Account Director

Overview: Suitcase is one of the best interactive agencies in the region focusing exclusively on digital marketing and technology. Our agency is filled with opportunities for people who want to invent the digital future. We imagine. We create. We inspire.

Responsibilities

• Senior Client and Industry Relationships:
  • Owns senior client relationships (mid‐size clients) or shares responsibility with CEO and Partners (large‐size clients) and works to contribute strategic value. Runs day‐to‐day operations of the accounts and the accounts team.
  • Shares responsibility for 100% client retention by working with the account coordinators and leadership team to maintain mid to senior level relationships allowing us to: proactively identify client risks or opportunities and managing client teams to effectively respond to these client needs
  • Works across multiple verticals, but has the ability to develop a broader industry network of clients and contacts
  • Acquire and develop long‐term relationships with strategic clients
  • Build strong rapport, new and existing clients
  • Responsible for statement of work and change orders. Works with senior leadership on large contracts
  • Ability to aid in qualification leads and help close new business

• Engagement P&L Ownership:
  • Communicates progress of revenue to budget forecast to the team throughout the year
  • Attains P&L targets through a combination of existing business contributions and aiding agency new business development
  • Monitors P&L fluctuations to proactively identify risks and opportunities
  • Working with Account Coordinators and Finance to generate invoices on schedule and collect fees using guidelines set by the Suitcase finance department
  • Assists in setting account investment priorities. Executes on investments and monitors progress and results
  • Consistently cultivates a portfolio of new business efforts within your accounts.

• Team Management:
  • Identify needs for core account team members on assigned accounts
  • Responsible of providing status updates on assigned accounts - regularly monitoring overall account health, project status, opportunities, risks, etc.
  • Lead highly skilled client delivery teams to enhance and deepen client relationships:
    • Identify key issues that are associated with clients within their industry
    • Identify specific challenges and determine priority for them
    • Drive team to solution
    • Maintains a low staff turnover across the engagement
    • Advise PM and resource management on matters on the best interest of the client
    • May supervises 2‐4 employees; carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with Suitcase policies and employment laws.
    • Builds team expertise by mentoring/training junior team members
    • Works with the CEO and team members to develop and/or promote best practices for the team

Qualifications

• Required:
  • 8+ years of related industry experience, preferably consulting, interactive, agency or direct marketing experience
  • College degree required, MBA or other advanced degree preferred
  • 5+ years of demonstrated track record of developing senior level client relationships – strong client references are necessary
  • Managing teams of 4+ people
  • Strong knowledge or experience in marketing and advertising, with particular emphasis on interactive media, direct marketing, strategy, and analytics
  • Specific industry (e.g. retail, tourism, real estate) marketing expertise a plus with existing relationships with Business, IT or Marketing executives within Fortune 2000 companies



• General Skills and Knowledge:
  • Creative thinking and analytical problem solving
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills
  • Ability to collaborate effectively at all levels and functions
  • Strong client‐service orientation
  • Track record of leadership, coaching and mentoring abilities
  • Proven ability to manage projects to successful completion, multi‐task, and work within tight deadlines
  • Sound business acumen; ability to think strategically
  • Ability to lead a team effectively and provide direction to other members on the team
  • Strong negotiation skills
  • Industry experience with digital solutions
  • Demonstrated prowess in all MS Office programs

Interactive Programmer

Salary Grade: Core Level

Reporting to: Project Manager(s); Account Manager(s)

Collaborates with: Interactive Developers

Job Summary: The Interactive Programmer will develop websites and web applications and oversee most technical aspects of a project.

• Critical Aspects:
  • Time Estimating
  • Problem Solving
  • Production/programming
  • Quality Assurance

• Responsibilities:
  • Assist in the authorship of proposals through prototypes and specs.
  • Planning, creation and presentation of Functional Requirements Documents
  • Present creative ideas to provide solutions to meet client’s needs/goals.
  • Implement application architecture.
  • Test and debug.
  • Stay current with leading web technologies and best practices.
  • Contribute creative and technological insights.
  • Understand basic SEO strategies and understand implementation.
  • Comment code for future maintenance.
  • Share knowledge and insights within department.
  • Manage/Administer different builds and versions of a site through its life cycle. From the development server through pushing build iterations through to staging server to pushing final build to live server for site launch.

• Accountabilities:
  • Providing time estimates for Quotes and deliverables planning.
  • The application architecture design.
  • Providing creative solutions as to how functionality is best implemented.
  • Production - implementing architecture and required functionality.
  • Quality Assurance – testing and debugging all aspects of a site before delivery.
  • Pushing Build iterations to staging Server and finale launch to Live Server.

• Technical Proficiencies:
  • ASP.NET
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • PHP
  • MYSQL Server
  • Windows Web Server Admin knowledge
  • Linux Red Hat Admin Knowledge
  • Microsoft Internet Information Services
  • Apache Web server
  • Knowledge of web usability
  • Knowledge of main Search Engine Optimization (SEO) principles
  • Knowledge of cross platform usability

Qualifications

• Required:
  • Post secondary degree/diploma in Information Technology
  • Experience with different CMS solutions. (Drupal, Joomla, MODx, etc)
  • Excellent time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities concurrently
  • Strong team player with the ability to work independently
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Must be willing and want to learn.
  • Creative thinker
  • Ability to work to a deadline
  • Creative



• Asset:
  • Computer Science Degree
  • Entrepreneurial experience
  • Creative agency experience

Interactive Designer

Current Incumbent: Vacant

Reporting to: Creative Director and Art Director

Job Summary: The Interactive Designer’s primary responsibility is to translate ideas and concepts into design and outstanding visual representation.

• Critical Aspects:
  • Creativity
  • Logical Thinking
  • Attention to Detail

• Responsibilities:
  • Design, develop and execute web-based projects.
  • Work with the Art Director and Creative Director to execute creative and strategy briefs.
  • Work with the creative team to ensure consistent, creative, high quality work.
  • Support the business development team for new business opportunities.
  • Generate creative moodboards and concepts.
  • Interface daily with the Project Manager for any direction on project development, priorities, deadline requirements and approval phases.
  • Produce exceptionally original and creative work.
  • Contribute creative insights.
  • Present ideas to the team.
  • Building and maintaining team rapport with creative staff, account managers, and project managers

• Technical Proficiencies:
  • Working knowledge of MAC & PC graphic based software, including Adobe CS3 design suite.

Qualifications

• Required:
  • 3+ years of experience in web based design deliverables
  • Ability to work to a deadline
  • Ability to deliver creative interactive solutions to address client marketing needs
  • Strong team player with the ability to work independently
  • Excellent time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities concurrently
  • Good communication skills
  • Philanthropic aptitude
  • As good of a finisher as a starter
  • Comprehensive understanding of interactivity and the Web and the fundamentals of information architecture
  • Passion for design and eagerness to collaborate with other creative people
  • Mature appreciation of the balance between creative and business opportunities
  • Self motivated, organized and accountable

Front End Interactive Developer

Reporting to: Technical Director

Collaborates with: Technical Director, Programmers. Designers

Job Summary: The Front End Interactive Developer's primary responsibility is to translate flats into functional and pixel-perfect page layouts using streamlined code.

• Critical Aspects:
  • Develop functional page layouts
  • Creativity
  • General IT Assistance

• Responsibilities:
  • Using leading edge CSS, XML, JavaScript and other required technologies to translate concept mock-ups into functional and precise page layouts.
  • Understands the basic SEO strategies and implementation techniques.
  • Ensure accurate presentation across all standard web browsers.
  • Stay current with leading web technologies and best practices.
  • Add graphical treatments where required.
  • Design RFP's, IBD books, internal project
  • Maintain current client sites
  • Utilize image optimization to ensure fast-loading pages.
  • Testing and debugging website elements.
  • Contribute creative and technological insights.
  • Create clean, reusable code.
  • Share knowledge and insights within department.

• Accountabilities:
  • clean code
  • Quality of website or email
  • web standard, cross browser compliant code
  • exact replication of flat design from designers

• Technical Proficiencies:
  • Strong knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and image processing
  • Mastery of CSS, XML, HTML, XML, and JavaScript
  • Proficiency with cross-browser, cross-platform and web-standards implementations/differences
  • Knowledge of web usability
  • Knowledge of main Search Engine Optimization (SEO) principles
  • De-bug code issues

Qualifications

• Required:
  • 2+ years of demonstrated experience with hard-coding advanced XHTML, CSS and JavaScript
  • Excellent time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities concurrently
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Good design sense
  • Problem solving skills
  • Great attention to detail
  • Positive attitude
  • Ability to work to a deadline
  • Creative
  • Strong team player with the ability to work independently
  • Philanthropic aptitude

• Asset:
  • Experience with Eclipse, Netbeans or Dreamweaver, Javascript, Modx, php
  • Post secondary education in information technology
  • Entrepreneurial experience
  • Creative agency experience
  • Experience working with a Content Management System
  • Ability to work under pressure, and under tight deadlines

Quality Assurance Analyst

Salary Grade: Core Level

Current Incumbents: Vacant

Reporting to: Creative Director

Collaborates with: Project Manager, Interactive Designers/Developers, Senior Copywriter

The Quality Assurance Analyst works with key members involved in the project to ensure a fully functional and accurate application that meets or exceeds client expectations.

• Critical Aspects:
  • Creative
  • Detailed
  • Inquisitive

• Responsibilities:
  • Work with key project members to drive the development of test plans and test cases that encompass strategy, information architecture, design, and development requirements
  • Work with development on the creation and maintenance of functional specifications
  • Develop and execute test cases for web-based applications, including backend data verification
  • Manage application deployment to quality assurance, staging and production environments
  • Work with various departments to engineer and resolve issues
  • Interact with project managers and clients at every level for purposes of requirements gathering and understanding business goals
  • Understand client goals and points of view

• Accountabilities:
  • Create a fully functional output the matches client specs
  • Release error-free applications
  • Maintain positive client satisfaction levels
  • Develop testing schedule while adhering to project timeline/budget
  • Ensure all deliverables are in alignment with client expectations and meet Suitcases highest standards of quality

• Technical Proficiencies:
  • Some experience with HTML, Flash, php, msql, .NET, or SQL server essential

Qualifications

• Required:
  • 2+ years QA experience (from concept to deployment and on-going support) in a systems development environment
  • Experienced in developing test specifications, test cases, and scripts
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Adept at coordinating and working with the cross-functional teams of developers, designers, information architects, and project managers
  • Strong attention to detail

• Asset:
  • Entrepreneurial experience
  • Creative agency sales experience