Group Account Director

Summary:

Lead destination-first travel clients as the senior strategic partner to the Director of Client Service. Translate business goals into integrated programs leveraging full in-house media planning/buying, creative, PR, social, Digital Development and analytics. On-site role with strong scope ownership (no portfolio-wide P&L or revenue forecasting).

Responsibilities:

• Client Leadership: Own senior day-to-day for destination and travel accounts; shape annual/seasonal plans, briefs, and go-to-market.
• Strategy & Execution: Orchestrate omnichannel campaigns (brand, content, PR/earned, social, search, programmatic, video, OOH/DOOH, experiential) to drive visitation, bookings, and economic impact.
• Destination Expertise: Build feeder-market and seasonality strategies; balance direct booking vs. OTA; activate partnerships (tourism boards, airlines, attractions, events).
• Operational Excellence: Define/manage SOWs, timelines, resourcing, and change control; ensure QA, approvals, and on-time/on-budget delivery.
• Insights & Measurement: Use research/first-party data; partner with Analytics on KPI frameworks, tests, dashboards; translate results into actions.
• Stakeholder Management: Maintain trust with client and internal leaders; support proposals and RFPs as needed.
• Team Leadership: Manage and mentor account team; build high-performing, collaborative teams; learning, and career growth.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years in advertising/marketing; 4–5+ years leading Travel/Hospitality accounts with destination experience.
• Proven integrated leadership across media, creative, PR, and social; excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Strong scope/delivery management; data-informed approach; familiarity with GA4/Adobe, Meta/TikTok, SEO/SEM, and social tools
• Agency background required; DMO/tourism board portfolio preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience overseeing production (digital, social, experiential)

Success Metrics:

• Client satisfaction/retention and relationship growth.
• Campaign KPIs: awareness, consideration, web sessions, partner referrals, bookings, visitation proxies.
• Scope adherence, change control discipline, and on-time/on-budget delivery.
• Effective cross-functional collaboration.
• Business growth and retention