Client Operations Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Job Description:

The Director of Client Experience Operations will build and run the operational engine behind one of the most visible leadership functions at dentsu North America. As Director of Client Experience Operations, you will be the right hand to the Chief Client Experience Officer helping to translate strategy into systems, insight into action, and ambition into results.

You will own the day-to-day operational backbone of a function that sits at the intersection of our most senior client relationships, our CEO's agenda, and our integrated growth strategy. This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives on structure, moves fast, and knows how to make things happen behind the scenes without losing sight of the bigger picture.

This is a role ideal for an operationally rigorous, tech savvy, deeply collaborative leader who is energized by working in close proximity to executive leadership and top-tier clients.

Key Responsibilities

Client Operations & Process Enablement

• Attend select client calls and executive meetings to capture decisions, action items, and key insights, turning conversations into structured outputs that teams can act on immediately.
• Build and maintain playbooks, SOPs, and workflows that create consistency and reduce friction across client engagements.
• Monitor client engagement patterns and proactively flag risks or opportunities to the CCXO and relevant client leads.
• Serve as the connective tissue between the CCXO and client leadership teams, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks and that follow-through is tight.

Systems, Dashboards & Knowledge Management

• Own the design and adoption of dashboards, trackers, and reporting tools that give the CCXO and senior leaders real-time visibility into client health, priorities, and pipeline.
• Drive consistent usage of Salesforce and other platforms across client teams, establishing standards and holding teams accountable.
• Build knowledge management practices that capture client insights, meeting outcomes, and best practices in a way that scales across the organization.
• Continuously assess tools and workflows for inefficiencies and drive improvements with a bias toward action.

Technology & AI Integration

• Implement and manage AI-powered tools for transcription, summarization, sentiment tracking, and automated follow-up, reducing manual workload and elevating output quality.
• Pilot and evaluate emerging technologies that enhance the client experience or improve team efficiency.
• Train and enable client teams on new systems, tools, and automation, driving adoption with patience and clarity.
• Explore client-facing enhancements such as portals and personalized recap tools that reflect dentsu's premium positioning.

Executive & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Act as a trusted operational partner to the CCXO, ensuring the team is briefed, prepared, and set up for impact in every client and leadership moment.
• Partner with the Growth organization, Practice Area leads, and client leadership community to align client operations with growth and retention goals.
• Support change management efforts for new processes, tools, and ways of working, helping teams move from awareness to adoption.
• Represent the CCXO function in cross-functional forums and working groups as needed.

Forums, Events & Engagements

• Assist in designing and running client forums and communities for accountability, measurement, and capability, handling logistics, communications, agendas, and follow-up for monthly sessions.
• Help establish infrastructure for an effective client leadership community including distribution lists, meeting schedules, toolkits, and reporting.
• Contribute to capability-building initiatives and client events that strengthen dentsu's market presence and client relationships.
• Oversee Client Experience Partners to develop unique client engagement opportunities and provide strategic support for Client Experience design at prominent industry events and customized gatherings, including Dinner Series, Innovation Salons, Cannes, ANA, and Advertising Week.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in client operations, program management, chief of staff, or enablement roles, ideally within advertising, media, or professional services.
• Proven ability to build and run operational systems in fast-paced, high-stakes environments with senior stakeholders.
• Experience working in close partnership with C-suite executives, you know how to anticipate needs, manage up, and operate with discretion.
• Strong command of Salesforce (or equivalent CRM), project management tools, and productivity platforms. Hands-on experience with AI/automation tools is a strong plus.
• Exceptional organizational skills with a track record of bringing structure to complexity and holding teams accountable without creating friction.
• Clear, confident communicator, in presentation and deck development and business writing, with the ability to synthesize complex information quickly and present it crisply.
• Collaborative and credible with cross-functional partners; able to influence without authority.
• Comfortable working in ambiguity, making smart decisions independently, and knowing when to escalate.
• A genuine interest in client experience, brand, and the business of marketing, you care about the work, not just the process.
• Bachelor's degree required.

At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we're connected. Our way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Employees who live within a commutable distance of one of our hub offices, currently located in Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City, are required and expected to work from the office three days per week (two days per week for employees based in Los Angeles and Detroit). Dentsu may designate other Hub offices at any time. Those who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect our employees to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office.

The annual salary range for this position is $99,500-$175,000. 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.

To begin the application process, please click on the "Apply" button at the top of this job posting. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and qualified candidates will be contacted for next steps.

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