Job Descriptions / Account Manager
Account Manager Job Description Template for Agencies
A ready-to-post job description built for agencies, not generic B2B SaaS. Covers responsibilities, qualifications, salary ranges, and a four-stage interview process that filters for commercial ownership and client-facing judgment.
What does an account manager do at an agency?
An agency account manager owns the commercial relationship for a portfolio of clients. They are the person the client calls when something is wrong, when a new project starts, and when it's time to renew. Internally, they translate client goals into briefs, defend timelines and scope, and make sure the agency's work creates enough measurable value to earn the next contract.
Unlike in-house customer success managers, agency AMs juggle multiple clients at once, often across different verticals. They're responsible for retainer health, organic growth, margin, and coordinating internal specialists. The best ones know how to say no to clients without losing them and how to push back on their own leadership when the numbers don't work.
Job description template
Job title
Account Manager (Agency)
Summary
We're hiring an Account Manager to own a portfolio of our retainer clients, grow those accounts organically, and partner with our strategy, creative, and delivery teams to produce work that makes us indispensable. You'll be the commercial owner of every account in your book, from kickoff through renewal.
Responsibilities
- Own the end-to-end commercial relationship for a portfolio of 4-8 retainer and project clients.
- Write, negotiate, and renew statements of work, change orders, and annual retainers.
- Build quarterly account plans that tie agency work to measurable client business goals.
- Run weekly client status calls and lead quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with senior stakeholders.
- Protect agency margin by catching scope creep early and pricing new work accurately.
- Partner with strategy, creative, and delivery leads to translate client needs into briefs.
- Identify and close organic growth opportunities within existing accounts (expansion, cross-sell).
- Forecast account revenue monthly and flag churn risk 60-90 days in advance.
- Resolve escalations with empathy and clarity, protecting both the client relationship and internal teams.
- Keep the CRM, PM tool, and finance system in sync so leadership has real-time account health visibility.
Required qualifications
- 4+ years managing retainer or project-based accounts inside a marketing, creative, or digital agency.
- Demonstrated experience owning at least $500K-$1M in annual client revenue.
- Commercial fluency: can read a project P&L, explain utilization, and negotiate scope.
- Track record of growing at least one account by 25%+ year-over-year.
- Strong written and verbal communication, including executive-level presentation skills.
- Hands-on with CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce) and PM tools (Asana, Monday, Jira, ClickUp).
- Comfortable juggling 4+ active clients and context-switching across verticals.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience in the agency's primary vertical (SaaS, DTC, healthcare, B2B, etc.).
- Prior exposure to a structured account planning methodology (RACI, success plans, QBRs).
- Familiarity with resource planning and capacity tools such as AgencyPro, Float, or Harvest Forecast.
- Some exposure to digital marketing channels (paid, SEO, content) or creative production pipelines.
- Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field (or equivalent agency experience).
Salary range
United States
- Junior (1-3 yrs): $55,000 - $75,000 base
- Mid (3-6 yrs): $75,000 - $105,000 base
- Senior (6+ yrs): $105,000 - $140,000 base + 10-20% variable
Sources: Glassdoor, Built In, Salary.com (2025-2026 US medians).
Global
- UK: GBP 35,000 - 70,000
- EU: EUR 40,000 - 75,000
- Canada: CAD 60,000 - 110,000
- LATAM / remote: USD 30,000 - 65,000
Sources: Payscale, LinkedIn Salary, Remote.com benchmarks.
Top skills to look for
- Commercial literacy and margin awareness
- Client-facing written and verbal communication
- Stakeholder mapping and multi-threading
- Scope management and change-order discipline
- Strategic thinking tied to client business outcomes
- Internal coordination across creative, strategy, and delivery teams
- Negotiation, especially around renewals and expansions
- Calm under pressure during escalations and launch weeks
Red flags
- Describes the role as order-taking or "keeping clients happy" with no commercial ownership.
- Cannot explain gross margin, utilization, or over-servicing when asked.
- Has never led a QBR or written an account plan.
- Trash-talks every previous agency or blames clients for churn without self-reflection.
- Frequent tenure under 12 months across multiple agencies with no clear narrative.
Interview process structure
Stage 1: Recruiter or hiring manager screen (30 min)
Confirm experience level, client portfolio size, commercial exposure, comp expectations, and motivation for leaving their current agency. Screen out candidates who cannot articulate agency-specific realities.
Stage 2: Hiring manager deep-dive (60 min)
Walk through two or three accounts they owned. Probe for commercial ownership, specific numbers, and how they handled churn risk, expansions, and team conflict.
Stage 3: Scenario or case study (60-90 min)
Present a disguised client scenario: a retainer at risk of churn, a scope dispute, or an expansion opportunity. Ask the candidate to outline the first 30 days, key stakeholders, and commercial structure.
Stage 4: Panel with delivery and leadership (60 min)
Cross-functional panel including a creative or strategy lead, a PM, and a leader. Evaluate cultural fit, internal collaboration style, and commercial judgment.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an agency account manager and a client services director?
An account manager owns day-to-day relationships and commercials for a portfolio of accounts. A client services director manages a team of account managers, owns the P&L across that book, and is accountable for overall retention, growth, and team development.
Should an account manager carry a sales quota?
Most agencies give account managers a growth target tied to organic expansion (not net-new logos), usually 15-30% year-over-year on their book. Heavy quotas push account managers to behave like salespeople, which damages client trust.
Do agency account managers need a creative or technical background?
No, but they need enough fluency to brief creative and technical teams, translate client feedback, and spot unrealistic scope. Many strong AMs come from strategy, PM, or client-side marketing roles.
How many clients should one account manager handle?
It depends on retainer size and complexity. A typical range is 4-8 active clients, or $1-3M in annual managed revenue per AM. Going above that usually erodes proactive account planning and growth work.
Should account managers be remote, hybrid, or in-office?
All three work. What matters more is travel cadence: senior AMs on enterprise accounts should be on-site with clients at least quarterly. Junior AMs benefit from in-person mentoring during their first year.
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