Managing Director, Client Business Lead

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior day-to-day business partner and trusted advisor to the client and other agency stakeholders; understand their priorities, organizational context, and measures of success, and translate these into clear media strategies and accountable delivery.
• Build a strong relationship with the new client media lead by listening closely, understanding their working style and priorities, and earning trust through informed counsel and follow-through. Explain media choices respectfully and establish alignment before advancing change.
• Maintain disciplined governance, documentation, and approval paths, including applicable contractual, government, privacy, data-use, and brand-safety requirements. Establish performance reviews and feedback loops that improve client confidence, delivery, and business impact.
• Unite the Integrated Agency Team through mutual trust, shared planning rhythms, and clear escalation paths. Understand stakeholder dynamics and decision authority, resolve challenges constructively and faithfully represent media’s contribution to outcomes.
• Own the commercial health of the assignment, including scope, fees, P&L, staffing and forecasts. Address risks early, demonstrate OMD’s value and identify appropriate opportunities for scope expansion and organic growth.
• Set clear priorities for the partnership and lead full-funnel strategy across brand building and recruitment. Bring together audience insights, creativity, media, data, technology and measurement to improve agreed government client outcomes.
• Lead through any strategic or budget changes with clear communication and decisive prioritization. Agree realistic scope and service levels, make staffing and investment decisions with care, and help TBWA and the client understand the implications while protecting quality and the highest-impact work.
• Transform the operating model to meet evolving needs: clarify decision rights, reduce duplication, rebalance senior roles and strengthen workflows. Use Omnicom Media capabilities, technology and AI where they deliver measurable improvements in effectiveness or efficiency.
• Lead through servant leadership: set high standards, remove obstacles, coach talent and give experienced leaders real ownership. Recruit and retain strong people, communicate honestly and early, and handle reductions with dignity for those affected and those who remain.

Requirements

• Significant senior leadership experience in an agency, media or marketing services business; more than 15 years of relevant experience is required.
• Demonstrated success advising senior clients and leading complex partnerships through change; government marketing experience within a lead-agency and subcontractor structure is highly valuable. Experience in well-regulated industries is also valued.
• Strong grasp of omnichannel media, brand building, recruitment or acquisition marketing, audience strategy, measurement and optimization.
• Proven ability to lead integrated teams, develop and retain senior talent, and influence partners across separate agencies, disciplines and reporting lines.
• Strong commercial judgment in scope, P&L, resourcing and negotiation, with experience managing budget reductions and redesigning operating models.
• Clear communication, cultural awareness and sound judgment under pressure. Government or public-sector marketing experience and familiarity with complex approval processes are advantageous.
• Respects operational protocol. Clients value clean governance, documentation, approval paths, and compliance.

Preferred

• Government marketing experience within a lead-agency and subcontractor structure is highly valuable.
• Experience in well-regulated industries is also valued.