Account Director

Account Director

B2B Outbound Lead Generation

Location: Ideally Manchester. Flexible on hybrid or remote working, with occasional travel to Manchester.

About the business

A growing UK B2B outbound lead generation agency running outbound campaigns for clients, led by cold calling and supported by data, email and LinkedIn.

Campaigns are managed end to end, from defining the ideal customer profile and building target data through to making calls, booking qualified meetings and reporting on performance.

Clients span technology and SaaS, professional services, manufacturing and industrial, and other B2B sectors.

The business is growing quickly and is now looking for an Account Director to take a leadership role within the account function.

The role

The Account Director owns a portfolio with revenue, retention and performance targets attached to it.

The Account Managers run the campaigns and day-to-day client relationships. You’ll oversee them, drive performance and have a clear view of which accounts are performing, which need attention and where there are opportunities for growth.

This is a leadership role, so they need someone who can pick up live accounts and an established team quickly.

What you’ll be doing

Own the portfolio

• Carry the commercial outcome for your portfolio across revenue, retention, renewals and growth
• Understand the health and performance of every account
• Identify which accounts need intervention and where there are opportunities to grow
• Act as the senior relationship for key accounts and escalation point when needed

Drive the Account Management team

• Oversee, develop and hold to account a team of Account Managers
• Run regular 1-2-1s, account reviews, pipeline reviews and renewal reviews
• Coach the team on underperforming campaigns, difficult client conversations and reporting
• Review client reporting and raise the standard across the team
• Step into senior client conversations when needed
• Contribute to hiring, onboarding and development

Performance and quality

• Own portfolio-level delivery against contracted targets including meetings booked, lead quality and attendance
• Identify underperformance early and understand whether the issue sits with data, targeting, messaging, activity or the client’s proposition
• Make sure issues are addressed before they impact the wider client relationship

Commercial

• Own renewals across the portfolio
• Lead negotiations around extensions, amendments and changes in scope
• Drive growth through additional campaigns and services
• Work with senior leadership on pricing, contracts and commercial decisions
• Identify at-risk accounts early and put plans in place to protect revenue

Standards and reporting

• Report portfolio performance to senior leadership
• Ensure campaign, contact and pipeline data is accurate
• Improve processes across the account function, including playbooks, reporting, QA, handovers and escalation routes

About you

The key requirement is experience in a B2B outbound sales environment where cold calling has been a core activity.

You won’t personally be making the calls in this role, but you need to have done it yourself and understand what good outbound looks like.

Essential

• Strong B2B sales or Account Management experience within a cold-call-led outbound environment
• Personal experience cold calling and booking meetings earlier in your career
• Experience owning a portfolio or book of business with responsibility for retention, renewals and growth
• Strong understanding of outbound performance including activity, meetings booked, attendance and conversion
• Comfortable challenging both clients and internal teams when needed
• Strong written communication across client reports, reviews and proposals
• Confident using CRM and modern outbound sales tools
• Able to travel to Manchester when required

Desirable

• Agency-side experience overseeing campaigns for multiple clients
• Experience leading or overseeing Account Managers
• Experience defining ICPs and working with data/list building
• Exposure to commercial contracts, targets and performance clauses
• Experience across manufacturing, industrial, professional services, technology or renewables

What success looks like

First 3 months: Take ownership of the portfolio, understand the health of each account and establish a clear cadence with the Account Management team.

First 6 months: Improve performance and retention across the portfolio and raise standards across campaign management, client relationships and reporting.

First 12 months: Renewals are managed well ahead of expiry, existing clients are contributing to growth and the account function operates effectively without senior leadership needing to be involved in the detail.

Package

• Unlimited holiday
• Standard pension
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Private access to therapy
• Flexible hybrid or remote working
• Ideally Manchester-based, with occasional travel into Manchester required