Account Manager (Design)

Primary Purpose: Ensure long-term success of our clients in our strategic brand building and packaging design environment by supporting our cross-functional internal teams as we develop long-term relationships with key client accounts, delivering timely and successful package design & strategic brand solutions. Must have experience and/or a passion for packaging designs and strategic brand solutions.

Accountable For: Support on all aspects of client projects, including communication, quality control, coordination, client relationships, and execution to ensure successful projects from start to finish.

As Defined By: Workflow efficiency, successful completion of projects on-time and on-budget, client satisfaction, and positive impact amongst the internal team

Reporting To: Account Director – Marks NA

Office location is 1330 W Fulton Market, Chicago IL, 60607

General Overview: Your business brain is balanced with your creative brain. You celebrate a perfectionist lens for business, brand building, brand strategy, upstream innovation, design adaptation, all backed by strategic acumen.

You understand the role strategy, innovation and design plays in consumer conversion and the impact of great packaging. You will celebrate collective successes and learn/grow from opportunities to ensure that the team is always striving to be their absolute best

Responsibilities:

1. Get immersed in exciting, fast-paced, projects currently on the go with our client portfolio.
2. Service clients by intaking their needs, understanding the ask, ensuring timely and profitable return, and managing expectations.
3. Review projects on an ongoing basis, ensuring deliverables are in line with approved project scope and guarding against scope creep.
4. Support new incoming projects by being involved in writing proposals (process, timeline, financials), applying strategic thinking to brand opportunities, developing ideas and solutions, and preparing capability presentations tailored for each opportunity.
5. Leading the administrative processes on your projects, including filing documentation appropriately and detailed expertise of our project management tools.
6. Support in identifying opportunities respective to your clients across innovation, strategy, research, and adaptive design.  
7. Ability to lead status meetings, creating agendas before and conference reports afterwards.
8. Provide strategic critiques and quality check on all design work to ensure high standards are met error-free and aligned with client feedback.
9. Support in project kick-offs, brainstorming sessions, and client meetings, ensuring smooth project workflow in conjunction with all team members.
10. Support writing creative briefs in conjunction with the GAD/AD, with clarity on design objectives and design intent. Ensure the designs        presented align with the approved briefs
11. Understand project needs to help identify internal and external resources required to deliver on a project’s objectives

Success In The Role: Success in this role is achieved by consistently demonstrating the ability to manage, oversee and work against the clients’ growth priorities, upholding the Marks Design Pillar Standard of Excellence, managing multiple priorities with internal and external clients, and making sound decisions to ensure the business moves forward.

Education & Experience:

• BA or higher in Marketing, Business Administration, Graphic Management Services, or Design.
• 2-4 years of experience in brand stewardship, and account management. Must have experience and/or a passion for packaging designs and strategic brand solutions.

Ideal Candidate Will Possess:

• Experience in packaging design from start to finish. Upstream in brand foundation, strategy, and innovation, right through to design adaptation and completing artwork through production handed off to prepress.
• You have a thorough understanding of the creative process with experience showing understanding of critical thinking, decisive actions, and identifying potential problems before they occur.
• You can evaluate design effectiveness and brand performance across packaging and all media.
• You’re a motivated problem solver with an appetite for growth in a fast-moving, industry-defining business.
• You have a positive, proactive attitude towards opportunities and potential problems.
• You possess superior written and interpersonal communication skills that can flex and navigate easily across clients, onsite and offsite teams.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $75,000 - $85,000 annually. Ultimately, in determining pay, we will consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Group benefits currently include a selection of health care plans with prescription drug coverage, dental plan, vision plan, basic and supplemental life insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care expenses or a health savings account based on plan selection, short/long term disability and 401(k) Savings Plan.