Account Director (Denver)

Motive is a dynamic agency and creative collective operating at the speed of culture. Were a collective of deep thinkers creative makers cultural connoisseurs and executional aces. We create meaningful engagements between brands and their audiences cultivating relationships that drive tangible results for our clients. And we do it with sharp strategy and powerful creative executed across all the media and touch-points key to our targets lives.

As pioneers in the area of content digital engagement and innovative experiential programs and award winners for work in TV event digital and social Motive has created a culture where every individual is given an opportunity to stretch and flex their creative and executional muscles daily. We are a team of hard-working fast-moving energetic passionate driven straight-talking creative thinkers. We like being challenged and we love the collaboration necessary to overcome the challenges and succeed.

If this sounds like a place you would thrive lets see if we can make something happen.

Location: Denver

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Account Director to serve as the seniorpoint of contact for a client in a highly regulated industry (tobacco/nicotine).As an Account Director at Motive you are the senior steward of your clients business and a keydriver of agency success. You are responsible for the management growth and overall healthof client relationshipsbalancing strategic leadership team oversight and operationalexcellence.

You serve as the consistent connective force between clients creative teams strategy andproduction ensuring that work is insight-led high-impact and executed to the highest this role you are expected to lead both the what and the how: shaping the direction of your
accounts while developing and mentoring the team that makes the work happen.

Your Core Responsibilities

• Client Leadership Business Growth & Compliance
  • Act as a senior strategic partner for clients guiding marketing strategy andcampaign development.
  • Build strong trust-based relationships with senior client stakeholders.
  • Identify and lead organic growth opportunities within accounts helping to expandMotives footprint.
  • Regularly assess account health and collaborate with agency leadership toevolve the partnership.
  • Ensures all projects products marketing and communications strictly adhere tothe specific creative requirements and restrictions of the nicotine industry. Thisincludes navigating regulations around product marketing age verification andhealth warnings.
• Strategic & Creative Direction
  • Translate client goals and briefs into actionable strategic and creative
    workstreams.
  • Collaborate closely with Strategy to ensure creative briefs are focused insight-driven and aligned with broader business objectives.
  • Champion outstanding creative work tying ideas back to strategy while advocating for originality innovation and impact.
• Integrated Project Oversight
  • Oversee and support execution across a range of deliverables: shopperexperiential promotions partnerships and other channels as applicable.
  • Lead planning and scoping for projectsdeveloping timelines budgets teamsand operational plans in partnership with production and project management.
  • Ensure quality control and accountability throughout all phases of work frombriefing to final delivery.
  • Navigate and manage program changes with internal and external stakeholdersensuring positive solution-oriented outcomes supporting program client andagency success.
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Provide consistency and clarity for your team; delegating appropriately andcreating opportunities for them to step up and tackle new challenges.
  • Lead and mentor an integrated account team including AADs AccountSupervisors and junior staff.
  • Foster a collaborative high-performance culture that values curiosity integrityand results.
  • Provide feedback coaching and support to ensure continued professionalgrowth of team members.
• Financial Stewardship
  • Owns independent brand-level financial leadership ensuring accuracyprofitability and fiscal responsibility across accounts.
  • Monitors team utilization billability and profitability metrics adjusting as neededto maintain healthy business performance.
  • Leads organic growth stewardship by cultivating deeper partnerships with clients and uncovering opportunities beyond current scopes.
  • Develops projection schedules grounded in business realities and proactively communicates them to leadership.
  • Builds relationships with senior client stakeholders (beyond project-specific teams) to identify long-term growth opportunities.
• Agency Collaboration & Contribution
  • Work cross-functionally with internal departments and external agency partners (IAT) to drive fully integrated campaigns.
  • Help shape agency thinking and pitch strategy; participate in new business and innovation efforts.
  • Actively contribute to internal culture workflow optimization and agency-wide learning.

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Consistency in performance proactivity in communications (both up and down).
• Your client relationships are strong stable and growing.
• Youre viewed as a strategic partnerable to elevate the conversation and anticipateneeds.
• Projects under your leadership are on track well-scoped and delivering strong creativeoutcomes.
• Your team feels supported challenged and empowered to do their best work.
• Youre helping shape the future of the businessnot just managing it.
• You help teams navigate change with confidence clarity and empathy.

Experience & Skills for the Role

• 10 years prior experience in account management often at a marketing or advertisingagency with specific experience in tobacco highly preferred.
• Deep understanding of nicotine industry trends products and the evolving regulatoryenvironment to inform business strategies.
• Proven success leading large multifaceted accounts with traditional digital socialcontent shopper/retail and experiential components.
• Demonstrated ability to grow client relationships and identify new opportunities.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing and developing cross-functionalteams.
• Exceptional communication presentation and relationship-building and a strong understanding of state and local regulatory dynamics are alsohighly valued.
• Strong budget timeline and resource management skills.
• A proactive collaborative and resilient approach to leadership.
• A positive attitude and a drive to produce the best work of your careerand help othersdo the same.

Motive is an equal opportunity employer! We believe that a diverse team makes us stronger and smarter.

Motive recruits employs trains compensates and promotes regardless of race religion color national origin sex disability age veteran status and other protected status as required by applicable law. We offer an inspiring working environment and great benefits including health dental vision matching 401-k unlimited flex time off and more. The starting salary for this position is between $120000 and $145000 annually based on experience.

Motive has a clear vision: to be a creative leader where a diverse mix of talented people want to come to stay and do their best work. We know our company succeeds only through the hard work and dedication of our passionate and creative employees.