Senior Business Director

Job description

We are looking for a Sr. Business Director to join Translation and lead one of our most visible and consequential client partnerships

The Sr. Business Director is a senior client and business leader responsible for the success, growth, and health of a significant, complex account

This person has already demonstrated success at the Business Director level and brings greater executive influence, commercial judgment, and organizational leadership

They will serve as a strategic advisor to senior clients, lead integrated teams, and remain close to the work while actively shaping and pushing clients forward in culture

As a Business Director, you will serve as a strategic leader and trusted client partner, deeply invested in understanding your clients’ business challenges and uncovering opportunities to solve them through innovative, culturally attuned creative solutions

You’ll cultivate strong, proactive client relationships, guide cross-functional teams, and drive initiatives that deliver measurable business impact. With Program Management leading operational excellence, you will focus on shaping strategic agendas, fostering growth, and ensuring our work drives tangible results for both the client and agency

Own the overall health, performance, growth, and senior client relationships for a flagship national account

Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to Director-level stakeholders, shaping agendas, influencing decisions, and constructively challenging clients with a clear point of view

Translate complex business, consumer, category, and cultural dynamics into clear strategic direction and stronger creative work

Lead integrated teams across Business Leadership, Strategy, Context, Creative, Program Management, Production, Analytics, and Partner Agencies, creating clarity around objectives, priorities, roles, and decisions

Ensure work meets Translation’s standards for strategic rigor, creative ambition, cultural excellence, and client readiness before presentation

Develop and drive the organic growth strategy, identifying and converting opportunities across stakeholders, business units, audiences, and workstreams

Co‑own account financial health with Program Management, including revenue, profitability, staffing, forecasting, scope performance, and investment recommendations

Anticipate relationship, delivery, and commercial risks, intervening before they affect the client partnership, the quality of the work, team health, or profitability

Lead, coach, and develop Business Supervisors through clear expectations, ongoing feedback, performance reviews, and meaningful development opportunities

Contribute to agency leadership through new business, recruiting, shaping departmental standards, cross-functional improvements, and the development of future Business Leadership talent

Benefits

Health & Well-being: Our health plans provide comprehensive coverage for you and your family. We offer robust medical, dental and vision benefits, with the option to enroll in FSA and HSA to save for the care you need. Plus, you can get free fitness classes through insurance, and healthy snacks at our offices

Emotional & Mental Well-being: Focus on mental health and well-being has become more important than ever. We offer a spectrum of support for your mental well-being; from Headspace mindfulness and meditation, to free therapy and psychiatry at Talkspace

Financial Well-being: Every full-time employee is eligible to take part in our 401(k) with company match, and competitive compensation

Flexibility & Time Off: We believe that flexible time off allows our team members the freedom to balance the responsibilities of both their work and home lives. We also have 15 paid holidays and a paid company winter break. We offer generous paid leave and support for expecting parents and growing families

Discounts & Perks: We want you to feel your best, both professionally and personally. We’re proud to offer inspiring office spaces with engaging events, commuter benefits, and discounts on the services you want and need

Sound prioritization and decision-making skills in a high-volume, fast-moving, and highly visible client environmentCultural fluency and a strong understanding of how contemporary culture, audiences, and communities influence brands and businessProven experience owning senior client relationships, complex integrated campaigns, organic growth, account economics, and cross-functional team leadership for a major consumer brandExecutive presence and communication skills, including the ability to read complex rooms, tailor counsel to different stakeholders, and navigate sensitive issues with discretionAbility to lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams, resolve tension constructively, and create accountability without relying solely on hierarchyExceptional business judgment and the ability to connect marketing decisions to broader client goals, organizational dynamics, and commercial outcomesA growth mindset, with the curiosity and proactivity to identify unmet client needs and translate them into meaningful opportunitiesA coaching orientation and the ability to raise the performance, confidence, and judgment of other leadersCommercial acumen across scopes, staffing models, forecasting, profitability, and investment decisions10+ years of experience leading integrated client relationships within a creative, marketing, or communications agency, including demonstrated success operating at the Business Director or equivalent levelAbility to balance client needs, creative ambition, executional feasibility, team sustainability, and financial healthDemonstrated experience coaching and developing account leadership talent while independently navigating high-stakes client and business decisionsStrong strategic fluency and the ability to turn ambiguity into clear, actionable direction without prescribing the creative solutionExperience leading a large, complex, or matrixed national account across multiple stakeholders and workstreamsExperience in QSR, retail, CPG, telecom, financial services, sports, entertainment, or another high-velocity consumer categoryExperience working within/leading an integrated agency team or multi-agency ecosystemExperience leading culturally specific or multicultural marketing while connecting the work to a broader brand and business strategyTrack record of identifying and converting organic growth opportunitiesExperience leading scope development, staffing recommendations, forecasting, and profitability managementExperience supporting new business pitches, agency initiatives, recruiting, or talent development

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Worksite address

new york, NY, 10261, US

Who can apply

Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.