Business Director

Brave Bison

. Act as the senior strategic partner for key clients, building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders.

Posted 5/20/2026full-timeLondon • 🇬🇧 United KingdomLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Act as the senior strategic partner for key clients, building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders.
Lead the development of long-term client strategies that align with business goals and market trends.
Drive client growth through proactive identification of new opportunities, upselling, and cross-selling.
Lead quarterly and annual strategic planning sessions with clients, delivering insight-led recommendations.
Champion the agency’s full creative, social, influencer, and partnership offering, with specific confidence in sport, sponsorship, and culturally led campaigns.
Advise clients on navigating complex global ecosystems, including rights holders, federations, leagues, talent, and commercial partners.
Own revenue forecasting, growth planning, and commercial performance across a hub of global accounts.
Lead high‑value new business pitches and strategic responses to briefs, including global, regional and multi‑market opportunities (50% of role).
Collaborate with the MD and leadership team on agency‑wide growth initiatives, innovation roadmaps, and capability development.
Ensure profitability, margin protection, and commercial efficiency across all client engagements.
Guide the strategic direction of campaigns, ensuring alignment with client objectives, cultural relevance, and regional market nuances.
Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of Account Directors, Managers, and Executives, fostering a high‑performance, collaborative culture.
Promote best‑practice ways of working across distributed teams and international partners.
Represent the agency at industry, sport, media and partnership events, panels, and thought‑leadership forums.

Requirements

What you’ll need

6–8+ years’ experience in senior client leadership roles within a creative, digital, social, or partnership‑led agency.
Proven track record of growing client accounts, leading strategic transformation, and driving commercial success.
Strong experience working with global or multi‑market clients, with confidence navigating international complexity.
Demonstrable understanding of sport, sponsorship, partnerships, and fan‑led communities, and how these intersect with social and digital platforms.
Experience dealing with sports rights holders, either directly as a client or through a partnerships division.
Deep understanding of social media, influencer marketing, creator partnerships, and digital innovation.
Strong commercial acumen with experience in forecasting, budgeting, business planning, and margin management.
Exceptional communication, negotiation, and leadership skills, with credibility at senior client and board level.
A strategic thinker with a passion for innovation, culture, sport, and client success.
Proficient in business tools including PowerPoint, Excel, and Microsoft Workspace.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health insurance
Retirement plans
Paid time off
Flexible work arrangements
Professional development opportunities

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

client leadershipstrategic transformationcommercial successforecastingbudgetingbusiness planningmargin managementinfluencer marketingdigital innovationsocial media

Soft Skills

communicationnegotiationleadershipstrategic thinkingcollaborationmentoringrelationship buildingcultural relevancecreativityproblem-solving