Ad Talent

We are niched in the communications industry with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town from where we service all of South Africa, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the rest of the world. Our portfolios include Digital, Creative and Client Service in Advertising, Marketing, Media, Public Relations and Corporate Communications.

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Job description

Ogilvy PR is offering an excellent opportunity to an experienced business director who will take on a senior management position at Ogilvy South Africa. The Business Director of the Corporate practice holds responsibility and accountability for the full business function of their practice or unit as well as contributes towards decision making across the entire agency.

The Business Director of the Corporate practice is responsible for the following core functions:

Management functions:

• Developing a strategy for the practice
• Day-to-day running of the practice in line with the strategy
• Management reporting
• Member of the management council and executive council as well as participation in management activities

Financial functions

• Budgets and forecasts for the unit
• Control of monthly billings
• Management of debtors
• Management of client contracts

Staff/HR functions: 

• Management of all staff functions in the unit
• Approval and management of leave, expenses and claims
• Management of appraisals and performance issues
• Management of all new hires and related documentation

New business development:

• Development of a new business strategy
• Ongoing identification and targeting of business opportunities
• Assisting and leading teams on new business

The business director of the Corporate practice will be appraised annually according the following areas of competency:

Competency area: professional skills

• Has and applies specialised industry expertise to client work
• Has established media, professional, industry, and other relevant contacts
• Builds effective productive account teams
• Anticipates client needs and problems and develops creative and effective solutions
• Is responsible for the overall development of programmes bases on team input
• Has strong presentation skills and the ability to apply them in a range of presentation settings
• Leverages talents of colleagues in own problem solving
• Builds and develops agency and client accounts and resources
• Continually seeks new ways to learn and improve
• Demonstrates an outstanding degree of accuracy and attention to detail in all written work

Competency area: Account Management and Business Development

• Sets and manages client expectations
• Provides leadership in growing existing accounts and anticipates and leads in the resolution of emerging account problems
• Identifies and pursues opportunities for developing new business within and across company offices and practice areas
• Delivers strong analyses strategy and concepts to new programme development and ensures that the team contributes quality ideas and recommendations for new/expanded programmes and proposals
• Develops presentations for clients relative to programmes
• Ensures team is informed about, and involved in, projects and has knowledge of cases, products, services and the application of resources and technology to client work
• Is an effective planner of media relations strategies, large-scale events and other elements of account/project activity
• Familiar with Ogilvy products and O-village databases

Competency area: people management and interpersonal skills

• Is responsible for hiring, assessment and career development activities (where appropriate with senior managers)
• Works with management to identify and address supervisory training, leadership and career development needs and opportunities within the team or practice group and helps to ensure that those needs are met
• Manages staff to maximise productivity and individual, team and financial performance
• Identifies strengths and weaknesses of direct reports and team members, providing guidance and counseling on job performance and career development as appropriate
• Manages timely performance reviews for direct reports
• Delegates effectively
• Routinely seeks and shares information with colleagues
• Assists peers in problem solving
• Develops and implements solutions when required

Competency area: financial/administrative

• Contributes to forecasting and projections
• Develops accurate budget and monitors them effectively
• Oversees timely development and distribution of bills and activity reports
• Follows up with clients on collections and other financial and administrative details
• Is aware and understands contractual agreements and their impact on agency procedures
• Ensures that staff complete and submit their timesheets on time
• Completes own timesheets and submits them on time

Requirements

• Minimum eight years’ experience within a public relations agency
• Experience dealing with clients (Corporate)
• Strong business acumen, strategic and financial skills
• Must be an excellent leader with experience leading a team
• Must be excellent at building relationships with clients and have strong business development skills
• Must be a self-starter
• Own transport is essential

Preference will be given to EE candidates in line with the company’s transformation plan.

Posted on 06 Sep 12:25