Client Services Manager - Paid Media (Remote)
11 days ago
Chicago
Job Description Blue Wheel is a new breed of omni-channel digital commerce agency that services brands "from click to ship." Blue Wheel's core solutions range from front-end marketing and advertising and creative services to back-end support and fulfillment across direct-to-consumer, e-retail, and marketplaces - all under one roof. Blue Wheel's best-in-class services are powered by proprietary advertising and reporting & analytics technology, Companion. We're one of Inc. Magazines 2021 fastest-growing private companies in the US and a 2022 Detroit Free Press Top Work Place. Your Role: As a Client Services Manager, Paid Media, your primary responsibility is to lead and support a team of 360 Account Managers who oversee a portfolio of omni-channel client accounts. You'll be accountable for your team's overall client health-ensuring strong relationships, strategic alignment, and delivery of high-quality work that meets client expectations, business objectives, and industry best practices. You'll maintain strong relationships with mid- to senior-level client stakeholders beyond the day-to-day points of contact-building influence and deepening the partnership. Your role will involve embedding yourself in the client's business to anticipate needs, uncover growth opportunities, and position the agency as a strategic partner. You'll also own the "business of the business"-including revenue forecasting, team resourcing, and account utilization-ensuring your team is operating efficiently and profitably. Acting as a coach, mentor, and escalation point, you'll guide your team in delivering high-impact omni-channel strategies across paid media (SEM, social, video, programmatic), creative, lifecycle marketing, organic social, and influencer. You'll collaborate closely with cross-functional department leads to help your team develop strategies that are innovative, actionable, and results-driven. Strong analytical skills are essential, including experience in scenario planning and forecasting. You'll oversee team performance, ensure quality control, and provide strategic oversight-reviewing key deliverables, offering actionable feedback, and helping your team proactively solve challenges. You'll also play a key role in fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous growth. Through consistent coaching and leadership, you'll empower each Account Manager to build strong client relationships and deliver exceptional results. Ideally, this role will also manage a small number of accounts directly, allowing you to remain hands-on and lead by example. Key Responsibilities • Lead and manage a team of 360 Account Managers, providing mentorship, performance coaching, and strategic oversight to support the successful delivery of campaigns and overall account health, while helping them develop into Enterprise Account Managers., • Develop trusted and strategic relationships with mid- to senior-level client stakeholders beyond day-to-day contacts-deepening partnerships, expanding influence across client organizations, and positioning the agency as a strategic growth partner., • Embed yourself in your clients' business to anticipate needs, identify opportunities, and drive meaningful outcomes across their internal teams and decision-makers., • Own the "business of the business" across your portfolio-managing revenue forecasting, account-level resourcing, and team utilization to ensure profitability and efficiency., • Support the career development of your direct reports by setting goals, conducting regular check-ins, and offering ongoing feedback., • Help Account Managers grow into future Enterprise-level leaders by strengthening their strategic thinking, communication, and client relationship skills., • Review and approve key deliverables from your team, ensuring they align with client goals, agency standards, and best practices., • Provide strategic direction on media plans, sales projections, POVs, and optimizations across full-funnel campaigns., • Serve as a senior-level escalation point, proactively resolving scope, resourcing, or performance issues on your team's accounts., • Build and maintain senior-level client relationships through regular 1:1s and strategic discussions, including contract renewals, upsells, and executive engagement., • Support major client presentations such as QBRs and strategic reviews, overseeing agenda planning, project scopes, timelines, and SME participation as needed., • Translate media & commerce data into clear, strategic POVs for clients, using a mix of analysis and creative problem-solving to report on key performance metrics, proactively addressing any challenges or opportunities., • Represent the voice of the client within the agency-advocating for their needs while protecting team bandwidth, managing scope creep, and ensuring high-quality execution., • Identify opportunities for account growth through cross-sell opportunities, upsells, or expanded services that align with client goals and agency capabilities., • Represent Blue Wheel's interests through good financial stewardship-ensuring proper billing, resourcing, and profitability. Protect/advocate for the team, identify opportunities to grow and deepen client relationships, and managing scope creep., • Partner with business development and sales to support onboarding, renewal, and organic growth opportunities., • Support and evaluate internal processes to drive operational efficiency and improve cross-functional collaboration., • Stay current on industry trends and platform updates, sharing key insights across your team and contributing to the agency's thought leadership., • Agency experience required and background in consumer product categories (CPG, fashion, beauty, home) strongly preferred, • 10+ years direct experience in DTC-omni-channel Marketing, • 5+ years of experience successfully managing performance marketing scopes for enterprise clients, • 6+years of experience managing or mentoring others (formally or informally), • Deep experience with full-funnel campaign strategy and performance optimization, • Strong working knowledge of ad platforms like Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, Pinterest, and DSPs, • Proven leadership and team management skills, with experience in cross-functional collaboration, • Excellent communication, presentation, and project management skills, • High attention to detail and client experience; strong problem-solving and quality assurance capabilities, • High EQ and strong interpersonal skills, with comfort managing executive-level conversations, • Ability to lead through influence and foster teamwork in a fast-paced environment, • Strong time management and prioritization skills; able to manage multiple projects simultaneously, • Experience overseeing and working within different DTC business models (scarcity, limited edition, rotational promotions, go to market, etc.) driving omni-channel performance, • Experience with scenario planning, including but not limited to bottoms up and top-down forecasting, to inform media investment decisions is desired, • Experience within Retail Media (Criteo, Instacart, Walmart.com, etc) and Amazon Advertising preferred, • Bachelor's degree in marketing, Communications, Business, or related field preferred, • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)