Account Director

Are you an accomplished client strategist who thrives at the intersection of retail design, shopper experience, and commercial growth? Miller Zell is seeking an Account Director to serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior retail executives. In this consultative leadership role, you will shape transformative in-store environments, drive multi-year account growth, and elevate store performance—partnering closely with dedicated delivery and project management leaders who manage day-to-day execution so you can focus on driving visionary business impact. Why You’ll Love This Role Strategic Advisory Over Tactical Execution: Our dedicated Senior Project Managers own project delivery, scheduling, and logistics, freeing you from daily operational tracking so you can concentrate on high-level strategy and executive relationships. You will spend your time solving complex retail business challenges and driving innovation rather than managing tactical status reports. Proactive Retail Thought Leadership: You will be encouraged to challenge legacy retail thinking, introduce forward-looking concepts, and help leading brands reimagine their physical store footprint. This role positions you as an indispensable industry partner who anticipates client needs rather than an order-taker responding to basic briefs. End-to-End Environment Transformation: You will collaborate closely with multidisciplinary internal teams across design, engineering, print production, logistics, and visual merchandising to bring intuitive store spaces to life. Your guidance will directly influence how consumers navigate, discover, and purchase products in physical environments. What You’ll Do Lead Client Strategy & Trusted Advisory: Build and maintain deep relationships with senior client stakeholders across marketing, merchandising, brand, store operations, store development, and real estate. You will develop a comprehensive understanding of each client's business model and competitive landscape to offer authoritative, proactive perspectives that align Miller Zell’s capabilities with their goals. Drive Commercial Growth & Account Health: Take complete ownership of revenue expansion, margin performance, client retention, and multi-year program planning. You will identify new opportunities across service lines, direct proposal development, define project scopes, and lead commercial contract negotiations. Champion In-Store Experience & Retail Strategy: Serve as an expert advisor on retail customer journeys, fixture strategies, environmental graphics, in-store signage, wayfinding, and store layout optimization. You will critically review design concepts, drawings, and strategic recommendations to ensure all solutions balance brand standards, customer behavior, and operational realities. Apply Financial Rigor & Data-Driven Insights: Evaluate client initiatives through an analytical lens focused on return on investment, scalability, and margin health. Leveraging advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills, you will translate retail data into clear business cases and executive-ready presentations that guide client investment decisions. Foster Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner hand-in-hand with Senior Project Managers and shared service leaders across design, engineering, production, print, and installation logistics. You will align internal teams around a unified client vision, driving internal clarity, speed, and shared accountability across every program. What You Bring 8–12+ Years of Strategic Account Leadership: You have a proven track record of growing complex client accounts within an agency, retail consultancy, or creative environment. You know how to navigate large, matrixed organizations and earn the confidence of VP and C-suite retail leaders. Deep Retail & Shopper Experience Fluency: You possess a strong background in retail marketing, visual merchandising, store design, or customer engagement strategies. You understand how store flow, spatial layout, and environmental signage combine to create intuitive shopping journeys that convert. Strong Commercial & Financial Acumen: You bring a data-driven approach to account growth, comfortable managing client budgets, assessing profitability trade-offs, and measuring program ROI. You understand how to turn relationship equity into sustainable commercial growth. Cross-Functional Influence & Collaboration: You excel at rallying diverse, specialized teams around a strategic vision and leading effectively without direct authority. You build productive, high-trust partnerships while providing clear, constructive feedback on creative and structural deliverables. Executive Communication & Presentation Skills: You possess superior written and verbal presentation skills, capable of synthesizing complex strategies into compelling executive narratives. You are advanced in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel, comfortable building high-caliber decks and financial models independently. #J-18808-Ljbffr