Senior Client Lead – £85-95k FTE, c.32 hrs over 4-5 days, Remote

INTRODUCING BLUE FEATHERS
At Blue Feathers, we partner with leaders of large or complex brands to help them find the clarity and confidence to win. We support them to:
– sharpen their vision, strategy, propositions and plans
– strengthen their team’s structure and ways of working
– build the training and mentoring they and their team need to thrive

Our team is made up of senior marketing strategists of the highest calibre – experts in identifying, extracting and synthesising the insights and ideas brands need to move forward. They work alongside specialists in customer experience, process design, org design and training to ensure everything connects together seamlessly.

But we bring more than strategic excellence. We build strong, human relationships, balancing empathy with challenge to create genuine partnership. Working in true collaboration, we develop shared ownership of the work and support you to inspire and empower your team and your wider business.

Our brilliant clients include Tesco, Michelin, John Lewis, Booking.com, Simplyhealth, Greene King, Primark and Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The Senior Client Lead is the Managing Director’s senior partner in driving the growth of the agency and overseeing the day-to-day running of the team. The role focuses on developing client relationships, shaping opportunities into clear and compelling proposals, and ensuring the agency is resourced effectively to deliver high‑quality work today and as the agency scales. The Senior Client Lead connects commercial opportunity, best practice marketing knowledge and delivery reality to drive sustainable growth, strong team utilisation and engagement, and confident, satisfied clients.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Client relationships & opportunity shaping
● Support the Managing Director (MD) in managing and growing client relationships – own some relationships and partner with the MD on others, covering these solo when the MD is not available
● Act as a highly credible senior agency representative, an expert in strategic marketing and client engagement
● Lead client briefings, chemistry meetings, and opportunity‑shaping conversations, in person and online
● Actively participate in industry events as a way to build relationships with potential clients whilst also staying in touch with changes and trends in the industry
● Contribute ideas and content to the agency’s marketing efforts and actively drive a public profile (on LinkedIn and in your in-real-life network) on behalf of the agency

Proposals & agency growth activity
● Write client-facing proposals, pitches, and scopes of work for low to medium‑value projects
● Translate marketing briefs into clear proposals across the agency’s service pillars: vision, strategy & planning; structure & process; capability
● Work with Principals, Project Managers and specialist team members to shape approach, timelines, deliverables, pricing, and resourcing for projects
● Ensure proposals are commercially sound, clearly written, and aligned to the agency’s positioning, and translate into sign-off from clients
● Own proposal development end‑to‑end, presenting final versions for MD review and sign‑off
● Lead the presentation of proposals to clients

Resource planning & utilisation
● Own resource planning across the agency, balancing pipeline demand with delivery capacity
● Understand skills, experience and development needs in the team and use this to put project teams together to optimise performance on projects
● Plan resourcing across the team against live work, project delays and forecast opportunities
● Monitor and actively manage utilisation rates for the whole team to support commercial performance and agency sustainability
● Identify gaps in capability or capacity and recommend solutions (freelance, hire, re‑scope, re‑prioritise)
● Maintain an overview of agency workload, pinch points, and upcoming needs
● Use AI to optimise delivery of all aspects of the role

Recruitment & team structure development
● Lead recruitment activity in line with agency growth plans
● Define role requirements and work with the MD, Finance Director and Principals as appropriate on hiring decisions
● Run team meetings by understanding the needs of the team and agency to optimise the impact of time spent together
● Work closely with the Business Support Manager, who will manage scheduling and logistics for recruitment and team activities
● Line manage the Business Support Manager, providing direction, feedback, and support

Agency leadership
● Act as a senior internal connector between growth, delivery, and resourcing
● Bring commercial insight into planning, forecasting, and decision‑making
● Help evolve agency pricing thinking
● Serve as a trusted sounding board and sparring partner to the Managing Director

MEASURES OF SUCCESS
● A healthy, well‑defined pipeline aligned to the agency’s positioning and capacity
● High quality, highly effective proposals – 90% of proposals presented are converted into signed off projects (excluding pitches)
● Clients experience clarity, confidence, and continuity from brief to delivery
● Effective resource planning that supports sustainable utilisation
● Recruitment needs are anticipated and delivered smoothly
● Team meetings are occasions all team members prioritise and participate in
● The Business Support Manager operates effectively and feels well supported
● The MD gains c.16 hours a week to work on growing the business

THE TYPE OF PERSON WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Experience
● Depth of experience in a senior client services role for a marketing agency or consultancy
● Proven experience shaping marketing briefs into scopes, proposals, and statements of work
● Experience working across the agency’s service pillars: vision, strategy & planning; structure & process; capability
● Experience balancing commercial ambition with realistic delivery and resourcing
● Line‑management experience is desirable

Skills & capabilities
● Strong commercial and strategic judgement within an agency context and confidence to progress unguided when needed
● Strong strategic marketing skills; experience across all of the agency’s service pillars is preferable: vision, strategy & planning; structure & process; capability
● Can synthesise and clarify information received – verbally and in written form – to express clearly what clients and potential clients really want
● Excellent written communication, particularly in proposals and client-facing documentation
● Confident facilitating conversations with senior marketing leaders
● Strong planning and coordination skills across people, projects, and pipeline
● Comfortable working with fees, pricing models, and utilisation metrics
● Comfortable with technology and AI

Behaviours & ways of working
● Credible, calm, and collaborative – a genuine partner to the MD and to clients
● Confident operating with senior responsibility in a growing agency
● Takes full ownership, works proactively and follows through on commitments
● Pragmatic: able to make trade‑offs and decisions in a fast‑moving agency environment
● High attention to detail in every aspect of work
● Values clarity and high quality delivery
● A clear thinker
● Passionate about marketing and enjoys keeping up to date with the industry

PRACTICALITIES & PERKS
● £85-95k FTE dependent on experience
● Flexible, c. 32 hours per week, spread over 4 or 5 days, exact hours to be discussed
● Working from home with occasional face-to-face meetings, dependent on client need – will include travel to clients’ offices, some of which are based outside UK
● Pension, bonus and training allowance
● Professional home office set up needed; IT provided
● Monthly team meetings online
● Two in person team social events each year
● Supportive and strong team camaraderie

HOW TO APPLY
Please send your CV and covering letter as soon as possible. Successful candidates will be invited for an interview quickly, with a view to hiring as soon as possible.

Direct applicants only please, no agencies.

Apply Now