---
title: 'Account Director at AIP Connect'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/account-director-aip-connect-greater-toronto-area-7sjkgr71dq6v'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Account Director at AIP Connect

- **Company:** AIP Connect
- **Location:** Greater Toronto Area, Canada
- **Compensation:** $115k–$125k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/aipconnect/8b9e32e7-4041-48bd-ac72-614a6f2bfa3a

## Job description

Open Vacancy: This role is a current, active position and we are accepting applications.

Our client is an independently owned omnichannel marketing agency focused on insight-led shopper marketing, conversion and sales lift.

Our client is seeking a senior, hands-on Account Director to lead a new business and bring established-agency discipline to a lean, entrepreneurial team. In-depth retail and foodservice knowledge, on-premises marketing experience and omnichannel program leadership are essential.

## The Role

You will be the senior day-to-day client lead and the accountable owner of account delivery, scope and commercial performance. The anticipated annual program comprises at least several mixed-complexity briefs: 12 received each quarter for execution in the following quarter. You will oversee current-quarter delivery while the next wave is being developed. This role combines trusted client counsel with rigorous project and operational leadership. You will work with our client's strategy, creative, studio and media leads, external partners and specialist vendors. Bring practical systems and the confidence to challenge constructively. Project manager/producer support is intended to own detailed scheduling and task administration; you retain delivery accountability. Candidates may demonstrate market knowledge through relevant examples or a practical case.

## Responsibilities

Project Management, Workflow & Operations

- Own intake, brief clarification, complexity tiering, quarterly priorities, capacity planning, and delivery governance.
- Establish workback schedules, dependencies, approval gates, and clear responsibilities with project-management support.
- Lead the adoption of project management tools and standard templates for briefs, estimates, status reports, decisions, changes, and time tracking.
- Personally prepare or challenge briefs, scopes, and schedules when needed.
- Maintain a single portfolio view, surface delivery conflicts early, and negotiate realistic solutions over unachievable commitments.
- Establish trusted client relationships and present an initial account-health and improvement plan based on feedback, workload, and delivery data.

Client Relationship Management

- Build trusted relationships across shopper, brand, sales, foodservice/on-premises, procurement, and studio stakeholders.
- Coordinate retailer, restaurant-group, and independent-operator interfaces through agreed client processes.
- Lead presentations, status meetings, and business reviews, translating objectives into clear briefs and success measures.
- Consolidate feedback, identify authorised decision-makers, and secure documented approvals.
- Challenge conflicting priorities, incomplete briefs, scope changes, and compressed timelines with practical recommendations.

Account Growth & Retention

- Build client confidence through reliable delivery and commercially useful advice.
- Identify organic growth opportunities, develop proposals with relevant specialists, and ensure additional work is properly scoped and funded.
- Focus initially on establishing a strong client/brand account rather than unrelated new-business prospecting.

## Team Leadership

- Lead assigned account and project management support, coordinating shared discipline leaders and external partners with President backing.
- Set outputs, owners, and deadlines, mentor team members, and resolve delivery disagreements.
- Integrate external creative and strategic experts into one workflow, holding senior contributors accountable while respecting discipline ownership.

Budget Management

- Own account and project financial performance against targets across estimates, SOWs, resource budgets, POs, supplier commitments, change orders, and billing.
- Review actual hours, committed costs, and forecast cost-to-complete to identify over-servicing and margin erosion early.
- Keep agency fees, external delivery costs, and media spend distinct.
- Secure approvals before incremental work or spending within delegated authority, escalating material commercial exceptions to the President.

Campaign Strategy & Planning

- Work with business strategy, creative strategy, and conversion specialists to connect business objectives, shopper/guest insights, central ideas, and retailer/operator needs.
- Challenge whether recommendations fit the occasion, meet the brief, and can be delivered within scope.
- Preserve strategic continuity without replacing specialist leadership.

Retail & Omnichannel Activation

- Translate core campaign platforms into channel-specific shopper journeys across retail, QSR, dining, and digital touchpoints.
- Shape briefs, messaging maps, and activation toolkits tailored to promotional calendars, menus, and franchise vs. independent rollouts.
- Coordinate media dependencies with specialist teams (foundational media knowledge preferred).

Production, Partners, & Approvals

- Oversee pre-shop asset production, media deployment, and master-toolkit handoffs to client and internal studios.
- Manage specialized partners for French adaptation, microsites, contest administration, and prize planning.
- Enforce rigorous version control, proofing, and documented brand, legal, language, and technical approvals.

Campaign Analysis & Reporting

- Agree on success metrics with client teams to turn conversion, participation, and sales data into actionable recommendations.
- Deliver timely performance reporting tied to campaign briefs while tracking internal delivery health and financial performance.

## Qualifications

- Senior Account Ownership: 8+ years of agency experience with Account Director-level ownership of major clients and complex integrated programs.
- Agency Operations: Background in integrated, shopper, or commerce agencies with direct use of structured briefing, resourcing, workflow, and financial-control processes.
- Operational Capability: Proven record of implementing delivery systems, managing risk, and establishing practical processes in a smaller agency environment.
- Commercial & Team Leadership: Strong budgeting, scoping, margin management, and experience directing cross-functional teams and external partners.
- Retail & Channel Knowledge: In-depth knowledge of grocery, convenience, and liquor channels, major retail banners, provincial differences, and local promotional/approval processes.
- Foodservice & On-Premises Expertise: Demonstrated leadership of on-premises marketing programs and deep knowledge of QSR, restaurant group, and independent operator dynamics, including menu, POS, and rollout needs.
- Omnichannel Delivery: Ability to connect pre-shop, digital, retail, and on-premises touchpoints into coherent programs with clear briefs and success metrics.
- Tools & Skills: Excellent writing, presentation, and negotiation skills; proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and structured project management tools; relevant degree or equivalent experience.

Strongly Preferred:

- Sector experience across CPG, food/beverage (including alcohol), retail, or hospitality.
- Familiarity with local regulatory considerations, category approval processes, and Quebec-market/French-adaptation requirements (French capability is an asset).

Success in the First 90 Days First 30 days. Establish stakeholder, retailer/operator and approval maps; validate the brief pipeline and delivery boundaries; launch practical intake, workflow and commercial controls.

By 60 days. Embed the agreed Project workflow, portfolio calendar, resource plan and weekly time-and-cost review with project-management support.

By 90 days. Demonstrate controlled delivery, documented decisions and scope changes, reliable financial forecasts and an improvement plan based on actual workload and client feedback. Establish trusted working relationships with key client stakeholders and present an initial account-health and improvement plan based on client feedback, workload and delivery data.

The Opportunity

Bring the rigour of a larger agency to a business where your contribution is visible. You will work directly with the President, shape how a major account operates and help a senior integrated team deliver strong client outcomes without unnecessary bureaucracy.

AIP Connect believes in equal opportunity. Our recruitment consultants are committed to inclusive recruitment and selection practices and will not discriminate based on age, colour, ability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.

Accessibility:  If you need any accommodations during the interview process, please let us know.

Posted Salary: Actual compensation within this range will be determined based on job-related skills, relevant experience, education, and training. This range reflects base salary only and does not include eligibility for bonus program or other benefits.

For the most accurate and up-to-date details on this role, please refer directly to AIP Connect’s careers page, as third-party sites may not reflect current information.

## About AIP Connect

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: AIP Connect is a boutique recruitment and staffing agency that connects companies with top talent through a human-centric, high-touch approach.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Founded and bootstrapped by its CEO)
- **Headquarters**: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Founded**: 2006
- **Founders**: Nicol Kalman

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Staffing and Recruiting
- **Target customers**: B2B — primarily mid-to-large enterprises and agencies in sectors like technology, marketing, media, and professional services
- **Mission/purpose statement**: To connect the right people to the right employers with a refreshingly different approach — prioritizing authenticity, transparency, and long-term fit over volume.

## Products & Services
- **Executive Search / Permanent Recruitment**: Full-service headhunting for senior-level and specialized roles across account management, operations, data & analytics, human resources, and media.
- **Temporary Staffing**: Short-term and contract placements for roles needing immediate support, managed by a dedicated AIP Staffing Inc. division under Managing Director Leslie Barrow.
- **Freelance & Contracts**: A curated pipeline for companies needing flexible, project-based talent, ranging from creative to technical fields.
- **General Application & Pipeline**: An open channel for candidates to register interest even when no specific role is listed, allowing AIP to proactively match them to future opportunities.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total headcount of ~29 employees (Year-over-Year growth: +15.4%, adding ~6 people); LinkedIn following of 8,192 (Yearly growth: +8.6%)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bootstrapped — no external investors; key executives include Nicol Kalman (Founder/CEO), Kristine Sanderson (Partner, CHRL MHRM), Sarah Glynn (Snr. Recruitment Manager), and Leslie Barrow (Managing Director, AIP Staffing).
- **Growth Signals**: Active hiring across multiple geographies (Canada and US); 8 office locations; recent job postings for internal roles like Operations Systems Administrator signal internal scaling.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Truly human-centric**: Rejects algorithms and automated matching in favor of in-person briefings and deep conversations — a strong differentiator against large, tech-driven competitors.
- **Full transparency**: Communicates directly about salary, skill gaps, and role realities for both candidates and clients, building trust and reducing mis-hires.
- **Candidate-first philosophy**: Explicitly treats candidates as long-term partners, not commodities, focusing on fair compensation, career progression, and cultural fit.
- **Strong leadership team**: Led by an experienced founder and a team with deep industry knowledge and HR credentials (CHRL).

## Strategic Focus
- **Growth as a "connector" brand**: Emphasizing its role as a community builder that brings like-minded people together, rather than just a transaction facilitator.
- **Operational expansion**: Investing in internal systems and talent (e.g., Operations Systems Administrator) to support scaling across North America while maintaining its high-touch model.
- **AI as a support tool, not a replacement**: Leveraging AI to assist in resume review and candidate assessment, but explicitly keeping final decisions human — a balanced approach to technology.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described internally and externally as "refreshingly different" — values high integrity, openness, and a genuine commitment to people. The team is described as "born connectors."
- **Work environment**: Offers hybrid, remote, and on-site roles depending on the position and location. Geographies include Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, Richmond (VA), and New York City.
- **Notable perks/engineering culture**: While the company is not a tech product firm, its internal use of AI in the hiring process shows a forward-looking, pragmatic attitude toward technology. The culture prioritizes low-ego, high-trust collaboration. Candidates are respected and never treated as commodities.
- **Alumni network**: Alumni have gone on to reputable firms like Wealthsimple, PwC Canada, Bell Media, and Spencer Stuart, reflecting a strong talent development environment.

## Sources
1. [aipconnect.com/about-us](https://aipconnect.com/about-us/)
2. [jobs.lever.co/aipconnect](https://jobs.lever.co/aipconnect)
3. [linkedin.com/company/anithing-is-possible-recruiting](https://linkedin.com/company/anithing-is-possible-recruiting)
4. [aipconnect.com/team/](https://aipconnect.com/team/)
5. [aipconnect.com/current-roles/](https://aipconnect.com/current-roles/)

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