Agency Account Director

DACS MARKETING / SEPTEMBER 2026

Account Director

Retail, Foodservice & Omnichannel Marketing

Location: Toronto, Ontario | Hybrid (minimum 3 days in office)

Employment: Permanent, full-time

Experience: 8+ years in agency account leadership

Reports to: President, DACS Marketing Group

Travel: Occasional client and partner travel

The Opportunity

DACS Marketing Group is an independently owned omnichannel marketing agency focused on insight-led shopper marketing, conversion and measurable sales growth.

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Account Director to lead a major new client account, bringing the strategic thinking, operational discipline and commercial accountability of an established integrated agency to our entrepreneurial environment.

This senior role requires deep knowledge of the Canadian retail and foodservice landscape, proven on-premises marketing capability, and experience leading complex omnichannel programs. We value this market knowledge regardless of where it was acquired.

You will be the senior day-to-day client lead, accountable for relationships, integrated program delivery, team coordination, scope, budgets and profitability. The business involves approximately 12 briefs per quarter, requiring simultaneous management of current-quarter execution and upcoming programs.

You will collaborate with DACS strategy, creative, studio and media teams, external specialists and client stakeholders. Project management support will own detailed scheduling and task administration, while you retain overall delivery accountability. We need someone who can lead confidently, challenge constructively, establish effective processes and deliver exceptional client outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

1. Account Leadership & Client Relationships

Serve as the senior day-to-day client lead, building trusted relationships across brand, shopper marketing, sales, foodservice, procurement and studio teams.

Translate business objectives into actionable briefs, clear deliverables and measurable outcomes.

Lead client meetings, presentations, status reviews and business discussions.

Manage competing priorities, stakeholder expectations, approvals and changing requirements, providing proactive and commercially sound recommendations.

Establish strong account governance and decision-making processes.

2. Project Management, Workflow & Operational Excellence

Own the integrated account workflow from brief intake and scoping through development, approvals, production handoffs and completion.

Oversee concurrent programs, quarterly priorities, capacity, timelines, dependencies and risks.

Implement and improve project management systems, briefing templates, workbacks, status reporting, approval gates and time tracking.

Work with project management support to maintain a consolidated view of projects, deadlines, responsibilities and resources.

Anticipate bottlenecks, negotiate realistic solutions and bring proven agency practices into a leaner, faster-moving environment.

This role requires someone who has built or improved account delivery processes, not simply worked within them.

3. Retail, Foodservice & Omnichannel Marketing

Lead integrated shopper and guest marketing programs across retail and on-premises environments.

Apply strong knowledge of Canadian grocery, convenience, liquor retail, QSRs, restaurant groups and independent operators.

Translate brand campaigns into channel-, retailer- and operator-specific activation plans.

Understand shopper missions, consumption occasions, promotional calendars, merchandising, point-of-sale and operator requirements.

Connect pre-shop communications, digital engagement, in-store conversion and on-premises guest experiences.

Navigate differences among chains, franchises, independent operators and provincial retail environments.

Deep knowledge of the Canadian retail and foodservice landscape and demonstrated on-premises marketing capability are essential. This is a knowledge requirement, not a requirement for prior employment in Canada.

4. Strategic Planning, Production & Integrated Execution

Partner with strategy, creative, studio and media specialists to translate business challenges into effective omnichannel programs.

Ground recommendations in shopper/guest insights, consumption occasions, channel requirements and commercial objectives.

Maintain strategic consistency while adapting execution to specific retailers and operators.

Evaluate creative and activation plans against the brief, relevance, feasibility and budget.

Oversee account-side creative and production workflows, master toolkits, pre-shop assets and handoffs to internal teams, client studios and external partners.

Ensure appropriate quality control, proofing, version management and required approvals.

You do not need to be a specialist media planner or buyer, but you must understand how media, creative, shopper marketing and activation work together.

5. Financial & Commercial Management

Own account financial performance, including estimates, scopes of work, resource budgets, supplier costs and billing readiness.

Monitor hours, committed costs, forecasts and project profitability.

Identify scope creep, over-servicing, resource inefficiencies and margin risks early.

Manage change requests and secure approvals before additional work or spending.

Identify opportunities to expand the relationship through valuable, properly scoped services.

The immediate priority is building and retaining a successful major client relationship, not unrelated new-business prospecting.

6. Team Leadership & Performance

Lead assigned account and project management resources while coordinating shared strategy, creative, studio and media specialists.

Set clear priorities, responsibilities, deliverables and deadlines.

Mentor team members, strengthen accountability and integrate external specialists into a consistent DACS-led workflow.

Create a collaborative, solutions-oriented culture with high standards for client service and execution.

7. Measurement & Continuous Improvement

Define meaningful campaign success measures with client and internal teams.

Review shopper engagement, promotional performance, guest conversion and sales outcomes where data is available.

Translate results into recommendations and track delivery quality, resource utilization, financial health and client satisfaction.

What Will Make You Successful

This is an Account Director-level role. Candidates should demonstrate the following core capabilities:

8+ years of relevant agency experience with demonstrated Account Director-level ownership of major, complex client accounts.

Significant experience within a medium-to-large integrated, shopper marketing or commerce agency, with strong understanding of mature briefing, resourcing, project governance, financial controls and approvals.

Proven experience leading multiple concurrent integrated campaigns and cross-functional teams.

Deep, practical knowledge of Canada's retail landscape, particularly grocery, convenience and liquor, including major retailers, promotional processes, shopper behaviour, merchandising and channel-specific execution. We value this knowledge regardless of where it was acquired.

Demonstrated on-premises marketing experience and strong understanding of foodservice, including QSRs, restaurant groups, franchises and independent operators.

Proven ability to implement or improve project management and account delivery systems.

Strong commercial leadership across scopes of work, budgeting, forecasting, change control and profitability management.

Excellent client leadership, presentation, writing, negotiation and problem-solving skills, with strong Excel and PowerPoint capability and proficiency with structured project management platforms.

Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience.

Additional Strengths

Particularly valuable experience includes CPG, food and beverage, beverage alcohol, retail or hospitality; integrated shopper marketing across retail and on-premises channels; French-language capability or Quebec-market execution; category-specific regulatory and approval processes; and adapting established-agency systems to entrepreneurial organizations.

We particularly welcome candidates who can demonstrate strong understanding of Canadian retail and foodservice through relevant examples or a practical case discussion. Prior Canadian employment is not required.

What Success Looks Like

First 30 Days: Build relationships with key stakeholders, understand the business and brief pipeline, and establish essential workflow, approval and commercial controls.

By 60 Days: Implement consistent project management processes, resource planning, portfolio visibility and financial reporting.

By 90 Days: Demonstrate reliable program delivery, effective scope and budget management, strong client relationships and a practical account improvement plan.

Why Join DACS?

You will work directly with the President, lead a major client relationship and help shape the operating practices of a growing independent agency. The opportunity combines the discipline of a larger agency with the agility, visibility and influence of a smaller entrepreneurial organization.

DACS Marketing Group is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences.

A Note for Applicants

Thank you for your interest in joining DACS. We appreciate the time involved in applying. We will contact only candidates whose experience and capabilities most closely align with the role to arrange an interview. If you do not hear from us, it means we have chosen to move forward with other candidates for this opportunity. We appreciate your interest in DACS and encourage you to consider future opportunities with us.