Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Assistant Account Executive

🎯 Role Definition

The Assistant Account Executive (AAE) is an early- to mid-level client-facing professional responsible for supporting Account Executives and Account Managers in delivering excellent client service, executing marketing and advertising campaigns, maintaining accurate account data, contributing to revenue growth, and ensuring timely delivery of client deliverables. The AAE bridges client needs and internal teams (creative, media, analytics, operations), owns day-to-day account tasks, prepares client-ready materials, and helps scale accounts through proactive problem solving and relationship-building.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Account Coordinator or Junior Account Coordinator
Sales Coordinator, Business Development Representative, or Inside Sales Rep
Marketing Assistant, Project Coordinator, or Client Services Intern

Advancement To:

Account Executive or Mid-level Account Executive
Account Manager / Senior Account Manager
Senior Client Strategist or Business Development Manager

Lateral Moves:

Project Manager (traffic/production)
Marketing Specialist (digital, content, or performance)
Sales Operations or Sales Enablement

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Serve as the primary day-to-day support for assigned client accounts by coordinating internal resources, responding to client requests promptly, and ensuring all deliverables meet scope, quality, timeline, and budget expectations.
Maintain and update account data in CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar), ensuring contact records, opportunity stages, activity logs, and renewal dates are accurate to support forecasting and pipeline management.
Prepare persuasive, client-ready proposals, statements of work (SOWs), pricing estimates, and scopes of work by collaborating with sales leadership, finance, and operations to ensure margins and contractual terms are aligned.
Assist in monthly and quarterly revenue forecasting by compiling pipeline intelligence, qualifying opportunities, tracking key KPIs, and escalating risks or opportunities to the Account Executive and leadership.
Draft and deliver high-quality client communications (emails, status updates, executive summaries) that articulate campaign progress, results, next steps, and recommendations to strengthen client relationships.
Support campaign setup, trafficking, and launch coordination for digital, social, and media buys by working with media planners, ad ops, and creative teams to confirm specs, flight dates, targeting, and QA checks.
Produce and distribute recurring performance reports and dashboards (Google Sheets, Excel, Tableau, Looker, or Google Data Studio) that analyze campaign metrics, interpret trends, and recommend optimization tactics.
Facilitate client meetings, weekly check-ins, and internal kickoffs by preparing agendas, decks (PowerPoint/Google Slides), taking detailed notes, and tracking action items to closure.
Conduct discovery and qualification of inbound and outbound leads by researching prospect companies, mapping organizational stakeholders, and routing qualified opportunities to Account Executives.
Collaborate with creative teams to brief, review, and quality-assure creative assets—ensuring creative is on-brand, follows client guidance, and adheres to technical specifications.
Manage project timelines and task lists using project management platforms (Asana, Workfront, Trello, Jira), ensuring milestone adherence and proactively communicating risks and mitigation plans.
Support upsell and renewal cycles by assembling performance evidence, ROI case studies, and testimony that enable Account Executives to expand scope and negotiate favorable renewals.
Reconcile campaign budgets and billing items in coordination with finance and billing teams, validating invoices, tracking PO numbers, and resolving discrepancies to accelerate collections.
Monitor campaign performance in real-time (ad platforms, GA4, DSPs) and coordinate rapid optimization changes (creative swaps, budget reallocations, targeting tweaks) based on data-driven insights.
Draft and manage contractual documents and amendments by working with legal and procurement to process NDAs, SOWs, and vendor contracts under established templates and approval processes.
Perform competitive and market research to provide account teams with relevant industry trends, competitor activity, and product insights that inform strategy and tactical recommendations.
Lead quality assurance (QA) and post-launch audits to ensure tracking pixels, conversion events, and analytics tags are firing correctly; coordinate fixes with analytics and development teams.
Develop and maintain internal account playbooks, client onboarding documentation, and knowledge base articles that institutionalize best practices and accelerate new-hire ramp-up.
Coordinate with third-party vendors, media partners, and influencers by managing timelines, deliverables, and payment logistics to ensure partner satisfaction and campaign integrity.
Track and escalate client issues and incident reports—owning communication, troubleshooting steps, status updates, and timely resolution while documenting lessons learned to prevent recurrence.
Support sales enablement by creating case studies, testimonials, and client-facing collateral that highlight successes and tangible outcomes to be used in commercial pursuits.
Assist with event planning and execution (client webinars, live events, trade shows) by handling logistics, speaker coordination, materials, checklists, and on-site or virtual delivery support.
Maintain a continuous improvement mindset by proposing process enhancements, automation opportunities, and efficiency gains to streamline account operations and reduce manual work.

Secondary Functions

Provide ad-hoc research and analytical support for internal proposals, pitches, and RFP responses by compiling benchmark data, media rates, and case examples.
Support new client onboarding flows—setting up accounts in advertising platforms, creating shared folders, sending welcome materials, and aligning internal team responsibilities.
Help with low-complexity contract administration tasks, such as document formatting, version control, and routing for execution through e-signature platforms.
Contribute to cross-functional training initiatives by documenting recurring issues, creating how-to guides, and conducting short knowledge-sharing sessions.
Participate in periodic business reviews (QBRs) and help prepare executive-level summaries that translate performance into business outcomes for clients.
Assist finance with month-end close tasks for account-level revenue recognition support and the upload of necessary documentation for accurate invoicing.
Support marketing and demand generation by helping to identify case study candidates and coordinating client approvals and interviews.
Serve as a backup liaison to internal creative or operations teams during peak periods or team staffing gaps.
Collect and maintain competitive intelligence and market sizing inputs to support strategic planning and territory coverage for senior account leadership.
Volunteer to help run internal process audits and compliance checks (brand safety, ad policy adherence, data privacy) and escalate findings for remediation.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

CRM proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics): manage pipelines, log activities, and generate opportunity reports for accurate forecasting and sales operations.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data cleaning) for building reports, trend analysis, and budget reconciliations.
Presentation and slide design (PowerPoint, Google Slides) to craft client-ready decks, proposals, and executive summaries that communicate insights and next steps.
Analytics and reporting tools (Google Analytics / GA4, Google Data Studio, Tableau, Looker) to interpret campaign performance and produce actionable insights.
Familiarity with digital advertising platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, DV360, The Trade Desk) and basic ad operations concepts like pixels, conversion tracking, and bid strategies.
Experience with project management platforms (Asana, Jira, Workfront, Trello) to coordinate timelines, sprints, and cross-functional task ownership.
Basic financial literacy (pricing models, margin calculations, budget pacing) to support billing, invoicing, and cost reconciliation tasks.
Experience using collaboration and communication tools (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace) to maintain fast, documented team workflows.
Proposal and contract management skills (SOWs, NDAs, amendments) including familiarity with e-signature tools (DocuSign, Adobe Sign).
Data visualization and dashboard creation to turn raw performance data into summaries that help guide client decision-making.
Knowledge of marketing fundamentals (campaign lifecycle, media planning, creative production) to effectively brief and align internal teams.

Soft Skills

Exceptional client communication: succinct, professional, and empathetic written and verbal communication tailored to executive and operational partners.
Strong organizational ability and attention to detail to manage simultaneous tasks, deliverables, and deadlines across multiple accounts.
Problem-solving and critical thinking: synthesize data and stakeholder inputs to propose pragmatic, prioritized solutions under time constraints.
Time management and prioritization: manage high-volume workloads, triage urgent issues, and meet SLAs without sacrificing quality.
Collaborative teamwork: build productive relationships across sales, creative, media, analytics, and finance to deliver cohesive client experiences.
Negotiation and persuasion: support commercial conversations, present value, and influence internal teams to align on client priorities.
Adaptability and resilience: handle ambiguity, shifting priorities, and fast-paced client demands while maintaining composure.
Client empathy and relationship building: proactively anticipate client needs and demonstrate service orientation to deepen trust and retention.
Initiative and ownership mentality: take accountability for deliverables, follow through on action items, and escalate issues when necessary.
Continuous learning orientation: keep current on industry trends, platform updates, and best practices to continuously improve account outcomes.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in business, marketing, communications, or a related field is typically expected.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Advertising, or related discipline. Certifications in Google Ads, Google Analytics, HubSpot, or Salesforce are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing, Advertising, or Communications
Business Administration, Sales, or Finance
Data Analytics, Digital Media, or Public Relations

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1–3 years of professional experience in client services, account support, sales operations, advertising, or marketing agency environments.

Preferred:

2–4 years supporting client accounts at an agency, in-house marketing team, media company, or B2B sales organization, with demonstrated experience using CRM systems, handling client communications, and supporting digital campaign execution.