated marketing, digital experiences, marketing operations, and AI and automation.
• Experience with managed services and project delivery models, where output is measured against a defined scope of work.
• Basic financial acumen, including working with budgets, forecasts, or account profitability metrics.
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience; strong academic performance or evidence of intellectual curiosity and initiative (independent projects, leadership roles, relevant certifications, or self-directed learning).
• Practical experience using AI tools (e.g., Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, or similar) to support daily work, with experience applying them more strategically to creative processes and workflows.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead or influence work through collaboration rather than direct authority.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications:

• A genuine curiosity about how work gets done and how it could be done better, consistently seeking innovative solutions.
• Comfortable presenting to senior clients while also being willing to engage in hands-on program management.
• A track record of consistently taking on increased responsibility and thinking in systems, connecting client needs, delivery execution, and financial outcomes.
• An interest in growing into full P&L ownership over time.