Account Executive

As Leo Burnett himself once said: “At the end of the day, we’re just people talking to people.”

And that sums up how we think. We never forget that on the other side of every screen, watching every ad or reading every tweet are people. Not just pairs of eyes with credit cards. But human beings, who want to be entertained, engaged and listened to.

Which is why we want to make work that connects on a human level. That everyone will love. Proudly populist creative work that makes people smile, laugh, cry and everything in between. Whether that’s through advertising or managing brand partnerships with our Sports + Entertainment team.

But it’s also why we believe in being decent human beings. Either to work with or to work for. Because putting people first is at the heart of everything we do.

We believe in the power of a strong, supportive and inclusive culture that puts people and creativity at the heart of everything we do. We pride ourselves on a genuinely friendly and informal style where everyone’s invited, and the collective is more important than the individual.

We know we’re still falling short when it comes to diversity – but we’re working on it.  Really working on it. 

We’ve created the Anti-Racism Collective, to actively advance racial equality within our agency and the industry, and track progress against our commitments, in order to redress the balance and better represent the society and culture we serve. We’re working with “Free the Work” to support makers and creators from a wider range of backgrounds and we’re working with all our clients to ensure we’re building brands that actively and positively portray all types of people.

It’s our distinctive approach, combined with our passion for populist creativity and relentless pursuit of excellence that makes Leo Burnett such a uniquely special and enjoyable place to work.

Our commitment

Diversity and inclusion is a core part of our DNA at Leo Burnett. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture that encourages, celebrates and supports our wonderfully diverse employee group irrelevant of their age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability or ethnicity. Diversity and inclusion fuels our creativity and innovation, it enables us to be closer to our people and audiences. We will continue to strive to create a culture and environment where everyone feels empowered and more importantly comfortable enough to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Job description

We’re looking for an Account Executive to join our team at Leo Burnett.

Specific, we’ll need your help with

• Supporting the AD and AM on the implementation of client projects so that they run smoothly and efficiently, from developing timelines, co-ordinating creative client approvals to preparing materials for client-facing meetings.
• Coordinating and managing pre-production and post-production across a variety of campaigns in all media –across ATL Inc. Digital.
• Developing strong agency relationships, to ensure that work is delivered efficiently and to the highest possible standard.
• Working collaboratively with other roster agencies to ensure the best possible creative product across all touchpoints.
• Building trust with clients through developing open and honest relationships.
• Working hand in hand with the planning team to form a strategic partnership.
• To regularly share external inspiration and case studies both internally and with the client.
• To manage day to day finances and make sure all jobs are reconciled in a timely manner and are on budget.

What skills we’re after

Creative

•  Passionately care about great creative work. Identifying great work and articulating why.
•  Demonstrate good creative judgement and voice your opinion within creative conversations, including internal creative reviews.
•  Understand the difference between idea and execution.
• Understand and interpret client feedback.
• Provide inspiration during creative briefings with relevant references.
• Support creative presentations, by preparing all the stimulus to build the most compelling creative “sell” meeting for the clients.
•  Have an understanding of the overall process for production across different channels. Working with AMs and Producers to be able to create project timing and keep these up to date throughout the project.
•  Read trade publications and keep a finger on the pulse of new exciting work both in and out of category.

Culture

•  Develop relationships internally with key point people in all departments and within your team. Have an infectious can-do attitude, which makes people want to come to you as they know you approach all tasks with a positive attitude.
•  Have outstanding organisational skills, meaning you are always on the front foot with key information to hand.
•  Ensure all your communications/interactions are clear, concise and action orientated.
• Be curious and constantly seeking to learn.
•  Demonstrate clear communication and listening skills.
•  Manage your workload effectively and efficiently.

Commercial

• Share key commercial data and business information with your wider team
• Deliver all tasks on the deadline or flag where this is not possible to line managers in advance
•  Begin to demonstrate an understanding of the client and Leo’s commercial landscape
•  Demonstrate a strong sense of commercial responsibility - understanding the importance of POs and billing
•  Learn to treat client and agency money as if your own
• Support pitch teams with financial administration - helping to track and protect costs

Client

•  Represent the Agency in a professional manner at all times, with clients and external partners
•  Understand the landscape your client is operating in and the impact that has on their communication strategy as well as understanding their target audience, their relationship with the client’s brand and how this impacts messaging within a campaign
•  Articulate the different brand positions for your client’s key competitors
•  Constantly consider the small details of each client interaction, to ensure Leo’s is always striving for a better working environment
• Practice front-foot account management, planning ahead, knowing your timings inside out, knowing the team’s movements and planning around these commitments to ensure smooth project delivery
•  Develop strong relationships with all client contacts
•  Have excellent attention to detail. Making it your mission to know the clients brand guidelines inside and out, ensuring all presentations are delivered to the correct standard
•  Support new business pitch teams with a can-do and proactive attitude

Qualifications

What qualities and behaviours we’re looking for:

•  A desire for great work
• Clear and concise communication style
• A collaborative working style and infectious energy
•  Action oriented
• Highly organised with excellent time management
• Passionate about great creative work and good creative judgement
•  Persuasive presentation skills
•  High EQ, understanding how to read people and always thinking of others.
•  Flexible and adaptable; taking ever-changing circumstances and project demands in your stride, always the picture of calm and control.
•  Curious, always seeking to learn from those around them

Additional information

Leo Burnett has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees. In addition to the classics, Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical and Income Protection Plans we also offer;

• WORK YOUR WORLD opportunity to work anywhere in the world, where there is a Publicis office, for up to 6 weeks a year.
• REFLECTION DAYS - Two additional days of paid leave to step away from your usual day-to-day work and create time to focus on your well-being and self-care.
• HELP@HAND BENEFITS 24/7 helpline to support you on a personal and professional level. Access to remote GPs, mental health support and CBT. Wellbeing content and lifestyle coaching.
• FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES We provide 26 weeks of full pay for the following family milestones: Maternity. Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental Leave.
• HYBRID WORKING, BANK HOLIDAY SWAP & BIRTHDAY DAY OFF You are entitled to an additional day off for your birthday.
• AGENCY DISCOUNTS, onsite gym, and discount in our Publicis-Owned Pub – “The Pregnant Man”

Full details of our benefits will be shared when you join us!

Publicis Groupe operates a hybrid working pattern with full time employees being office-based three days during the working week. 

We are supportive of all candidates and are committed to providing a fair assessment process. If you have any circumstances (such as neurodiversity, physical or mental impairments or a medical condition) that may affect your assessment, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner. We will discuss possible adjustments to ensure fairness. Rest assured, disclosing this information will not impact your treatment in our process.

Please make sure you check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).

The deadline to apply to this role is Wednesday 19th June 2024.

Employees joining The Pack, which is an 18-month early careers programme that connects, supports and develops you to kick-start your career with us, initially start with an annual salary of £28,000