ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

Jahied Ahmed, Age 32, Senior Account Director, Transmission Agency

So what do you actually do?

I lead a team that manage a set of accounts, within the agency, ensuring that they are profitable, and growing. We take responsibility for the delivery of quality creative and strategy work that meets the client's needs and addresses their business problems.

What has your career path been?

I studied Advertising at uni and my first job after graduation was a sales job at a publishing company. I was eager to start a career and took one of the first roles I could get however, I soon realised cold calling prospects all day was not for me. I then ended up at the National Lottery as an Account Manager visiting retailers across the country however the role was not challenging at all.

I was now 2 jobs into my career and I only lasted 6 months in each. At this point, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do but I had a better idea of what I didn't want to do which was progress.

I finally found a role at a growing tech company, Ve Interactive, where I spent 3 years- 2 years based in London, and 1 year in Japan leading the client services team. It was a massive learning curve and I went from Account Exec to Senior Account Manager very quickly. Here, I grew massively in confidence and had my first taste of leading a team and working with large brands.

My time in Japan also taught me a great deal about communication and managing people from different backgrounds. It was an invaluable experience and gave me a different perspective on leadership and management.

When I returned from my year in Japan, I decided to leave Ve Interactive and join a ITG which was an ad agency specialising in Email Marketing. As I joined, the company got taken over and I ended up in a role that was very different from the one I accepted.

After 6 months, I moved on and accepted a role at Infogr8, a data led content agency. It was a small operation, only 6 people when I started. I wanted to make an impact and gain wider experience, which I did at Infogr8, as I worked closely with the MD to shape the agency's offering and proposition.

After 2 years as Senior Account Manager, I realised I was burnt out. We had great success in those 2 years however, I realised it came as a result of my wellbeing.

I took a career break for 6 months and focused on photography which was always a passion. I ended up working on social media campaigns for brands such as Starbucks and Specsavers and allowed myself to exercise my creativity.

As freelance photography income was not consistent, I finally decided to find a new role. I was lucky to come across a Senior Account Manager role at Transmission which appeared to utilise all my different skillsets, as well as be an agency that is innovative in its approach and thinking. After my first interview, I realised I did not know a lot of what Transmission did however I wanted to and I was eager to join. I have now been at Transmission for 3 years come August and have progressed from Senior AM to Account Director and now Senior Account Director.

What is the best part of your job?

Working collaboratively with colleagues from all backgrounds which include strategy, insights, content, creative, and media.

What inspired you to do your job?

A priority of mine is customer improvement. We work on all types of projects/campaigns and it feels great when you successfully achieve the goals you set in place at the start. However, it's even better when you know as a result of your work the customer's business has been positively impacted and improved.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

If you are in the room, you are supposed to be there and you play a role. You bring value. Identify what that value is and carry it out at the best of your ability.

Final words?

Look at things from your unique eye and bring your life experiences with you. This is what sets you apart and you should leverage it. Your opinion is valuable.

Check out Jahied’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

I start the day reviewing emails and putting together a to-do list. What is high priority, what can be done quickly, what do I need support with etc. I then have a catch-up with my team and we all share our priorities for the day and flag any support we need.

If I am working on a creative project I like to sit in on briefing sessions with creative teams. This gives me an opportunity to ensure internal teams understand exactly what the client is expecting from the project. I make sure the vision is clear and we are all working towards the same goal.

We have internal status calls for large clients to ensure all departments are able to share their progress on projects. This gives the client services team an opportunity to chase other team members on outstanding items as well as identify any queries for the client.

Weekly status calls with each client are essential to ensure everyone is aligned and we are on schedule with projects. We share an agenda ahead of the call, discuss key points and follow up with actions for everyone with a clear deadline.

Growing accounts requires selling in more work. I enjoy working on client proposals. Once I have a clear brief from the client, I put together a response that is compelling, answers the brief accurately, and provides options and costings. This is often presented to the client before sharing via email. As much face time as possible with the client helps build rapport and also allows me to answer questions and make sure they understand my recommendations.

Managing a team means checking in with your team regularly. I have monthly 121s where we track performance and set goals for the following month. These sessions help identify what each team member needs to focus on and helps me work out what support I need to provide the team.

Reporting the finances of each account to senior management is key in allowing them to plan ahead for the agency. I forecast for the month ahead and share what I think we will deliver and then at the end of the month review this and confirm how accurate we were. For example, if I say I will deliver 30K worth of client work and I only deliver 15K we need to work out why that was. Did the client delay us? Did we take too long to do deliver? Was I unrealistic about how long something will take? All these things are answered at the end of the month however I pride myself in being super accurate with my forecasting. The better you know your clients and their businesses, the better you can plan ahead.