Managing Director (Advertising Agency)

** This role is based in Jacksonville, FL / Base salary $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 RoleThis 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 LeadStabilize 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 AreYou 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 ImpactSuccess 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 ClientEstablished 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.