Account Director

Fuel Cycle is currently seeking an Account Director to join our team and strengthen our partnerships with existing market research clients. The Account Director is responsible for maintaining and growing an existing book of business and achieving revenue and profitability objectives. A market research expert, the Account Director builds deep customer relationships to ensure the retention and expansion of their accounts.

To meet the objectives, the Account Director consults with clients on research strategies, roadmap and project designs, develops proposals, manages contracts, and reviews deliverables before presentation to clients.  

The Account Director position has high visibility within the Fuel Cycle organization, reporting to the Director who oversees the vertical pod team and dedicated to current customer retention and growth.  The Account Director will interact with other key Fuel Cycle senior stakeholders, including Research Operations, Research Science, Customer Solutions, Product and Marketing and the Executive Leadership Team. 

Fuel Cycle is regularly recognized as a great place to work. Our recent awards include 2024 Built In Best Places to Work, 2023 Inc Best Workplaces, as well as Comparably Best CEO, Best Company for Women, and Best Company for Diversity. Learn more about our Culture & Values here.  

How You'll Make An Impact:

• Achieving assigned revenue targets within assigned book of business through retention and expansion of accounts. 

• Deepening existing client relationships to generate incremental revenue opportunities (expansion, upsell, cross-sell). 

• Consulting with clients on business issues and research design. 

• Developing insightful proposals and delivering strategic business-building presentations. 

• Partner with Research Managers to execute project specifications and deliver quality results to customers. 

• Managing contracts and up-sell/cross-sell opportunities. 

• Leading the resolution of product, solution, and delivery issues. 

• Understanding customer strategy and business challenges. 

• Penetrating, building and nurturing relationships in various parts of the client organization (Insights, Marketing, UX, CX, R&D, Strategy, Procurement, Operations, etc.), building both short-term and long-term strategic pursuit plans.

• Oversees and reviews research strategy, design, and deliverables, (i.e., research reports, methodological recommendations, etc.)  

• Effectively communicating the Fuel Cycle value proposition to new buyers in existing customer organizations, adapting that message to attract new buying centers beyond Fuel Cycles current points of contact.

• Acts as strategic commercial and research point of contact to the customer.

• Handles complex conversations/communications around project design, analysis, and unexpected challenges.  

• Inspires internal Fuel Cycle teams to be enthused by new high potential opportunities and introduces relevant SMEs and service line people to their customers to maximize opportunities.  

• Provides guidance, oversight and review of custom survey development, in-field challenges and significant input to analysis planning and execution.  

• Leads/co-leads final report writing elements, strategic client guidance and presentation of findings.  

• Acts as strategic leader for customer account team overall. Thinks through implications of actions, identifies opportunities, and risks, and acts accordingly, providing what the customer needs with the optimal outcome for Fuel Cycle.

You'll Be Successful If You Have:

• Minimum of 7 years of research experience; experience managing a book of research business (~1M).

• 5 years of supplier side experience, preferred.

• Proven ability to meet/exceed a renewal and upsell revenue target within an assigned book of business. 

• Proven ability to build and expand strong relationships with customers and within the organization. 

• Superior strategic research experience, organizational skills, including ability to manage and delegate work effectively, attention to detail & demonstrated commitment to the accuracy and completeness of information. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in addition to well-developed interpersonal and presentation skills.   

• Ability to oversee multiple projects, including managing workload of direct reports. 

• Strong cross functional leadership skills - ability to coach, guide and support account team members.

• Ability to think creatively about how to align the appropriate project resources, whether inside or outside of the immediate project team.

• Strong aptitude for research consulting with highly developed analytic skills. 

• Ability to think strategically in terms of customers’ business, as well as opportunities for Fuel Cycle to grow its business. 

• Highly motivated, self-directed and possesses a driven personality capable of working within tight deadlines.

• Balance of attention to detail with view to bigger picture and overall objectives of each task.

• Build strong relationships within customer organizations. 

• Use the tech stack of the customer organization (Salesforce, ChurnZero, Gong, etc.) to track client relationships, renewal and upsell progress and reports activity. 

• Strong proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Benefits:

• Health/Dental/Vision Insurance

• 401k match

• Flexible Work Schedule

• 15 Vacation Days 7 Sick Days annually

• 12 Holidays + 4 Synchronized Recharge Days

• Parental Leave

• Monthly Internet/Phone Stipend

• All Team Perks: many including: DoorDash, Wellhub (formerly GymPass), Headspace & more

• LA & NY HQ Perks: Free lunches, refreshments & snacks

• Pet Friendly HQs 

This position pays between $100,000-120,000 base salary + bonus & equity. Your final base salary will be determined based on location, work experience, skills, knowledge, education and/or certifications.  

About Fuel Cycle:

Fuel Cycle accelerates decision intelligence for legendary brands by enabling organizations to capture, analyze, and act on insights required to launch new products, acquire customers, and sustain growth. By leveraging Fuel Cycle’s Research Engine, a SaaS software platform, brands forge connections with their key audiences and harness actionable insights that drive confident business decisions. Our technology enables decision-makers to maintain constant connections with their customers, prospects, and users to uncover real-world actionable intelligence and insights. By integrating human insight with critical business data, and through automated quantitative and qualitative research solutions, the Fuel Cycle Research Engine powers product innovation, brand durability and sustainable growth.  

At Fuel Cycle, we embrace the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and are committed to fostering an inclusive company culture. We believe that everyone, regardless of their background or identity, should have equal access to opportunities for growth and advancement. Our selection processes and career pathways are designed to be fair, transparent, and free from bias. We value the unique perspectives and contributions of each team member, knowing that this diverse range of experiences strengthens our team. Fuel Cycle stands firmly against discrimination based on disability, sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, or any other protected status under the law.

Fuel Cycle is an equal opportunity employer and fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities, as needed, to enable them to perform the essential functions of their job and participate in the application and interview process. If you require accommodations during any part of the application process, please contact us at hr@fuelcycle.com to discuss your needs.