Managing Director, Embedded Studio

Company: Media.Monks
Location: Portland
Posted on: March 23, 2026

Job Description:

Please note that we will never request payment or bank account information at any stage of the recruitment process. As we continue to grow our teams, we urge you to be cautious of fraudulent job postings or recruitment activities that misuse our company name and information. Please protect your personal information during any recruitment process. About the Role We are hiring a Managing Director to lead the commercial relationship and strategic direction of a major retained studio engagement. This is a senior client leadership position with a focused, high-stakes remit: own the health of the partnership, shape the commercial model, and set the strategic priorities for a dedicated, high-performance production and operations team. The content industry is being reshaped by AI, changing how work is produced, priced, and valued. This engagement is at the frontier of that shift. The Managing Director will define how we show up for the client in this new landscape, ensuring that our model evolves as fast as the technology and the opportunity. You will be the clients primary senior contact at Monks. You will lead a multidisciplinary team spanning production, creative, program operations, and delivery across multiple regions. Your job is to translate the clients evolving ambitions into priorities for that team, manage the commercial performance of the engagement, and navigate the organizational complexity of a large, matrixed client environment. Responsibilities: Own the senior client relationship across a retained, multi-regional content production engagement. Serve as the primary point of contact for client leadership and the trusted partner they turn to when priorities shift, problems arise, or opportunities emerge. Shape and steward the commercial model for the engagement. Define how value is measured, how efficiency commitments are delivered, and how the economics evolve as AI reshapes production costs and timelines. Set strategic direction. Translate client priorities into clear, actionable mandates for the team. Determine what matters next quarter, not how it gets executed. Own P&L performance, including margin health, pricing strategy, and commercial sustainability. Manage the interface between client-side stakeholders and the Monks delivery organization. Ensure alignment across multiple teams, regions, and workstreams without duplicating effort or creating bottlenecks. Identify and pursue growth opportunities, whether through expanded scope, new service lines, or deeper integration into the clients marketing ecosystem. About You 10 years in client-facing leadership roles at an agency, production company, consultancy, or embedded studio operation, with significant experience managing retained enterprise-scale relationships. Direct experience with subscription, retainer, or output-based commercial models. You understand the economics of selling outcomes rather than hours and have navigated that transition firsthand. A track record of managing senior stakeholders in complex, politically layered organizations. You have been the person a VP or SVP calls when something is not working. Financial fluency. You speak to margin, cost-per-unit economics, and volume-based pricing without needing a finance partner to translate. Comfort leading a high-performance team without micromanaging it. You set direction, remove obstacles, and trust strong operational leaders to execute. Familiarity with content production at scale. You may not have run a production floor yourself, but you understand what it takes to deliver at high volume so you can speak credibly to clients about capacity, timelines, and trade-offs. A point of view on AI in creative production. Not as a talking point, but as something that is actively reshaping how you think about pricing, staffing, and the value proposition of a studio operation. This role requires meaningful in-person presence with the client team in either Seattle or Los Angeles. At Monks, we believe in fostering an environment where a diversity of perspectives can thrive. We proactively work to design hiring processes that promote equity and inclusion while mitigating bias. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome and encourage qualified applicants, from all backgrounds, who are excited to contribute to our mission. This role is subject to our Return to Office (RTO) policy. If you reside within a commutable distance of one of our office locations, you will be expected to work from the office a set number of days per week. The specific details, including the number of required office days, will be in accordance with the company’s then-current RTO policy, which is subject to change from time to time. What We Offer Benefits Excellent, full coverage medical, dental, and vision insurance - more about our coverage here! Generous PTO and 15 company-wide holidays 401k with company contribution Paid parental leave Work-life balance with an emphasis on personal well-being Career growth in a disruptor space & entrepreneurial opportunities within the Monks network A globally diverse & inclusive culture with employee resource groups such as S4 Melanin, Pride.Monks, Cultura.Monks, and more! This role is subject to our Return to Office (RTO) policy. If you reside within a commutable distance of one of our office locations, you will be expected to work from the office a set number of days per week. The specific details, including the number of required office days, will be in accordance with the company’s then-current RTO policy, which is subject to change from time to time. Monks has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what Monks may pay for the position at the time of posting. Monks may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on job-related factors, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status. Salary Range: $250,000—$275,000 USD About Monks Monks is the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to redefine how brands interact with the world. Through Monks.Flow, its flagship AI ecosystem for marketing orchestration, Monks transforms marketing into a growth engine, collapsing timelines and connecting brands to culture in real time. By deploying bespoke intelligent agents across disciplines and delivering culturally relevant, high-impact creative and digital solutions, Monks solves key critical business challenges across the entire brand enterprise to help brands sustain long-term impact. Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-25) and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek’s first AI Agency of the Year (2023) and The One Show’s inaugural AI Pioneer Organization, Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group’s 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in both the Organizational and AI Product categories. As a trusted partner to cutting-edge innovators in tech, Monks earned titles such as Optimizely Experimentation Partner of the Year (2025), runner-up for the Adobe Firefly Partner Award (2024), and Workato’s AI Visionary Customer Impact Award (2024). Additionally, Monks achieved a record-breaking number of FWAs and continues to hold the most of any partner.

Keywords: Media.Monks, Tigard , Managing Director, Embedded Studio, PR / Public Relations , Portland, Oregon