Senior Account Director

Job Description

About the Company

Pivot Design is a strategic creative agency with a unique vision for what healthcare brands should be. We believe that now more than ever, healthcare needs soul: connection, authenticity, and meaning. We leverage the power of design to make health more compelling and change people's lives.

About the Role

The Senior Account Director is responsible for a particular group of clients and is primarily focused on fostering strong client relationships, driving business growth, and ensuring the successful delivery of agency projects across a diverse group of clients. The individual collaborates with their creative counterparts to drive the strategic vision for their assigned client group and ensures the projects they are assigned are on strategy, on time, and on budget. This role operates with minimal executive-level oversight to lead the work forward strategically. This individual is responsible for the health of each assigned client.

This role reports to the VP, Client Services, and leads a team of 2 to 4 account team members. Chicago-area candidates are preferred; remote candidates in the US are welcome. Travel about once a month.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of agency experience

• Pharma experience with both HCP and patient marketing

• Willing and able to travel about once a month

• Experience leading and growing an account team

• Launch experience a plus

• Chicago area a plus

Responsibilities

Client Engagement:

● Develop and maintain trusted relationships with clients at senior-level positions on a regular basis.

● Ensure the team is delivering the best possible experience to clients, every time.

● Navigate difficult client conversations and redirect them to be productive.

● Meet with clients in person on a regular basis and participate in important meetings.

Strategic Acumen:

● Understand each client’s long-term goals and develop strategic plans that align with their business objectives.

● Provide strategic insights and recommendations, leveraging industry knowledge and expertise to help clients achieve their marketing and communication goals.

● Serve as one of the team leads and provide critical thinking during brand strategy development, product positioning, brand planning, and tactical ideation.

● Show a deep understanding of each client’s brand, competitive set, and market dynamics and provide perspective on business/brand impact of these dynamics.

● Quickly and effectively develop articulate creative briefs that foster strong creative output. ● Push clients and the agency, both creatively and strategically, to go beyond the ask. ● Regularly share relevant industry articles, analogues, and case studies with clients to demonstrate market expertise and to generate new ideas, leading to additional work.

Client Financials:

● Be responsible for successful forecasting, planning, invoicing, profitability, and the overall financial health of each assigned client in collaboration with the Project Manager and other dedicated account team members.

● Advise on next steps and approach when a project is over budget to navigate a clear path that minimizes further impact yet still meets client expectations and goals.

● Support SVP, Client Services, with financial reporting.

New Business:

● Proactively identify new ideas and opportunities with existing clients and successfully convert them into new work for the agency.

● Be accountable for client growth goals set at the beginning of the year (i.e., profit margin, referrals, client expansion, etc.)

● Find opportunities to expand group clients’ knowledge of Pivot’s capabilities.

● Participate in new business opportunities and actively shape RFP responses.

● Maintain and grow client relationships beyond the close of a project to ensure connection and awareness of Pivot (i.e., social media connections, personal touchpoints, etc.)

General:

● Perform all functions and responsibilities of the Account Director level and below as needed.

● Manage up to the SVP, Client Services, on the health of their clients and internal teams.

● Support department hiring efforts, ensuring we are selecting the right talent for the agency.

● Maintain a learning mindset, open to constructive feedback and ongoing education.

Expectations:

● Exhibits an in-depth understanding of the marketing and branding process across a wide range of client types and projects in the health and wellness space.

● Displays a strategic mindset and the ability to spot market trends, identify opportunities, and align client objectives with the agency’s capabilities.

● Demonstrates the leadership skills essential to motivating and inspiring the team(s), provides guidance, and ensures the successful execution of projects.

● Maintains attention to detail while moving at a quick pace to complete project management tasks when necessary, including the development of proposals, timeline management, and resource support. ● Meets revenue and profit margin targets determined by agency leadership.

● Proactively cultivates organic growth and successfully converts new opportunities with existing clients. ● Effectively collaborates with the creative team to deliver innovative and impactful campaigns. Has the ability to provide valuable input and feedback on creative concepts.

● Is solution-oriented and able to manage client expectations and resolve any issues that may arise during project execution.

● Possesses excellent verbal and written communication skills essential to effectively communicating with clients, team members, and stakeholders. Articulates complex ideas clearly and delivers compelling presentations.

● Operates with a mindset of efficiency, focusing on using time and talent where it makes the most impact. ● Manages and tracks time accurately and on time each week.

● Fosters growth, retention, and satisfaction among their direct reports and teammates. Job

● Lives our values of Passion, Curiosity, Nimbleness, Grit, Candor, and <3 through actions and participation.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Many of the greatest ideas and creative come from a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds, and experiences, and Pivot is committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment. Pivot provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status, or any other protected category under federal, state and local law.