Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Agency Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Agency Manager is a senior client- and operations-focused leader responsible for running day-to-day agency operations, protecting and growing revenue, ensuring world-class client delivery, and building a high-performing account team. This role combines commercial accountability (P&L, forecasting, new business support), people leadership (hiring, coaching, performance management), and operational rigour (resourcing, processes, vendor and contract management) to ensure clients receive strategic counsel and flawless campaign execution across creative, paid media, and activation channels.

Primary SEO keywords: Agency Manager, agency operations, client services manager, P&L management, account leadership, new business growth, client retention, marketing agency, advertising management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Account Manager / Account Director with multi-channel campaign experience
Business Development Manager or New Business Lead within an agency
Project / Production Manager with client-facing responsibilities

Advancement To:

Director of Agency Operations
Head of Client Services / Managing Director
VP of Accounts / Client Strategy

Lateral Moves:

Strategy Director / Head of Strategy
Operations Director / Program Management Lead
Business Development Director (New Business & Partnerships)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own full P&L responsibility for an agency portfolio or practice area: set revenue targets, manage costs, report margin performance, and implement corrective plans to achieve financial objectives.
Build, present, and maintain revenue forecasts and pipeline reports; work closely with business development and finance to ensure predictable monthly and quarterly results.
Lead account leadership on strategic planning and profitability: ensure all client programs are scoped, priced, and staffed to meet margin, timeline, and quality targets.
Act as the senior client relationship owner: lead executive-level meetings, present quarterly business reviews, align on strategy, and act as escalation point for client concerns.
Drive new business support and pitching: collaborate with BD, strategy, creative and media leads to craft pitches, develop proposals, set pricing strategy, and participate in RFP processes.
Recruit, hire, onboard and retain high-performing account teams; create development plans and career pathways for direct reports.
Set performance objectives and deliver regular coaching, 1:1s, performance reviews and development feedback to improve team capability and engagement.
Define and standardize agency operating procedures (SOPs), QA checklists, brief templates, and post-mortem processes to ensure consistent delivery quality.
Oversee project and resource management: allocate staffing across accounts, manage bench utilization, and implement capacity planning to minimize over- or under-staffing.
Implement and monitor client SLAs, delivery timelines, and escalation workflows to reduce churn and increase client satisfaction.
Lead contract negotiation and renewals with clients and vendors; ensure statements of work (SOWs), master services agreements (MSAs) and change orders protect agency interests.
Manage vendor relationships and third-party partnerships (production houses, media vendors, measurement partners), negotiating terms and ensuring deliverables meet expectations.
Oversee campaign execution governance across channels (creative, content, paid media, social, SEO, analytics), ensuring alignment to client KPIs and brand guidelines.
Ensure cross-functional coordination with strategy, creative, media, analytics, and production to deliver integrated solutions and single-client experiences.
Develop and analyze performance reporting and dashboards that link agency activity to client business outcomes; present insights and recommendations to clients and internal stakeholders.
Drive client retention and growth plans by identifying upsell opportunities, productizing services, and developing long-term roadmaps aligned to client objectives.
Own risk management for client portfolios: identify revenue and delivery risks early, build mitigation plans, and communicate transparently to stakeholders.
Budget, approve and control major discretionary spend such as production budgets, software licenses, and subcontractor costs to preserve margin.
Champion continuous improvement: run post-campaign reviews, identify process bottlenecks, and lead initiatives to improve speed-to-market and reduce rework.
Ensure compliance with all legal, regulatory and brand safety requirements relevant to client work (privacy, advertising standards, IP usage).
Represent the agency at industry events, client conferences, and trade shows to build brand credibility and source potential business leads.
Mentor senior account leaders to build succession plans; foster an inclusive culture that elevates collaboration and professional growth.
Lead pricing strategy and fee model innovation (retainer, project-based, performance-based), ensuring transparency and fair value exchange for agency and client.
Drive the adoption of technology, CRM (e.g., Salesforce), project management tools (e.g., Asana, Jira, Teamwork) and reporting platforms to improve visibility, billing accuracy and client reporting.

Secondary Functions

Prepare and contribute to monthly and quarterly executive-level business reviews and case studies that highlight the agency’s impact.
Support ad-hoc commercial analysis such as margin improvement studies, pricing sensitivity, and client lifetime value estimations.
Serve as a subject-matter expert for internal training on client management best practices, negotiation, and P&L literacy.
Coordinate with HR and finance on headcount planning, benefits budgeting, and compensation calibration for account teams.
Facilitate cross-agency knowledge sharing and center-of-excellence initiatives to scale successful campaign tactics and operational improvements.
Oversee the creation and maintenance of client-facing deliverables templates (SOWs, reporting decks, creative briefs) to ensure consistency and brand compliance.
Manage conflict resolution between internal teams and clients, ensuring outcomes that preserve relationships while protecting agency constraints.
Validate and approve final client billing and invoicing to ensure accuracy and timely revenue recognition.
Collaborate with analytics and measurement teams to implement attribution models and tie performance back to business KPIs.
Lead pilots for new service lines and verify financial viability before scale.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

P&L ownership and financial forecasting — experienced in setting revenue targets, tracking margins, and implementing corrective actions.
Advanced Excel / Google Sheets for financial modeling, scenario analysis, and revenue tracking.
CRM platform experience (Salesforce, HubSpot) for pipeline and client account management.
Project and resource management tools (Asana, Jira, Wrike, Teamwork) — capacity planning and task governance.
Contract, SOW and RFP drafting and negotiation — understanding legal and commercial terms that affect delivery and risk.
Pricing strategy and fee model design — retainer, project, performance-based models and price escalation mechanisms.
Familiarity with digital marketing channels (paid search, display, social, programmatic), creative production workflows, and media buying fundamentals.
Data-driven reporting and analytics (Google Analytics, Tableau, Looker, Data Studio) to translate campaign metrics into business outcomes.
Vendor and procurement management — vendor selection, SLAs, and performance evaluation.
Familiarity with advertising compliance, privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), and brand safety protocols.

Soft Skills

Strong client-facing communication — executive presentation, negotiation and stakeholder management.
Leadership and team development — coaching, delegation, and building high-performance teams.
Strategic thinking with commercial acumen — turning client objectives into profitable agency programs.
Problem-solving and conflict resolution — diffuse escalations and create pragmatic solutions under pressure.
Time and priority management — orchestrate competing deadlines and multi-account responsibilities.
Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced agency environment.
Influencing and persuasion — gain buy-in across clients and internal cross-functional teams.
Attention to detail and process orientation while maintaining a strategic view.
Growth mindset and continuous improvement orientation — data-informed iteration and experimentation.
Empathy and cultural sensitivity when managing diverse teams and global clients.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Advertising, or related field.

Preferred Education:

MBA or relevant advanced degree; professional certifications in project management or digital marketing (PMP, Google Analytics, Facebook Blueprint) a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration
Marketing / Advertising
Communications / Media Studies
Finance / Management
Project Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years in agency account management, client services, or operations roles.

Preferred:

7+ years of agency experience with at least 2–3 years in a leadership position owning client relationships and P&L responsibility.
Demonstrated track record of growing revenue, improving margins, and scaling multi-disciplinary teams.
Experience leading major agency accounts or practice areas in digital marketing, creative services, or integrated campaigns.