Publicis Groupe

Company Description

Prodigious JHB is the Content and Production division of Publicis Groupe Africa and is driven by an experienced team of professionals who strongly believe in the power of collaboration. Prodigious brings together specialist production expertise in video, digital and print to design, produce and deliver brand content across all channels.

This is a unique opportunity to work with South Africa’s leading creative agencies on cutting edge creative and exciting projects, as well as with global brands. Globally, we boast 3,500+ employees operating out of over 40 locations worldwide which provides an excellent opportunity to learn and grow within the Publicis network locally and globally.

Job Description

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to support the team whilst managing client and MEA based Publicis Agency relationships. You should be someone who views marketing and advertising as a career and not just a job. You must be passionate about working in a fast paced and energetic environment, no two days are ever the same - so if new challenges excite you, and you have the ability to multitask like a pro with a strong project management skillset, then this role is perfect for you.

As an Account Manager/Project Manager you’ll be supporting the team to produce memorable and effective transcreated campaigns for our clients. All the while building strong relationships with both our clients and internal agency stakeholders. You’ll also be involved in running internal agency projects and tasks, which gives invaluable experience in understanding the many facets that make up an advertising agency.

You need to be able to hit the ground running from day 1, be a self-starter and consistently drive excellence with a keen eye for detail.

We’re looking to build something awesome, and for that to happen we need the right people. In other words, we’re going to be really fussy. In fact, the right personality is just as important as the right experience. We’re here to work hard and have fun.

The Account Manager/Project Manager will be responsible for: 

• Management of digital campaigns and communication on a day-to-day basis.
• Management of client expectations and service delivery by being a focal point for day-to-day interaction 
• Raising of the Cost Estimates based on the asset based rate card relevant to each project that is briefed into Production Centre.

Specific Responsibilities: 

Leadership & Team Work

• Involvement in strategy development and implementation for the growth of the agency 
• Source of leadership to possible junior staff in your portfolio 
• Identify and motivate new ways of working, both creatively and operationally 
• Become a role model for junior staff 
• Support team development
• Conduct appraisals for junior staff (if applicable)
• Contribute to and participates in personal development activities for junior staff (i.e. via coaching, workshop development etc.)
• Actively look to maintain and build positive working relationships 
• Manage up – ensure your seniors are abreast of all activity on the account and empower them to support you through open lines of communication 

Client services 

• Participate in client meetings, managing meeting protocols, agenda, etc. 
• Ensure status is consistently up-to-date and correct 
• Ensure that all meetings have thorough agendas, driving a productive outcome 
• Ensure that contact reports are delivered timeously with key deliverables and then drive out those deliverables to the agreed timings 
• Plan and participate in client (PMI) review meetings with team 
• Develop a consulting / advisory capability with client wherever possible 
• Have direct contact with the client (MEA based Pubicis Agency) on a daily basis and foster a solid relationship 
• Be consistently responsive and accessible to your client (MEA based Pubicis Agency) and team at all times 
• Have tough and honest conversations with your client (MEA based Pubicis Agency) to enable your team to deliver excellence and to create trust 
• Have an excellent relationship with clients (MEA based Pubicis Agency) where they can rely on you, you proactively update them, and you assist them in delivering their requirements on time by reminding them as required 
• Have the ability to manage all kinds of personalities and always strive to get the best out of each individual 
• Have an excellent knowledge understanding of the client (PMI), the agency, the strategy and the process in order to deliver efficiently and to the highest quality 

Account Management, Project Management and Strategic Thinking and Planning 

• Produce timing plans for all jobs and campaigns in order to drive delivery 
• Know the status of each job in the system at all times 
• Work together with your full team across Creative (studio), Production, Development, etc. to deliver high quality work 
• Manage tight deadlines while adhering to processes 
• Seamlessly manage multiple stakeholders across multiple clients under the guidance of your business lead 
• Take full ownership of every job that comes through you – ensure that every job is measured against client requirements and on-brand 
• Write excellent briefs with full clarity on all requirements and inspire creative, production and development to do a great work 
• Consider the impact of any given change briefed by client on other elements in a campaign or other jobs in the system – this might be a timing impact or it might require more work on other elements / jobs 
• Communicate with excellence, maturity and intent when writing or speaking 
• Have excellent self-management, with thorough to-do lists and personal organization which supports your ability to be efficient and effective in your job 
• Have an opinion and be solution-orientated 
• Experienced using digital work flow tools (eg Chase, Workront)

Finance

• Work with senior to finalise programme and budgets for client 
• Assume accountability for financial aspects of cost management on client programmes; aware of financial status of accounts at all times 
• Maintain an in-depth interest/knowledge of current affairs; look for links, opportunities to position company to client as appropriate 
• Assume accountability for financial aspects of cost management on client programmes 
• Aware of financial status of accounts at all times 
• Accurately review billing arrangements for clients 
• Identify early account problems and act / advise solutions, in conjunction with seniors 
• Support seniors to ensure smooth integration of new business and smooth running of existing accounts 
• Effectively manage own time and that of junior staff / resources
• Understand what jobs are in scope and out-of-scope to ensure that costs are raised accurately and upfront as required 
• Ensure that your billings are completed by billing cut off each month 
• Ensure that client CEs are approved before any supplier POs are raised 

Culture

• Support company culture; actively seek new, smarter ways of doing things 
• Be seen as an ambassador for the company 
• Join in the agency culture to build strong relationships across the business 

Excellence in Digital Delivery

• Maintain the integrity of the creative strategy and work throughout the campaign 
• Ensure that the right people have approved all work before it is sent to client 
• Understand digital best practice, platforms and specs
• Ensure that the right people have been included in client meetings to support the outcome of the meeting and that everyone is prepared and aligned 
• Keep abreast of what is happening in the market (broad communication trends and client competitor work) in order to add additional value to your client’s business 
• Be prepared to work long hours as and when is necessary in order to deliver according to the deadline and to support the broader team 

Personal Profile: 

The successful new candidate must be passionate about the advertising and communications industry, highly motivated with excellent communication and problem-solving skills. The following attributes are also essential: 

• Highly organised and loves to “keep the trains running on time”
• Detail orientated
• Multi-tasker 
• Easily self-manage 
• A team player 
• Enjoy working under pressure 
• Working independently and collaboratively with key team members 
• Hungry to learn and grow and always willing to try something new 
• Thrive in an ever-changing environment 
• A passion for storytelling 
• A keen eye for detail and a drive for perfection 
• Deadline awareness and ability to handle all kinds of pressure 
• Taking initiative and ownership of your projects, never be a paper-pusher! 
• Pro-actively solving problems 
• An acute sense of responsibility and accountability 
• Cool, calm and optimistic 
• Enjoying the thrill of a challenge 
• Motivated by a desire to add value to your clients’ business 
• A sense of humour 
• Celebrate the small stuff 

Qualifications

• Educated to a Degree level 
• Marketing qualification essential 
• 2-5 years’ experience in Account/Project Management in Communication (and with experience in digital)
• Managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders seamlessly to deliver according to brief, strategy and to the highest standard 
• You must have experience running jobs, projects and campaigns from start to finish with little senior support 
• Experience driving out the production of high-quality work is critical 
• Digital and Production experience is a necessity
• Experience on Chase is essential 
• Experience on Workfront and Adobe Experience Cloud is a bonus
• Financial & budget management experience is preferred 
• Knowledge of digital media is a necessity

Additional Information

Publicis Group is proud to be an Equal opportunity employer and prohibits any forms of Discrimination or Harassment. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees in line with our Employment Equity plan. All appointments will be based on Qualifications, experience and best fit but preference will be given to all affirmation action candidates or designated groups.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.