21GRAMS- New Business Lead

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Job Summary:

Real Chemistry is looking for a New Business Lead to join our growing team!

Real Chemistry seeks an accomplished and strategically minded Head of New Business to lead the agency’s growth function and drive best-in-class business development for 21GRAMS. In this role, you will establish and refine new business processes, develop a high-performing growth team, and serve as a trusted strategic partner to senior leadership, directly impacting pipeline development, win rates, and revenue growth.

This position is integral to 21GRAMS , part of Real Chemistry, a healthcare advertising and communications firm dedicated to making healthcare more human through innovative, client-centered work conducted with integrity and excellence. You will lead all aspects of new business development, from opportunity identification through pitch execution. You will ensure every team member involved in the pitch process has a seamless, organized experience, fostering collaboration, efficiency and confidence at every stage.

Additionally, you will help own the new client onboarding process, ensuring that day-to-day brand teams are fully equipped with the insights, timelines, and resources needed to service each brand from day one. This critical handoff function bridges the gap between winning the business and delivering exceptional work, setting the foundation for long-term client partnerships.

This role can be remote within the United States or based in any of our U.S. office locations, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Lambertville, NJ, San Francisco, or Carmel, IN.

What you’ll do:

New Business Process Development

• Establish, refine, and enforce new business processes and standards across the agency
• Create repeatable frameworks for how opportunities are evaluated, pursued, and executed

Growth Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a high-performing new business team
• Ensure every team member involved in the pitch process has a seamless, organized, and collaborative experience

Pipeline Management

• Identify and qualify new business opportunities
• Manage the full pipeline from initial opportunity through close
• Track and report on win rates, pipeline health, Saleforce integration, and revenue impact

Pitch Leadership

• Lead and support pitch efforts across the agency and with Real Chemistry Partners
• Coordinate cross-functional teams through the pitch process
• Foster confidence and collaboration at every stage of the pursuit

Strategic Partnership with Senior Leadership

• Serve as a trusted strategic partner to agency leadership on all growth matters
• Inform and influence go-to-market strategy across therapeutic areas including launch planning

New Client Onboarding

• Help own the end-to-end onboarding process for all newly won clients

• Ensure day-to-day account teams are fully equipped with the insights, context, and resources needed to service each brand from day one
• Bridge the gap between winning the business and delivering exceptional work

This position is a perfect fit for you if:

• Our Company values, Best Together, Impact Obsessed, Excellence Expected, Evolve Always, and Accountability with an "I" , genuinely resonate with how you work and lead.
• You demonstrate the Real Chemistry Can mindset by approaching challenges with optimism, accountability, creativity, and a solutions-oriented attitude, always looking for ways to make a meaningful impact for our clients, colleagues, and communities.
• You are adaptable, resilient, and comfortable adjusting your scope, responsibilities, and priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment. As our business grows and changes, so do we.
• You are proactive, driven, and resourceful, with strong prioritization skills, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to leverage data to inform decisions and drive outcomes.
• You are energized by innovation and the transformative potential of AI, actively exploring new technologies, identifying opportunities to work smarter, and championing practical, responsible AI adoption that drives meaningful business impact.

What you should have:

• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution
• 12+ years of new business, account management, or project management experience in a healthcare advertising setting
• Minimum 5+ years in a leadership or supervisory capacity managing high-performing, cross-functional teams in high-pressure environments
• Demonstrated expertise in pharmaceutical advertising, healthcare communications, or life sciences agency environment with hands‑on experience managing teams and new business opportunities
• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical promotion standards, FDA/OPDP guidance, and healthcare communications
• Demonstrated ability in data analysis, reporting, and translating metrics into actionable business insights
• Working knowledge of project management methodologies including Waterfall, Agile, and Hybrid approaches, with ability to select appropriate methodology for each pitch opportunity
• Proven track record of leading, developing, and motivating teams to high performance
• Executive-level communication skills—ability to present complex information clearly to C-suite audiences, stakeholders, and clients
• Strong written and verbal communication with ability to adapt messages for diverse audiences
• Strategic thinking and sound judgment, with demonstrated ability to solve complex problems, make decisions under uncertainty, and balance competing priorities

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Deep expertise in pharmaceutical advertising and healthcare communications, particularly with experience in oncology, rare disease, specialty pharmaceuticals, or other complex therapeutic areas
• Demonstrated results from process improvement initiatives with measurable impact on efficiency gains, cost reduction, or quality improvement
• Client relationship management experience at a senior level, including presenting to pharmaceutical and biotech executives

CORE COMPETENCIES & ATTRIBUTES

Professional Competencies

• Strategic Business Leadership: Setting vision and direction; aligning operations with business objectives; thinking beyond immediate execution to organizational capability building
• Process Excellence: Designing, implementing, and continuously improving standardized processes and workflows that scale across new business
• Stakeholder Management: Building and maintaining effective relationships with executives, clients, cross-functional partners, and team members; navigating competing interests
• Organizational Development: Building high-performing teams, developing talent, creating culture, and leading organizational change

Required Leadership Attributes

Change-Positive, Growth-Oriented

• Change-Positive, Growth-Oriented

You actively seek smarter, faster, and more effective ways to operate. You are not threatened by AI, innovation, new tools, or new ways of working—you're energized