VP Client Partner

Overview

Senior Vice President-level Client Partner role owning a portfolio of strategic accounts generating $5M to $30M+ in annual net revenue across Merkle's integrated capabilities, accountable for retention, growth, and commercial results.

What you'll do

• Own a portfolio of strategic accounts end-to-end: client satisfaction, revenue retention (>90%), margin quality, forecast accuracy, and year-over-year growth
• Defend the contracted revenue base against scope erosion, in-housing, offshore substitution, procurement-driven rate compression, and competitive displacement, re-underwriting the value case quarterly
• Drive revenue expansion through cross-sell, adjacent-scope extension, new buying center entry, and AOR expansion, with at least two qualified non-CXM opportunities per book
• Set and own the account strategy and growth plan, ensuring account management, delivery, and the Enterprise Sales Lead work to a single, current, written plan you chair
• Hold executive relationships personally at CMO, CIO, CFO, and their direct reports, and map stakeholder coverage so no single departure creates material account risk
• Navigate complex multi-stakeholder environments across business, technology, operations, vendor management, and procurement
• Manage all commercial aspects of the account: contracts, pricing, profitability, revenue and margin forecasting, and AR health, keeping Salesforce accurate and current
• Bridge sub-Practice delivery with Solutioning, Account, and Program Management, holding delivery accountable for method and quality while holding the commercial result
• Partner with Alliance leaders (Adobe, Google, Salesforce, AWS, Braze) on joint account planning, pipeline mapping, and co-sell motions, bringing at least one Alliance Joint Teaming motion per account growth plan annually
• Run a proactive Client Partner cadence: Innovation Days, Discovery Workshops, Executive Business Reviews, and quarterly value reviews structured around measured outcomes
• Maintain a consistent stream of thought leadership into your accounts, including events, POVs, workshops, and executive narratives
• Provide leadership and direction to Account Directors, Engagement Leaders, and Capability teams in a matrixed environment

What you'll need

• 15+ years of progressive experience in client services, client management, or enterprise account leadership within an advertising agency, consultancy, marketing services firm, systems integrator, or client-side marketing organization
• Direct P&L accountability for accounts of meaningful scale
• Demonstrated success owning $20M+ books and leading complex, multi-service-line engagements across multiple industries, including both growing and defending revenue under pressure
• Executive relationships held personally at CMO, CIO, or CFO level, not inherited or brokered
• Deep working knowledge of CXM/CRM, Loyalty, Data and Analytics, Identity, Digital Marketing, Content Supply Chain, B2B, and Enterprise AI / Martech, sufficient to hold a substantive conversation with a client technology leader
• Experience directing account teams you do not line-manage and setting direction without relying on escalation
• Strong commercial acumen: pricing strategy, multi-year deal structuring, negotiation, margin defense against procurement, and rigorous management of forecasts, contracts, and AR
• A specific account defended against in-housing, offshore substitution, or competitive displacement
• Working command of modern AI capability and its effect on delivery timelines, commercial models, and client expectations
• Alliance experience with Adobe, Salesforce, or a comparable platform partner, including joint account planning and co-sell execution
• Bachelor's degree required

Nice to have

• Advanced degree

Details

• Location: USA - Remote - Georgia; role requires being onsite at the client location based in Atlanta, GA
• Reports to the SVP, Growth Officer
• Full time, permanent
• Annual base salary range $197,225 - $228,225, plus eligibility for discretionary incentive compensation
• Flexibility to meet company and client needs, which may include office attendance