Business Head (Agency) Job Description and KRAs

A Business Head in an advertising, digital or media agency runs a business unit or office with its own profit and loss. The role owns revenue and margin from a portfolio of clients, leads the client servicing, creative and media teams on those accounts, wins new business through pitches and keeps key clients for years rather than single campaigns. A good business head grows the unit without burning out the team or the margin.

Detail	For this role
Department	Media and Advertising
Level	Senior management
Reports to	Chief Executive Officer
Direct reports	Account Manager (Advertising), Client Servicing Manager, Media Manager
Experience	15+ years in advertising or digital agencies, with 5 years leading accounts and a team

Business Head (Agency) job description template

Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.

Job title: Business Head (Agency)

Department: Media and Advertising

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: [City], [office, branch or site]

About the role

Key responsibilities

Own the annual revenue, gross margin and profit targets for the business unit or office.
Lead relationships with the senior marketing people at every key client, including CMOs and brand heads.
Win new business through pitches: decide which to take on, build pitch teams and lead the presentation.
Agree retainer scopes, fees and commercial terms with clients, and review account profitability every month.
Plan team structure and staffing for each account, balancing client needs with workload and cost.
Work with the creative director and media leads to raise the quality of work delivered to clients.
Review client satisfaction twice a year and repair accounts at risk before they go to pitch.
Control receivables and follow up on overdue client payments with finance.
Hire, develop and retain account managers and senior talent in the unit.
Represent the agency at industry forums and build its reputation in the categories it serves.

Requirements

Graduate in any discipline, often with an MBA or PGDM in marketing or communications
A post-graduate diploma in advertising or communication, such as from MICA, is an advantage
Deep understanding of brand, media and digital marketing
15+ years in advertising or digital agencies, with 5 years leading accounts and a team

KRAs and KPIs for a Business Head (Agency)

Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.

Key result area	How to measure it
Unit revenue	Business unit revenue at or above the annual target
Account margin	Gross margin by account within the agreed range, with no account at a loss for two quarters
Client retention	No key client lost except through a planned exit
New business	Pitch conversion target for the year met
Receivables	Client dues older than 90 days below the limit set by finance
Senior talent	Regretted attrition among senior staff below the agency target

Skills and tools

Agency profit and lossClient leadershipPitching and presentationCommercial negotiationAccount profitability analysisTeam structuringBrand and communication strategyIndustry networkLeadershipResilience

Tools used day to day: Agency ERP or job management system, MS Excel for account profitability, PowerPoint or Keynote for pitches, New business pipeline tracker, Timesheet reports.

Reporting line and career path

Moves up from: Account Manager (Advertising), Client Servicing Manager
Next roles: Chief Business Officer, Chief Executive Officer

Interview questions for a Business Head (Agency)

Which of your client relationships lasted longest, and why?
How do you decide whether the agency should take part in a pitch?
An account is profitable but the client team mistreats your staff. What do you do?
Walk me through how you calculate the profitability of a retainer account.
Tell me about a pitch you lost. What did you learn from it?
How do you keep creative quality high when the client wants speed over ideas?

Managing a Business Head (Agency) in ZeniaHR

AttendanceAgency leaders keep irregular hours around client meetings and pitches, so a flexible shift with minimum hours fits better than fixed timings. Days at client offices go in as on duty from the mobile app.LeaveAvoid leave in pitch weeks and during the annual planning season of the unit's largest clients. Pitch work done on a weekly off or holiday can be credited as comp-off by HR for the whole pitch team, not only the business head.Performance and KRAsRevenue, margin, retention and new business belong in an annual review cycle as KPI goals with weights, plus a quarterly cycle for the commercial numbers. Senior talent retention can be a competency goal with its own weight.

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Frequently asked questions

What does a business head do in an advertising agency?

A business head runs a unit or office of an agency as a business. They own revenue and margin, lead the senior relationships with key clients, decide on and lead new business pitches, agree fees and scopes, staff the accounts, control receivables and build the team. Creative and media quality is shared with the creative and media leads.

What is the difference between a business head and an account director in an agency?

An account director manages a group of client accounts and the servicing team on them. A business head is responsible for the whole unit's profit and loss, including several account directors or managers, new business, staffing and margins. Account director is often the step before business head.

How do you become a business head in an agency?

Most business heads come up through client servicing, moving from account executive to account manager, account director and then business head over 12 to 15 years. What gets people promoted is growing accounts, winning pitches and keeping clients profitable, along with a reputation clients trust.