Director – Client Strategy & Services

St Kilda, Melbourne | Full-time | Hybrid

Are you a senior agency leader who knows how to turn a client brief into a compelling social strategy — and then lead a team to bring that strategy to life?

The Social CliQ is looking for an experienced Director – Client Strategy & Services to lead social strategy, senior client relationships and new business pitches across our growing portfolio of brands.

This is a hands-on senior leadership role for someone who sits naturally at the intersection of strategy, client leadership and commercial growth.

You’ll take a leading role from the very beginning of the client journey: understanding the brief, developing the strategic response, building and presenting the pitch, onboarding new clients and setting the strategic direction for the work.

From there, you’ll manage our Account Services team, providing the leadership and strategic direction they need to execute the strategy successfully, while maintaining oversight of client delivery, performance and results.

Working alongside our Managing Director and General Manager, you’ll also act as a senior partner to key clients, develop a high-performing Account Services function and help drive the continued growth of the agency.

What you’ll be doing

Social Strategy & Pitches

• Developing compelling, insight-led social strategies across organic, paid, creator and community
• Turning client briefs and business objectives into clear strategic recommendations and campaign ideas
• Leading the strategic response for new business pitches, proposals and RFPs
• Building and delivering persuasive pitch presentations that demonstrate both strategic thinking and commercial value
• Playing a leading role in winning new clients and converting opportunities into long-term partnerships
• Keeping ahead of social platforms, audience behaviours, cultural trends and emerging opportunities
• Translating strategy into clear direction for the Account Services, creative and specialist teams
• Ensuring the strategic thinking presented in a pitch carries through into execution once the work is won

Client & Account Services Leadership

• Managing and developing the Account Services team, with responsibility for overseeing the successful execution of client strategies
• Providing Account Managers with clear strategic direction while empowering them to own day-to-day client relationships and delivery
• Acting as the senior strategic partner across key client relationships
• Leading strategic onboarding for new clients and establishing clear objectives, KPIs and ways of working
• Overseeing strategy, execution and performance across a portfolio of social-first clients
• Ensuring campaigns remain strategically aligned from initial concept through to delivery
• Leading senior and complex client conversations and providing trusted strategic counsel
• Reviewing performance and working with the Account Services team to identify opportunities to optimise strategy and strengthen results
• Maintaining exceptional client service standards and supporting long-term retention

Growth & Commercial Performance

• Partnering with the Managing Director and General Manager on agency growth and new business opportunities
• Identifying opportunities to grow existing client partnerships through new campaigns, services and capabilities
• Taking commercial ownership of client profitability, budgets, forecasting, utilisation and project performance
• Connecting social activity to measurable client business outcomes
• Helping shape the agency’s strategic offering as social platforms, client needs and opportunities evolve

People Leadership

• Leading, mentoring and developing Account Managers and Social Media Coordinators
• Building a high-performing Account Services team capable of translating strategy into outstanding execution
• Raising the standard of strategic thinking and client service across the team
• Supporting recruitment, onboarding and development as the agency continues to grow
• Creating an environment where great ideas, commercial thinking and exceptional client service are expected and supported

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who combines the strategic capability of a senior social strategist with the client leadership and commercial judgement of an experienced agency Account Director.

You’ll ideally bring:

• 7+ years’ experience within a social, digital, creative, media or integrated agency environment, with significant social media experience
• Demonstrated experience developing sophisticated organic and paid social strategies
• Proven experience leading and winning new business pitches, from brief and strategic response through to presentation
• Experience at Account Director, Senior Account Director, Client Partner, Strategy Director or equivalent senior agency level
• Demonstrated experience leading an Account Services team and overseeing the execution of strategy across multiple client accounts
• A strong track record managing complex, senior client relationships
• Strong knowledge of Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn and Pinterest, with an understanding of how paid and organic social work together
• Commercial accountability for client retention, profitability and growth
• Excellent presentation and storytelling skills, with the confidence to sell an idea and bring clients with you
• The ability to move comfortably between big-picture strategy and the detail required to ensure great execution

You won’t necessarily come from a pure client services background. You might currently be a Senior Account Director, Account Director, Client Partner, Social Strategy Director or senior social strategist with strong client and people leadership experience.

What matters is that you can develop the strategy, sell the strategy, and lead an Account Services team to execute it brilliantly.

Why The Social CliQ?

The Social CliQ is a social-first agency working with leading brands across fashion, beauty, lifestyle and entertainment.

You’ll have the opportunity to influence work from the first client conversation through to execution, shape our strategic offering, lead major client relationships and build a high-performing Account Services team while playing an important role in the agency’s continued growth.

Based in St Kilda with hybrid working, you’ll join a collaborative, ambitious team and work alongside specialists across social, creative, media, influencer, licensing and digital marketing through the broader Merchantwise Group and Jaywing network.

If you’re a senior agency professional who loves building social strategy, winning pitches, developing client relationships and leading teams to deliver outstanding work, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now to join The Social CliQ.