Portfolio Lead, Director

Job Description:

The Associate Director, Messaging role, reporting to the SVP, Messaging Delivery Lead, provides guidance and leadership support to cross-functional digital marketing delivery teams, proactively identifies or clarifies challenges, and makes recommendations to resolve challenges. The Associate Director, Messaging leads daily program operations for a portfolio of accounts, including project scope, deliverables, resource and capacity planning, and client and project profitability. This person will work closely with the discipline leads to assess quality control checks and process improvements. The Associate Director, Messaging will also be responsible for the digital execution and will support escalation management in partnership with Director-level leadership, primarily engaging day-to-day client contacts to resolve program issues and ensure delivery continuity. Success is measured through client satisfaction, employee satisfaction, continued improvement to process, project effectiveness, and profitability KPIs.
 

Description & Responsibilities:

• Client Satisfaction

  • Partner with discipline areas to support client marketing strategy, developing an understanding of brand-consumer dynamics that drive client growth

  • Serve as a messaging subject matter resource, applying channel best practices and executional expertise across assigned programs

• Communication

  • Ensure all internal teams and partner agencies have the information needed to successfully execute their responsibilities

  • Communicate consultatively with team members across project management, technical, and marketing disciplines

  • Build and maintain effective working relationships with day-to-day client contacts and internal partners, with growing exposure to senior client stakeholders under Director guidance

• Quality

  • Ensure that the client's performance objectives are met for their program while also overseeing completion of deliverables and adherence to timelines

  • Partner with clients to clearly understand and define program goals, requirements, and success criteria

  • Own the remediation process for client-facing incidents, including driving investigation efforts and formal root cause analysis

• Program Planning

  • Own and maintain the program plan across all participating organizations, ensuring it reflects current priorities and accurate milestone status

  • Provide regular, proactive updates on program progress, risks, and milestone completions to internal and client stakeholders

  • Participate in cross-functional planning with capabilities, account management, partner agencies, and the client to help identify and resolve issues and remove obstacles

Qualifications:

• 6-8+ years of experience in marketing program/project management or technology, with a focus on digital marketing program delivery

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across teams while contributing to the growth and development of peers and junior team members

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to clients and cross-functional stakeholders

• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously without sacrificing quality or accuracy

• Able to bridge technical and non-technical audiences, translating complex requirements into clear, actionable direction for marketing and business partners

• Experience supporting or coordinating project or development teams across digital marketing programs

• Proven experience in client-facing or client management roles, with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong relationships and be viewed as a reliable day-to-day partner

• Bachelor’s Degree required

• Extensive hands-on experience with one or more enterprise messaging platforms, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud/Next, Adobe Campaign/Journey Optimizer, or Braze required

• Willingness to travel up to 10–30% based on client and business needs

At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we’re connected. Our hybrid way of working combines remote flexibility with regular in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Many of our employees who live within commuting distance (90 minutes) from one of our Headquarter or Hub Offices (New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles) are required to work in the office 2-3 days per week including one Team Day. The minimum number of days may vary by office and role. Dentsu may designate other HQ or Hub offices at any time. Those who do not live near an office may be designated as a remote employee, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect you to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office from time to time.

The annual salary range for this position is $94,000 - $152,662. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefits available with this position include:

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance,

• Life insurance,

• Short-term and long-term disability insurance,

• 401k,

• Flexible paid time off,

• At least 15 paid holidays per year,

• Paid sick and safe leave, and

• Paid parental leave.

Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For further details regarding Dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com.

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Location:

USA – Remote – Kansas – Central Time

Brand:

Merkle

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent