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Reference: 98961

Date Added: 9 April 2026
Closing Date: 1 May 2026

Job Title: Account Director - Public Affairs

Working For: Grayling

Location: Cardiff

Salary: Competitive

Length of Contract: Permanent

Job Details

About the role

We’re looking for an Account Director to join our award-winning public affairs practice, where you’ll have the opportunity to work on flagship client accounts both in Wales and across the wider UK, in particular focusing on the energy, infrastructure and technology sectors. 

Our client base covers a broad range of sectors, including energy, transport, technology, food and drink, telecoms and housing.

Reporting to our Head of Wales, as an Account Director your role will be centered on delivering exceptional client service with strategic oversight and operational excellence by managing a portfolio of clients, various account teams and contributing to business development initiatives. From a client perspective, you will be skilled at being able to step back and look at the bigger picture, focusing on key priorities and addressing challenges to drive success for your clients and your team. At this level, there will be an element of commercial responsibility and you’ll be viewed as a leader in your team and will play an important role in the development of junior team members.

The day to day

  • Help lead the strategic direction and delivery of client projects, ensuring timelines, quality standards, and client expectations are consistently met.
  • Support Directors in providing clear roles, responsibilities, and motivation to account teams, combining strong delegation with hands-on project oversight.
  • Help oversee the development and implementation of public affairs strategies and multi-disciplinary plans, ensuring measurable impact.
  • Draft scopes of work, support the leadership team in developing fee and cost budgets, and monitor service levels—flagging over/under-servicing and identifying growth opportunities.
  • Provide leadership on stakeholder and policy engagement, drawing on your own network and strategic insight to guide team activities.
  • Lead on complex written deliverables such as detailed strategies, policy documents, and commentary, while mentoring junior colleagues to develop their writing skills.
  • Nurture team culture by fostering a collaborative, supportive environment and driving development through coaching, feedback, and recognition.
  • Play a key role in new business, contributing to proposals, leading pitch responses, and maintaining an active external network to support pipeline growth.

Closing Date: 1 May 2026

Interview/Start Dates

Please note, we will begin shortlisting and interviewing as and when we receive applications, so we advise to apply before the closing date. 

Application Details

For further details and to apply for the role, please follow this link:

https://grayling.com/job-details/?gh_jid=4829668101 

Website: http://grayling.com/

Additional Notes