Job Description: Director of Account Management
About Premier Service
Premier Service is a family-owned landscape and grounds management company serving the high-end western suburbs of Chicago. Since our founding in the late 1980s, we've built our reputation on quality and reliability across six service lines: snow and ice management, landscape maintenance, enhancements, design-build construction, irrigation, and turf health care. We're building out a dedicated Account Management department, and this role will lead it.
Position Summary
The Director of Account Management builds and leads Premier Service's newly formed Account Management department, made up of Key Account Managers (Class A/A+ accounts) and Account Managers (the broader client portfolio). This is a player-coach leadership role: the Director sets the standard for how every account is managed, hires and develops the team, and owns retention and growth performance across the entire client base — not just the top tier. This role also owns the department's accountability chart, making sure every role has clear ownership and no client-facing responsibility falls through the cracks between teams.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Development
- Hire, onboard, and develop both Key Account Managers and Account Managers as the department grows.
- Set clear performance expectations and career paths, including the path from Account Manager to Key Account Manager.
- Build and maintain the Account Management accountability chart, ensuring every function has one clear owner.
- Coach the team on client relationship management, proposal development, and retention best practices.
Department Performance
- Own retention and growth results across the full client portfolio, in partnership with the Client Success Team's Class A/A+ targets.
- Set and track performance standards for both Account Managers and Key Account Managers, including retention, response time, and enhancement/upsell metrics.
- Review account assignments regularly to ensure workload, account class, and account complexity are balanced across the team.
- Report department performance to executive leadership, including progress against company-wide retention and portfolio mix goals.
Process & Standards
- Establish consistent processes, templates, and CRM workflows used across both Account Manager and Key Account Manager roles.
- Define the criteria and process for promoting an Account Manager into a Key Account Manager role.
- Partner with Branch Admins to align account management standards with field operations realities.
- Serve as the escalation point for account issues that can't be resolved at the Account Manager or Key Account Manager level.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Represent the Account Management department on the Client Success Team.
- Partner with the Director of Landscape Sales on new business handoff — how a newly won account is assigned and transitioned into the department.
- Work with specialty service teams (design-build, irrigation, turf health care) to ensure account managers have the support they need to grow accounts.
What We're Looking For
- 10+ years of experience in the landscaping or grounds management industry, ideally in account management, client success, or sales leadership.
- 5+ years of sales management experience, directly managing or leading a team of account-facing or sales professionals.
- A track record of building or scaling a team or department, including hiring and defining career paths.
- Strong operational skills — comfortable building accountability structures, processes, and performance standards from scratch.
- Executive-level communication skills; comfortable reporting performance and strategy to senior leadership.
- Working knowledge of landscape maintenance and related service lines, or the ability to learn quickly.
- Comfortable using a CRM and standard office software (Excel, Word, email/calendar tools).
- A degree in business, horticulture, or a related field is a plus, but relevant leadership experience matters most.
Work Environment
This role splits time between leading the account management team, working directly with senior leadership on department strategy, and occasional client-facing work on the most complex or highest-value accounts. Some travel across Premier Service's western suburbs service area is expected.
What We Offer
- Competitive base salary with performance-based incentives tied to department-wide retention and growth results.
- Company vehicle or vehicle allowance.
- Health, dental, and vision insurance.
- Paid time off and holidays.
- The opportunity to build a department from the ground up, with direct visibility to senior leadership.