Group Director, Client Partner - AI

WHY DEPT®

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA. We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing.

Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh
* t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter. At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

We are looking for a Group Director, Client Partner to serve as the strategic US Anchor for one of our most critical enterprise accounts, with the opportunity to expand to other clients. You will lead the client relationship for an important AI Acceleration program, serving as the primary bridge between eBay’s West Coast leadership and our expert engineering & consultancy teams in EMEA.

This is not a technical delivery role; it is a strategic leadership role. We don’t need you to code the AI; we need you to navigate the organization, build trust with VPs, and translate complex technical outputs into business value. You will ensure that our rapid engineering delivery lands effectively with stakeholders, unblocks political hurdles, and turns a pilot program into a long-term partnership.

• The Trusted Advisor:
  Build and maintain deep relationships with key stakeholders (Marketing, Mar Tech, Core AI) in the US Pacific Time Zone. You will be the face of the program, ensuring DEPT® is viewed as a strategic transformation partner, not just an execution vendor.
• Stakeholder Mapping:
  Actively identify and navigate emerging blockers or political sensitivities within the client organization (e.g., aligning Marketing goals with IT/Info Sec constraints) to protect delivery timelines.
• Business Translation:
  Translate complex technical concepts from our EMEA engineering teams into clear, commercial language for client leadership. Conversely, translate vague marketing desires into actionable direction for our delivery teams.

• Transatlantic Orchestration:
  You are the connective tissue between the US and EMEA. You will capture feedback and decisions during the US workday and translate them into clear briefs for the EMEA team before their day starts.
• Autonomy & Decision Making:
  You will need to make calculated calls to keep the project moving while the delivery team is offline, protecting the team from chaotic scope creep while ensuring client responsiveness.
• Blocker Removal:
  Take ownership of US centric operational hurdles (e.g., securing IT access, chasing legal approvals, budget codes) that often stall remote engineering teams.
• Workstream Connectivity:
  Work closely with wider teams across other service lines to share progress as well as identify new opportunities to deliver Data / AI programmes and applications, solving challenges and building growth opportunities outside of the main AI acceleration work streams.

• Drive Adoption:
  Ensure the AI accelerators and tools we build are actually adopted by the client teams. You will gather live feedback and ensure efficiency metrics are tracked to prove value against the clients business objectives.
• Future Growth:
  Partner with the Growth Director to prepare the groundwork for future opportunity growth. You will identify adjacent opportunities within eBay where our data/AI solutions can solve problems, helping to secure the long term roadmap.

• Senior Client Leadership: 12+ years of experience in Client Services or Account Management within a digital agency or consultancy environment. You have a track record of managing large, complex enterprise accounts.
• Tech Fluent, Not Tech Heavy:
  You do not need to be an AI engineer, but you must have experience managing technical or platform build projects (e.g., Mar Tech, Web Builds,…