Account Director (Automotive Experiential)
At a glance
Director-level Account Management role at McKinney. Atlanta · $115,000–$150,000 base.
growthroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Steer daily client relationships, turn automotive and luxury category knowledge into advice, and build trust across client teams
- Run experiential and integrated campaigns from planning through delivery, connecting creative, media, social, PR, partnerships and production
- Track account burn with operations and project management, flag scope issues early, and identify expansion or referral opportunities
- Lead and coach your account team, balancing delegation with attention to workload, morale and follow-through
- Champion strong creative and experiential work, then help turn standout campaigns into case studies, awards or press
What you bring
- At least ten years leading agency accounts, with meaningful exposure to automotive or luxury clients
- You have planned and delivered experiential activations, events or brand experiences, including on-site logistics and production
- You have led integrated campaigns across advertising, digital, social or another listed channel, from brief to delivery
- You can manage budgets and project burn, build client trust, and advocate for creative quality
Who this fits
This director-level role suits an experienced agency account leader who can balance an automotive experiential client with an integrated account while guiding a team. You’ll work from the Atlanta or New York office at least three days each week and travel for client work as needed. Weekend and week-long activations require schedule flexibility. You must be authorized to work in the United States; sponsorship is unavailable.
From the employer
Account Director, Automotive Experiential
Automotive Luxury Experiential & Integrated
Location: Atlanta, GA or New York, NY
Reports to: Group Account Director
Type: Full-time
About the Role
Iris is looking for an Account Director to lead a hybrid book of business: 50% automotive luxury with a strong experiential focus, and 50% integrated accounts spanning full-funnel, 360° campaign productions. You’ll be a day-to-day steward of premium client relationships, a hands-on leader of your account team, and a champion for the caliber of work that both experiential and integrated clients expect — from strategy through flawless execution.
What You’ll Own
Client Partnership
You’ll build a deep understanding of your clients’ business, category, and competitive landscape in the automotive luxury space, translating that into sharp strategic counsel. You’ll lead day-to-day relationships built on consistent delivery, understand stakeholder priorities, and act as a trusted advisor — building toward senior-level relationships over time.
Commercial Contribution
You’ll support organic growth across your accounts — spotting scope expansion, new workstream, and referral opportunities — and contribute to new business efforts. You’ll manage project burn closely in partnership with Operations and Project Management, flag scope risk early, and bring financial discipline to how your accounts run day to day.
Team Leadership
You’ll lead and represent your account team, setting a high bar for preparation, responsiveness, and follow-through. You’ll invest in your team’s growth through coaching and delegation and stay closely attuned to workload and morale — addressing issues early and directly.
Champion of the Work
You’ll advocate for the strongest creative and experiential ideas, and partner with creative leadership to protect that work that drives our client’s business forward. You’ll help ensure standout work earns recognition — case studies, awards, press — as a normal part of the process, not an afterthought. Across both your experiential and integrated accounts, you’ll drive cohesive 360° campaigns — aligning creative, media, social, PR, partnerships, and production into a singular, powerful client story.
AI & Innovation Mindset You’ll bring curiosity and a builder’s mindset to how your team works — using AI in your own workflow and helping your team find smarter, faster ways to work across research, briefing, and reporting.
What We’re Looking For
- 10+ years in account leadership at an agency, with meaningful experience in automotive and/or luxury categories
- Direct experience planning and executing experiential programs — activations, events, brand experiences — including on-site production and logistics
- Proven experience leading integrated, 360° campaign productions — connecting advertising, digital, social, PR, partnerships, and/or media into cohesive campaigns from brief through delivery
- Confident leader to the team who is highly organized and builds close client relationships
- Ability to activate beyond experiential - inclusive of advertising programs, partnerships, PR team coordination, and social/influencer marketing. While we have a team to support PR/Social, an understanding of how this works best with workstreams is key
- Management of two clients (one automotive experiential; one integrated) with ability to prioritize the right workstreams
- Strong client relationship instincts, with a track record of building trust across a client organization
- Financial fluency — scoping, burn management, budget discipline
- A genuine point of view on creative quality, and the confidence to advocate for it with clients
- Comfort working with AI tools and interest in bringing new ways of working to the team
- Requirement to work in-office at least 3 days per week (Tues, Wed, Thursday), and available for client travel as needed, including on-site experiential activations. There are both weekend activations and some activations that can be up to a week long, so flexibility is required
About Iris
Participate or perish. It’s not just our rallying cry – it’s a creative imperative. Iris is the global creative micro-network built for brands that refuse to blend in. With 650 people across 11 offices, we help clients like Samsung, Bentley, Wellstar, Beiersdorf, Samsonite, and Barclays show up in culture with work that stands apart. Powered by Participation, and brought to life across paid, earned and owned media, our agency model is big enough to be dangerous, small enough to stay agile. Founded outside the ad establishment in 1999, Iris has always been defined by its outsider mindset – one that still drives our mission today.
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and recruit on talent alone, regardless of age, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, education, class, sexual orientation or disability. We champion diversity and believe it not only benefits, but enhances our creativity, our company and the wider society at large.
Salary Range
Our estimated range for this role is $115,000 - $150,000
Compensation packages are based on the skill level and experience each candidate brings to their role. There may also be a more senior or junior position available that could be a better fit with your expertise. Each level has its own compensation range.
We pride ourselves on competitive salaries, and ensuring pay equity exists across our organization. We benchmark each position against existing employee competencies and 4As compensation data which includes geographic and agency size benchmarks. We also meet with department leaders 3x/year to ensure we are supporting employees in living into their full potential. Our promotions are not limited to a specific time per year. Promotions are tied to performance.
Right To Work In The US
You must be authorized to work in the US for any employer. At this time, we are not sponsoring or providing assistance with obtaining work authorization.
We are in the office Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on a hybrid schedule. We look forward to meeting you!
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