Account Manager | PR | Burson

JOB PURPOSE - SUMMARY

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Understanding the Agency

• Understand and champion Burson Strategies, its values, offering, and ways of working.
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities across group agency resources, building effective and profitable relationships while acting as a key intermediary between clients, account teams, and internal departments.
• Contribute to the delivery of Agency financial performance goals, maintaining regular dialogue with leadership on account and financial performance.

Creativity

• Accurately interpret and articulate client feedback, comments, and actions, confirming alignment in writing to ensure shared understanding.
• Lead creative briefings that are clear, concise, insightful, and inspirational.
• Actively contribute informed opinions during the creative process to ensure all work remains on-brand and on-brief.
• Lead creative presentations to clients (face-to-face where possible), clearly articulating how ideas address strategic objectives, brand guidelines, and briefs.
• Serve as a brand guardian, demonstrating a strong command of client tone of voice, brand positioning, and messaging.

Commercial Management

• Maintain a thorough understanding of Client–Agency contracts across all relevant accounts.
• Guide and support the account team on correct financial processes, implementing regular forums to ensure shared understanding of account financials.
• Accurately scope and estimate work following the receipt of new briefs, ensuring all projects are delivered within agreed budgets through regular WIP review and re-estimation where scope changes occur.
• Take a lead role in monthly financial meetings, ensuring WIP actions are completed by month-end deadlines.
• Oversee financial health across accounts, including revenue streams, billing practices, and identification of potential financial risks.
• Ensure timely reconciliation and invoicing of all jobs.
• Review debtor reports weekly and proactively follow up with clients and accounts payable teams where required.
• Maintain and update finance trackers regularly, demonstrating awareness of performance against monthly forecasts.

Strategy

• Develop an in-depth understanding of the client’s market and operating environment, contributing to competitor and sector analysis where required.
• Gather and interpret business data and market insights from clients and competitive sources to ensure the Agency is fully immersed in the client’s business.
• Understand and respond effectively to the client’s business, communication strategies, and objectives.
• Continuously demonstrate a deep understanding of the client’s brand and business when evaluating work and shaping strategic recommendations.
• Apply critical thinking to major campaign execution, ensuring relevant content is delivered through the most effective platforms and channels.
• Ensure paid media strategies align with campaign objectives and wider business goals.

Delivery

• Acknowledge all client briefs, requests, and enquiries promptly, clearly outlining next steps and delivery timelines.
• Demonstrate exceptional attention to detail across all written and presentation materials.
• Manage strategic projects to high levels of client satisfaction, with support from Account Executives and Account Directors, ensuring delivery within agreed timelines.
• Communicate clear Agency recommendations and confidently handle major strategic PR enquiries.
• Proactively manage client expectations through regular updates, flagging risks or issues in advance.
• Take responsibility for quality assurance, ensuring no work is shared with clients unless it meets agreed standards and is free from errors or inconsistencies.
• Clearly communicate feedback to clients, articulating rationales and managing creative challenges constructively.
• Develop and maintain detailed timing plans for client campaigns, updating as required and negotiating timelines where appropriate.
• Compile concise case studies at the conclusion of each campaign to capture outcomes and learnings.

Team Management

• Set clear performance goals and objectives for direct reports, ensuring collaboration and mutual agreement.
• Contribute to and support performance and career management processes, ensuring regular, constructive review discussions focused on development and progression.
• Motivate and inspire teams to deliver strong outcomes and consistently high performance.
• Maintain effective dialogue with leadership on team performance and issues.
• Address team challenges proactively and constructively.
• Identify training and development needs and work closely with HR to agree and implement development plans.
• Coordinate team participation in key client meetings.
• Ensure effective delegation of tasks and responsibilities across the team.

Relationship Management

• Demonstrate flexibility in managing multiple client relationships simultaneously.
• Maintain a consistently professional tone in all verbal and written client and internal communications.
• Aim to maintain daily client contact, where appropriate, to strengthen relationships and ensure alignment.
• Build strong, trusted relationships and act as the primary day-to-day contact for mid-level client stakeholders on assigned projects.
• Share informed, confident opinions with clients, demonstrating passion, honesty, and transparency around potential challenges.
• Confidently chair client meetings and play an active role in meetings led by senior team members.
• Collaborate with partner agencies where appropriate to deliver integrated solutions.
• Provide line management and on-the-job support and coaching where applicable.
• Effectively manage personal workload, recognising when support is required and proactively offering assistance to others.

Self-Development

• Actively pursue self-development and learning opportunities.
• Take responsibility for regularly reviewing personal performance and development objectives.
• Consistently attend and actively participate in Hub-led training and development programmes.

PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL SKILLS AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• Strong understanding of the digital ecosystem and content formats.
• Demonstrated excellence in media writing, editorial development and editing, and oversight of audio-visual content including press releases, statements, speeches, op-eds, communications kits, social media videos, features, documentaries, and educational materials.
• Proven ability to collate data and develop in-depth content such as industry and sector reports and surveys.
• Strong media relations experience across both traditional and digital platforms.
• Sound knowledge of the evolving media landscape.
• Ability to critically assess and articulate what constitutes an effective PR or communications campaign.
• Excellent project and campaign management skills.
• Highly effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Natural communicator with strong interpersonal skills.
• Previous experience managing and coaching teams.
• Experience working with senior and executive-level clients and stakeholders.
• Strong negotiation and influencing capabilities.
• High level of commercial awareness and business acumen.
• Strong organisational skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Collaborative team player with clear leadership capability.
• Proactive problem-solver who consistently adds value beyond role expectations.
• Confident, flexible, and resilient, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Fast learner, open to feedback from clients and supervisors.
• Demonstrates enthusiasm, professionalism, pride, and commitment.
• 3–5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Undergraduate degree or advanced diploma.

BURSON EAST AFRICA LIMITED – COMPANY OVERVIEW