Aquent

Compensation

Full Description

** This role is based in Jacksonville, FL / Base $130K – $165K, plus bonus / Ideal candidates are regional, or willing to relocate, for team collaboration. ** Our client – a profitable, established marketing agency trusted by top regional and national brands for two decades – is undergoing a significant evolution. We are seeking a Managing Director to architect a modern, scalable operating system and inject a fresh, national perspective into our growth strategy. This is an opportunity to directly shape the future of a successful firm committed to clarity, creativity, and measurable performance. The Opportunity: A Modernization Role This is a transformation role, not maintenance, based on a clear mandate: Stabilize → Systemize → Modernize. You will join a stable agency with established clients and leadership momentum to: Stabilize delivery and bring immediate predictability. Design scalable operational systems. Modernize workflows for an AI-enabled, data-driven environment. This is your canvas to build the next version of the agency’s operational backbone. What You’ll Lead Stabilize Delivery: Establish predictability, clarity, and confidence in work flow. Build Scalable Systems: Create frameworks for delivery, reporting, capacity planning, SLAs, QA, and client success. Modernize with Data & AI: Integrate modern tools and workflows to enhance visibility, speed, and insight. Elevate Client Value: Ensure every engagement delivers measurable ROI, supporting strong retention. Develop and Align the Team: Set clear expectations, improve team performance, and cultivate accountability. Partner with Leadership: Collaborate directly on operational strategy, growth, and margin excellence. Who You Are You are a proven transformation leader with systems thinking and operational rigor, adept at turning creative organizations into high-performing delivery engines. 7–12 years in delivery, operations, or client success leadership within a creative or digital agency. Experience stabilizing and modernizing a 20–100 person team or function. Ability to design scalable processes (reporting, capacity planning, workflow, governance). Comfort integrating AI, automation, and analytics into operational workflows. Leadership Presence: Calm, structured, communicative, and accountable. Fluency in connecting creative, digital, and media work to business outcomes. A Builder’s Mindset: You create clarity and elevate performance through structure. Bonus Points: Experience transforming or scaling an independent or regional agency. Success introducing outside-market ideas into an established organization. How You’ll Know You’re Making Impact Success will be defined by: Predictable, Visible, and On-Time Delivery. Upward Trend in client satisfaction and retention. Improved team confidence and performance. Clear, Consistent, Data-Driven Reporting. Significant Decrease in leadership firefighting/interventions. The operating system you build becoming the client’s scalable foundation. Functional AI- and data-enabled workflows in daily delivery. Why Join Our Client Established Stability: Profitable agency with deep client relationships. Clear Mandate: Full leadership alignment behind modernization. Transformation Moment: An opportunity to build what comes next, not maintain what exists. Creative-Meets-Operational Environment: Systems are designed to elevate craft. #app #LI-AE1