Account Director

Role description

Lead Arilo's most important client partnerships and drive commercial growth as our next Senior Account Manager / Junior Account Director - an AI-native creative agency role for someone who's equal parts strategist, commercial operator and client-first relationship builder.

Arilo is an AI-native creative production and marketing agency with operations in Cape Town, New York and the Philippines. We partner with ambitious global brands across beauty, skincare, healthcare, FMCG, luxury and professional services to create world-class creative work powered by exceptional strategy, creativity and artificial intelligence. Our studio combines human creativity with emerging technologies to deliver work that is faster, smarter and demonstrably more effective — we believe AI isn't replacing agencies, it's enabling them to deliver greater strategic value.

We're building one of Africa's most advanced AI-enabled creative agencies, and this is a leadership seat at the table as we do it.

Exceptional agencies are built on exceptional client relationships. We're looking for an experienced Account Director to lead some of Arilo's most important client partnerships while driving commercial growth across the agency. This is not a traditional account management role — we need someone who thinks strategically, builds lasting client relationships and understands how to translate business challenges into exceptional creative solutions.

You'll become the trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, working closely with Strategy, Creative, AI Production and Development teams to ensure every project delivers measurable commercial value, and you'll own a portfolio of key accounts, identify opportunities for growth and ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget and to the highest creative standard.

• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders.
• Become the strategic lead across your client portfolio.
• Lead client workshops, presentations and quarterly business reviews.
• Understand client business objectives and identify opportunities for growth.
• Deliver an exceptional client experience across every interaction.
• Become a trusted advisor rather than simply a service provider.

• Own the commercial performance of your client portfolio.
• Grow existing accounts through strategic upselling and cross-selling.
• Prepare proposals, estimates, scopes of work and statements of work.
• Monitor account profitability, utilisation and project performance.
• Ensure projects remain commercially successful while delivering exceptional client value.
• Identify new business opportunities within existing client relationships.

• Translate client briefs into clear project plans.
• Partner closely with traffic and production teams to schedule work effectively.
• Manage timelines, budgets, scopes and project risks.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget and to an exceptional standard.
• Drive accountability across multidisciplinary project teams.

• Challenge client briefs to uncover stronger strategic opportunities.
• Collaborate with strategy, creative, AI production and development teams.
• Present strategic recommendations confidently to senior decision-makers.
• Ensure all work supports measurable business objectives.
• Help clients navigate emerging AI-enabled marketing opportunities.

• Mentor and support account managers and account executives.
• Build confidence and capability across the client services team.
• Encourage collaboration across global teams.
• Create an environment built on accountability, ownership and excellence.
• Lead by example through professionalism and integrity.

• Mainta…