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Bowl Leader
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It’s a good question, because the better CS and PM folks are, the more they can overlap (my favourite Account Director had such deep understanding of technology and project management that we pretty much pooled our work and split it based on who was more busy at the moment).
At high level:
PMs are inward-facing, ensure that team is communicating and working well together, and keep things moving forward. On the technical side, we handle scoping, cost estimates, write SOWs, develop schedules and track budget burn.
CS folks are outward-facing, they walk the fine line of being advocates for the client and the internal team at the same time. They should be able to have difficult conversations with both groups when neccessary. Depending on the organization, they might also be responsible for bizdev and growing the account.
Thank you for your warm comments. I was afraid to ask this as someone who has experience working in an ad agency. It's because I was in a circumstance where there was no PM role... I'm starting over as a newbie in another country, and your comment was significant for me to understand the role with detailed information. I'll keep it in mind and build my next career path strongly. I hope you have a lovely rest of the day!
I would say the Account Executive is responsible for maintaining the relationship with client beyond all else (and beyond project) and the project manager is responsible for deliver the project on time and on budget to scope. Mostly, these interests coincide but sometimes they conflict - client wants cheaper, faster, or has delays on their end; PM has to deal with resource availability, internal goals like awards or portfolio demands or bandwidth with other priority projects with other clients.
Thank you so much. I have been working as an AE in an ad agency where we do not have a PM role. I just remembered the time when I was struggling between internal goals and clients' needs... lol. While I have been contemplating my career path recently, I had a blurry thought that I may be better suited for a PM role, and now things are becoming clearer. Thank you again, and I hope you have a great rest of the day. :)
Account executives are more focused with business development and strategies whereas project managers are more concerned with budgeting and meeting deadlines
Hey there. Jumping in to ask a similar type of question: Are the account executive and account coordinator roles more or less the same thing?