Senior Account Director (SAD)

Overview 

What began in 2017 as an idea on the back of a napkin has quickly become an award-winning, fastest-growing communications firm working with some big-name consumer and B2B technology brands. At SourceCode, we’re focused on bringing brains and hustle, humanity and technology, creativity and business intelligence back to public relations.

We are seeking a seasoned agency professional to join our team as either an Account Director or Senior Account Director, depending on experience. In this role, you will act as a vital strategic lead, driving high-impact storytelling, counseling senior client executives, managing account profitability, and mentoring the next generation of PR talent.  Whether executing deep enterprise tech campaigns or shaping agency-wide innovation, you are a bold, people-first leader who balances creative vision with disciplined commercial execution.

What You’ll Do

• Client Strategy & Counsel: Serve as a trusted lead across high-profile accounts, providing high-level strategic direction to senior client executives. Develop long-term PR plans aligned with client business objectives and confidently navigate difficult conversations or productive client pushback when necessary.
• Crisis & Narrative Excellence: Act as a trusted source during client crises by conducting risk assessments and drafting proactive communications. Interview executives to build robust thought leadership platforms and translate complex technical innovations into media-friendly narratives.
• Portfolio Management & Business Operations: Take accountability for account health, revenue forecasting, and resource allocation to optimize team utilization and minimize over/under-service. Oversee client contracts, KPIs, and monthly/annual scopes of work.
• Media & Integrated Strategy: Build sophisticated, long-term media and engagement strategies spanning media, analyst, and social landscapes. Maintain absolute editorial quality control across the portfolio and leverage a strong network of established relationships across Tier-1 national business and trade media.
• Organic Growth: Proactively identify expansion opportunities within your current roster to drive organic business development and maintain high client retention rates.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development: Directly manage, coach, and inspire team members, establishing clear professional goals and delivering targeted training to upskill junior and mid-level practitioners.
• Innovation & Agency Leadership (SAD Level): Lead teams in adopting emerging PR technologies and alternative communication channels, while expanding leadership footprints into global PR management.

What You’ll Have:

• Senior AD experience: You're a Senior Account Director now, or you've been an Account Director long enough to run accounts without a safety net. You have 10 to 12+ years of agency communications experience.
• Account ownership: You run an account on your own, start to finish. You own the client relationship, the strategy and the process. You turn loose direction into a real plan and lead it without waiting to be told.
• Agency business sense: You've scoped programs and managed a P&L. You know how budgets, resourcing and team utilization shape the work.
• Team-level project management: You know everything the team has in motion and how the pieces fit together. You keep every part moving, even on days you're not touching it yourself.
• Technical fluency and storytelling: You dig in until you understand the client's industry and technology. You can take something complicated, make it simple and connect it to what's happening in the world.
• People leadership: You develop your team, have the hard conversations, and work with HR on performance issues, including PIPs when they're needed.
• Location: You're based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Nice to have: Existing media relationships.

What We Offer 

• Robust benefits program
• Unlimited vacation with PTO minimums  
• Unlimited sick leave
• 401k with company match
• Monthly mental health stipend, 2 ‘NOPE’ days/year, and quarterly wellness challenges 
• Profit-sharing program
• Workplace flexibility
• Professional learning and development 
• 6-month paid parental leave 
• Transit benefits
• Paid volunteer and professional development days

Where We Work

Remote (Bay Area-Based): We are accepting applications for this role as a primarily remote position for candidates residing within the San Francisco Bay Area. While you will enjoy the day-to-day flexibility of working from home, we value human connection and offer regular opportunities to collaborate, brainstorm, and connect with the team in person at local co-working spaces. As our regional footprint and team dynamics evolve, this operational model may adapt to include more structured collaborative opportunities or hybrid parameters.

Salary Range

Note: SourceCode utilizes tailored salary bands based on experience and role progression. The ranges below reflect our targeted hiring brackets for incoming talent at the time of hire:

• Senior Account Director (SAD): $125,000 - $160,000