Head of Client Services

Job Description

Job purpose
As Head of Client Services, you’ll lead and mentor our busy client services team, ensuring we maintain the highest levels of client partnership, creative excellence and commercial performance.
You’ll take ownership of driving growth across our existing client base, getting under the skin of relationships that span multiple sectors and spotting opportunities to expand our work. You’ll also play a key role in winning new clients, both as part of our pitch team and through helping to raise awareness of Stratton Craig at events and through networking.
Crucially, you’ll be accountable for the commercial health of our client portfolio – monitoring utilisation, recoverability and profitability to ensure we price, package, and deliver work in ways that are both effective for clients and sustainable for the agency. As a member of the Senior Management Team, you’ll contribute to shaping our overall business strategy, refining our service propositions, and embedding a culture that balances creativity, excellent service and commercial success.

Job Accountabilities

Client partnership:

• Build deep, long-term partnerships with our clients.
• Personally lead a number of key client relationships.
• Oversee the management of our client portfolio, ensuring we deliver quality work on brief, on time and on budget.
• Lead our client development programme to ensure we are effectively cross-selling and upselling our services to existing clients to increase average project spend and overall revenue.
• Develop robust formal and informal programmes to assess and monitor client satisfaction on an ongoing basis.
• Proactively seek continuous improvement in our client service standards.
• Contribute to and/or lead key pitches and proposals to win new clients.
• Champion Stratton Craig and raise awareness of our offer through our own events and networking.

Head of Client Services:

• Drive strong commercial performance of client accounts, ensuring work is delivered profitably and in line with agreed estimates.
• Monitor and analyse utilisation, recoverability and project profitability, using insights to identify risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Work with the team to identify and embed process improvements that drive efficiency, scalability and profitability.
• Translate financial and utilisation data into clear actions, coaching the team on best practices for managing scope, budgets and timelines.
• Champion a culture of commercial awareness across the client services function, balancing creativity and client satisfaction with sustainable, profitable growth.

People management:

• Lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing Client Services team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Provide clear objectives, coaching and regular feedback to ensure team members achieve individual and collective performance goals.
• Oversee resource allocation, workload balance and professional development to support both client needs and employee growth.
• Drive talent management initiatives, including recruitment, onboarding, succession planning and retention of top performers.
• Champion employee engagement and wellbeing, creating an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued and respected.
• Manage performance issues proactively and fairly, ensuring compliance with company policies and employment legislation.

Business management:

• As a member of our Senior Management Team, report on client results, risks and opportunities as well as team development at our monthly SMT meetings – and then drive relevant actions forward.
• Alongside our CEO, lead the recruitment and induction of new team members.
• Alongside our Commercial team, ensure live contracts are in place for all clients.
• Regularly meet with the team to review loading and take measures to mitigate challenges and maximise utilisation, productivity and profitability.

Performance measurements

• Client satisfaction
• Growth in client spend
• Project profitability
• High win record with new clients

About Stratton Craig

From our office in Bristol, we help our clients to win through exceptional copywriting services, content strategy, content writing and language consultancy. In everything we write, we focus on the effect our words will have on the people who read them.

Every day, our copywriting agency helps clients increase their reach, launch new products and services, grow trust and understanding, build a digital presence or stand apart in their sector. The best copywriters do more than write: they open minds and open doors. We exist to ensure our clients achieve amazing business outcomes through the strategies, thinking and words we provide.

We work with some of the most dynamic businesses globally, writing across all formats and channels. This includes writing a number of annual and sustainability reports each year for clients in sectors including financial services, logistics, technology, retail and healthcare.

A member of the Positive Change Group, we are trusted partners to some of the world’s leading brands and business.

Stratton Craig form part of the recently founded Positive Change Group, a collective of like-minded specialist agencies with a shared ambition to help bold and visionary businesses spark positive change.

By helping them define and communicate their purpose, strategy, culture and performance – the Positive Change Group is helping businesses inspire trust, build strong stakeholder relationships and create long-term value for the people who matter most.

Come Join Us!
Joining Stratton Craig and The Positive Change Group means becoming part of an inclusive, dynamic community where your talents are nurtured, and your career can thrive. With competitive salaries, hybrid working, and continuous professional development, you’ll not only grow but also have the opportunity to make a difference every day, shaping the future of communications – and having fun along the way.

We pride ourselves on being committed to offering equal opportunities to all potential employees and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We foster a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best work and be relevant in a rapidly changing world. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply and would encourage you to let us know if there are steps we can take to ensure that your recruitment process enables you to present yourself in a way that makes you comfortable.

For more information, please visit:
www.strattoncraig.com
www.positivechangegroup.com

Please view our privacy notices here :
www.strattoncraig.com/privacy/
www.positivechangegroup.com/privacy-notice

Required skills

Essential Requirements

• 7+ years of relevant experience including at least 2 years in a senior agency role (Senior Account Director +)
• Content management and editing / QA experience
• Experience in annual and ESG report production
• At least 2+ years people management, development and mentorship experience
• Proven track record of achieving revenue targets, growing client revenues and contributing to wider business growth
• Capable user of Microsoft Office
• Exceptional written communication skills, including flawless spelling and grammar
• Project management
• Presentation and public speaking
• Pitching/Sales experience
• Experience liaising with and managing senior stakeholders including C-Suite
• Passionate about the importance and value of language to businesses
• Ability to influence, inspire, and support fellow team members – you know how to retain talented people in your team
• Strategic thinking – you are aware of the challenges clients face and adept at finding commercially viable solutions
• Energetic and proactive, with a focus on delivering the best business outcomes for our clients
• Detail oriented and well-organised
• Calm and rational under pressure, professional and well-mannered at all times
• Confident and enthusiastic with a love of client meetings and conversation
• A strong sense of team membership and accountability

We work with global clients who can require calls and meetings out of hours – flexibility is required as well as some travel and overnight stays (typically within the UK).

Desirable Requirements

• Experienced Head of Client Services
• Foreign language speaker
• Experience managing or delivering content strategies, tone of voice, SEO
• Understanding of corporate reporting (Annual and Sustainability) requirements and regulations
• Experience working with clients in the US and APAC