Freelance Group Account Director Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Group Account Director – Experiential & Field Marketing

AGENCY OVERVIEW

Established in 2010, our client is an industry leader in marketing brand experiences and creating cultural relevance. Marketing is the art of telling a great story, and they are some of the best storytellers in the business. They deliver experiences that are measured against excellence, from concept to completion.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Group Account Director is a senior client services leader responsible for developing and executing experiential marketing, field marketing, and live event programs across a portfolio of client brands, with a strong focus on wine and spirits.

This full-time role, based in New York, serves as the senior day-to-day client relationship lead while partnering closely with Creative, Production, Field Marketing, and Operations teams. The Group Account Director will play a critical role in helping shape agency direction, strengthening client relationships, improving operational processes, supporting new business growth, and leading integrated activation programs across multiple brands and markets.

This role is ideal for an experienced experiential and field marketing leader who thrives in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments, brings a strong strategic point of view, and excels at balancing client partnership, operational execution, and team leadership.

The ideal candidate is collaborative, scrappy, adaptable, solutions-oriented, and comfortable operating within an evolving agency environment where flexibility, initiative, and relationship-building are highly valued.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the senior day-to-day client lead across assigned experiential, field marketing, and live event accounts.

• Act as a trusted strategic partner to clients, translating objectives into impactful experiential and field marketing programs.

• Lead integrated field marketing and experiential campaigns across multiple markets and client brands.

• Oversee scalable activation programs, including ambassador programs, sampling initiatives, retail/on-premise activations, and live experiences.

• Lead client meetings, presentations, planning sessions, and strategic discussions while serving as a senior escalation point.

• Oversee the end-to-end experiential and activation process from concept development through execution and wrap-up.

• Collaborate with clients to build comprehensive workback schedules, activation timelines, and operational plans.

• Ensure internal and external teams remain aligned and accountable to milestones, deliverables, and execution standards.

• Provide strategic oversight across creative development, production execution, staffing, logistics, and operational workflows.

• Anticipate challenges and proactively drive solution-oriented decision-making in fast-paced environments.

• Manage, mentor, and develop Account Managers, Account Executives, and junior team members.

• Assess resourcing needs across program lifecycles and partner with leadership on staffing strategy.

• Oversee budget development, financial management, reconciliation, and pricing structure across assigned programs.

• Review estimates, invoices, and financial documentation to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and compliance.

• Ensure programs are delivered within scope, on time, and within budget.

• Lead post-event reporting efforts, ensuring insights, results, and recommendations are clearly communicated to clients and internal stakeholders.

• Translate quantitative and qualitative program data into actionable insights tied to client objectives and business goals.

• Identify operational improvements, executional trends, optimization opportunities, and growth areas across accounts.

• Collaborate closely with Production, Field Marketing, and Operations teams to ensure seamless program delivery.

• Support agency growth initiatives through client expansion opportunities, strategic relationship development, RFP participation, and new business support.

• Stay informed on experiential, cultural, consumer, and industry trends and apply learnings appropriately.

• Represent our client professionally at client meetings, activations, networking opportunities, and industry events.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

• 7–10+ years of experiential marketing, field marketing, or live events experience within an agency client services environment.

• Proven success leading integrated experiential and field marketing programs from concept through execution.

• Strong understanding of field marketing campaigns, including ambassador programs, multi-market activations, and on-premise experiential initiatives.

• Demonstrated experience managing and developing junior account team members.

• Strong background in alcohol / spirits-based experiential marketing preferred.

• Experience managing multiple brands, activations, and client priorities simultaneously.

• Strong operational mindset with the ability to improve workflows, processes, and team alignment.

• Exceptional client-facing, communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.

• Highly organized strategic thinker with strong attention to detail.

• Strong budget development, pricing strategy, and financial management experience.

• Entrepreneurial, adaptable, collaborative, and solutions-oriented mindset.

• Proficiency with Google Suite, Adobe Acrobat, and project management tools.

• Must be based in the greater NYC region.

COMPENSATION STRUCTURE

• Base Salary: $145,000 – $160,000

• Annual Performance Bonus: 10%

• Additional incentive opportunities tied to new business growth and agency expansion initiatives