Key Account Director Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

NVE Experience Agency is a brand experience and production agency dedicated to building ideas rooted in culture and guided by the principle that 'The Right Moment Will Transform Someone Forever.' NVE's team of creatives, strategists, and producers develop insight-driven ideas rooted in culture to convert consumer attention into commitment, action, and brand loyalty.

Summary of Position:

At NVE, Client Services exists to drive growth for our clients, our business, and our teams through exceptional partnership, thoughtful counsel and the delivery of premium brand experiences. 

In this role, the Account Director contributes by leading teams and driving business impact - guiding integrated experiential programs while shaping long-term client partnerships and account growth.

We are seeking an Account Director to serve as a strategic business leader across key accounts, driving client growth, financial performance, and experiential excellence. This role blends project leadership with full ownership of account health, ensuring workstreams are structured for creative excellence, operational rigor, and strong financial outcomes. 

The Account Director serves as trusted advisor to client stakeholders while leading cross-functional teams across Accounts, Production, Strategy, and Creative. This individual is accountable for revenue growth and long-term account success while identifying opportunities for organic growth and new business expansion.

Role Priorities:

• Project Leadership: Leads large (Tier 1) projects and high-impact experiential initiatives, driving strategic direction, team leadership, and execution across multiple concurrent workstreams. 
• Business Leadership: Owns medium to high-growth accounts with accountability for revenue performance, profitability, forecasting, and year-over-year growth; actively drives upsell opportunities and portfolio expansion.
• Strategic Stewardship: Shapes the client's experiential vision, aligning brand ambition with agency growth strategy while serving as a trusted advisor to senior client and IAT stakeholders. 
• Client Relationships: Owns senior client relationships, instilling confidence and providing proactive, long-term strategic counsel beyond individual projects.
• Retainer Leadership: Leads large (Tier 1) retainers and IAT relationships at a strategic level, ensuring alignment across client, agency, and cross-functional teams.
• Onsite Management: Leads cross-functional teams onsite for high-visibility projects, guiding execution, resolving challenges and protecting client relationships. 
• New Business & Growth: Supports RFPs and proposal development from qualification through pitch delivery, contributing to strategic thinking and materials, and begins acting as pitch captain on smaller or existing client opportunities. 
• Financial Management: Responsible for full financial stewardship across assigned client portfolios, including revenue performance, profitability, forecasting accuracy, and resource allocation.

Job Responsibilities:

Client Services, Growth & Strategy

• Serve as strategic business lead across assigned client portfolios.
• Provide long-term experiential strategy counsel aligned to client business objectives.
• Lead forward growth planning and conduct regular account health checks.
• Identify and drive year-over-year revenue growth across existing businesses.
• Begins acting as pitch captain on smaller or existing client opportunities while supporting pitch development for new business and organic expansion. 
• Ensure deliverables meet client KPIs and business goals-not just project objectives.
• Influence strategy through insight generation and opportunity spotting

Account & Team Leadership

• Lead and mentor Account Managers, AADs, and AEs.
• Shape how work is structured across teams to ensure operational clarity and performance.
• Coach junior leaders in strategic thinking, financial acumen, and client counsel.
• Establish cross-functional alignment across Strategy, Creative, Production, and Content.
• Promote innovation and advancement of team capabilities.
• Manage resourcing against scope to ensure financial efficiency

Project & Portfolio Oversight

• Oversee mid-size (Tier 2) while leading large (Tier 1) experiential programs across assigned accounts. 
• Maintain visibility across multiple concurrent programs within the assigned vertical.
• Ensure scope integrity, profitability, and efficient resource allocation across programs. 
• Supervise development of post-event recaps and performance reporting.
• Ensure consistent reporting on account profitability and forecasting.
• Serve as a senior liaison between client stakeholders and cross-functional teams

Financial Stewardship

• Own revenue and gross profit performance for assigned client groups.
• Forecast portfolio revenue and contribute to agency financial planning.
• Monitor financial processes, SOW execution, and profitability reporting.
• Ensure scope changes are properly managed and approved.
• Drive financial accountability across account teams.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in account leadership, experiential marketing, or integrated agency environments.
• Demonstrated success leading medium to high-growth accounts with responsibility for revenue, profitability, and year-over-year growth.
• Proven experience leading large (Tier 1) scopes and complex, multi-million-dollar experiential programs.
• Strong financial acumen with portfolio forecasting and margin accountability experience.
• Executive presence with the ability to advise senior client and IAT stakeholders confidently.
• Strategic leader capable of translating vision into operational structure and scalable team performance.
• Business development mindset with a track record of driving organic growth and leading RFPs.
• Proven leader of cross-functional teams and mentor of emerging account leaders.
• Decisive, solutions-oriented, and calm under pressure during high-visibility programs.
• Demonstrated ability to shape culturally relevant experiential strategies that drive measurable business impact

Requirements: 

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% or more of the time.

Location: We are a hybrid company with hub locations in Los Angeles and New York. The ideal candidate is located in any of our hub locations.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging: 

At NVE, we are led by curiosity and fueled by humanity. Authentic connection is at the heart of our work and we embrace the opportunity and responsibility we have as an organization to provide the tools and resources needed to deliver the best and most equitable experiences possible for our employees and the clients we serve.

Perks & Benefits: 

• Health & Wellness Benefits 
• 401k Match 
• Communication Stipend 
• Paid Company holidays & PTO Package 
• Company get togethers & retreats 
• Paid Parental Leave 
• Flexible WFH policy 

Salary Estimation: [$115,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year]

This is an exempt full-time position. NVE intends to provide a competitive total compensation package which includes a variety of incentives, benefits, growth and developmental opportunities. There are many factors to the presented salary range, including but not limited to - location, departmental budgets, certifications, and overall job-related qualifications.

NVE reserves the right to change or modify the employee's job description whether orally or in writing, at any time during the employment relationship. NVE may require an employee to perform duties outside his/her normal description. 
Employment eligibility verification is required for this role. In certain states, NVE participates in the E-Verify program in accordance with local regulations.
Applicable states: Utah, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.