VP Client Partner

Job Description:

Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that delivers unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. With 16,000+ teammates across 50+ global offices, we partner with Fortune 1000 companies to drive measurable growth through integrated data, CX, and technology solutions.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Vice President, Client Partner, you are the senior-most Merkle executive on the account. You carry the account’s commercial result, set its strategy, and hold the client relationship at the altitude where budget decisions are made. Every other Merkle function on the account—account management, delivery, solutioning, and sales—contributes to a plan you own.

You will lead a portfolio of strategic accounts generating $5M to $30M+ in annual net revenue across Merkle’s integrated capabilities: Modern CRM, Content Supply Chain, Martech for Media, Connected CX, B2B Transformation, and AI & Agentic Services, supported by alliance partnerships with Adobe, Google, Salesforce, AWS, and Braze, and the full power of One Merkle + One dentsu.

The mandate is deliberate in its order: retention precedes growth. An account that is expanding while its base erodes is not growing. You are measured on the health and defense of the existing book before the increment. That means re-underwriting the value of current work every quarter—not just at renewal—then extending into adjacent scope where Merkle’s delivered performance is already the evidence, and finally opening new buying centers and capabilities with the Enterprise Sales Lead.

You are not an account manager, a delivery leader, or a sales lead. Account management administers the commercial mechanics you direct. Delivery owns method and quality; you set the outcome and the commercial envelope. The Enterprise Sales Lead originates against the strategy you set. The client should be able to name one Merkle executive accountable for their account, and that executive should be able to answer any commercial, relationship, or delivery question about it without deferring. Where the client routes around the Client Partner, the role is not being performed.

This role requires being onsite at our client location that is based in Atlanta, GA, and reports to the SVP, Growth Officer.

RESPONSIBILITIES

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, not annually

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 in support of the One dentsu growth model

Set and own the account strategy and growth plan, ensuring account management, delivery, and the Enterprise Sales Lead are working to a single, current, written plan you chair

Hold executive relationships personally at the altitude where budget decisions are made—CMO, CIO, CFO, and their direct reports—and map stakeholder coverage so that no single departure creates material account risk

Navigate complex multi-stakeholder environments across business, technology, operations, vendor management, and procurement, adapting your approach to each buyer style and extending Merkle’s footprint up and across the client organization

Manage all commercial aspects of the account: contracts, pricing, profitability, revenue and margin forecasting, and AR health, with the discipline to keep Salesforce accurate and current at all times

Bridge sub-Practice delivery with Solutioning, Account, and Program Management to streamline execution and deliver a white-glove client experience, holding delivery accountable for method and quality while you hold 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 rather than activity

Maintain a frequent, consistent stream of thought leadership into your accounts—events, POVs, workshops, and executive narratives that position Merkle as a strategic partner, not a vendor

Provide leadership and direction to Account Directors, Engagement Leaders, and Capability teams in a matrixed environment, ensuring the account team operates as one seamless unit

CLIENT CHALLENGES YOU’LL SOLVE

Client Partners at Merkle operate at the intersection of strategy and execution. Your portfolio will span clients facing transformation challenges that require integrated thinking across data, technology, and customer experience. You’ll build account strategies—and create opportunities for clients to think more broadly about Merkle’s capabilities—around problems like these:

Unifying fragmented customer data and CRM systems to power personalization, loyalty, and orchestrated journeys across every channel—replacing siloed point solutions with a connected experience architecture

Scaling content production without scaling headcount, using AI to accelerate creation, manage assets, and streamline creative operations across markets and channels

Transforming B2B go-to-market from siloed marketing and sales into integrated, account-based motions with measurable pipeline impact and closed-loop attribution

Deploying AI and agentic automation across the customer experience—conversational interfaces, adaptive commerce, intelligent service—to drive engagement and operational efficiency simultaneously

Defending marketing investment against CFO scrutiny by building enterprise measurement and analytics capabilities that tie experience spend to revenue outcomes the finance function will accept

Navigating platform migrations and martech rationalization—helping clients move from legacy stacks to modern, composable architectures without disrupting the customer experience in flight

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL BRING

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, with direct P&L accountability for accounts of meaningful scale

Demonstrated success owning $20M+ books and leading complex, multi-service-line engagements across multiple industries, with a track record that includes both growing and defending revenue under pressure

Executive relationships held personally at CMO, CIO, or CFO level—not inherited or brokered—with the presence and credibility to earn trust at the altitude where budget decisions are made

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, not just name the categories

Experience directing account teams you do not line-manage, and the judgment to set direction without relying on escalation—comfortable being accountable for outcomes produced by people who do not report to you

Strong commercial acumen: pricing strategy, multi-year deal structuring, negotiation, margin defense against procurement, and the discipline to manage forecasts, contracts, and AR with rigor

A specific account you defended against in-housing, offshore substitution, or a competitive displacement attempt—with the story of how you did it

Working command of modern AI capability and its effect on delivery timelines