Now Hiring - Account Director in Basking Ridge, NJ

Do you have a passion for creating high-quality creative marketing materials that exceed client expectations? Victory Healthcare Communications, an award-winning pharmaceutical advertising agency with over 30 years in the industry, is looking for an Account Director to help us respond to client challenges with innovative solutions and consistent success.

Title: Account Director

Reports To: Executive Creative Director

Classification: Salary, Exempt

The Role:

The Account Director has overall accountability for developing and maintaining working relationships with project owners, product managers, and customers to achieve project objectives. The Account Director will manage business relationships and organic growth, craft key internal and external business messages, and ultimately, present ideas to clients. This is a role for a professional with a proven record of leading production of the highest quality programs, products, and deliverables for clients.

Candidate must have a strong background in market access, with comprehensive knowledge of healthcare topics such as managed care, medical/prescription insurance terminology, and coverage/cost information. This role is ideal for someone with a passion for organization, problem solving, and critical thinking; experience guiding jobs through internal and external workflows; and confidence in conveying ideas and directives to coordinate/execute/delegate tasks and ensure project milestones are achieved on schedule.

Top Responsibilities:

• Client Relationship Management
• Development of Account Strategy
• Account Planning & Leadership
• Crafting innovative solutions and strategies
• Client success advocate across all projects for assigned accounts
• Generating and maintaining revenue forecasts

Client Partnership & Organic Growth:

• Contribute to new business development and lead generation
  
• Establish a strategic partnership with client(s) beyond the day-to-day
• Identify opportunities and convert these into business
• Actively participate in pitches and presentations and suggest tactics that best support market strategy
• Develop depth of understanding for assigned products, related medical areas, and competitors
• Partner with client(s) to determine project/campaign scope and schedule (i.e., objectives, budget, background, design direction, strategy)
  
• Translate project/campaign scope and schedule to proposal and statement of work (SOW)
• Drive project execution by building rapport with internal and external teams
• Conduct regular status meetings to communicate project development and maintain alignment with client objectives
• Inform client(s) on all aspects and timing of project development, including internal agency process/requirements
  
• Review materials for quality and accuracy throughout the process (brand and editorial standards, consistency, comprehension, execution)
• Track progression of projects, following up on unresolved issues to ensure work is completed on time and to budget
• Understand and convey requirements for MLR review and editorial process to ensure compliance with client guidelines

Internal Account Management & Leadership:

• Ensure the right team members/departments are pulled into the appropriate projects at the right time
• Ensure proper brand strategy is pulled through into all work streams
• Partner with directors and managers to prepare and conduct internal kick off meetings
• Develop and maintain timelines throughout the life of a job (including management of deliverables and client milestones)
• Communicate project updates to team, including shifts in project scope, direction, or timing that may impact agency resource requirements
  
• Review hot sheet/status grids daily for accuracy and provide updates to team
• Evaluate performance of staff in collaboration with HR (identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development)
• Complete personnel reviews per agency process
• Identify and help resolve people/interdepartmental conflicts
• Celebrate/acknowledge achievements of staff with agency and client
• Partner with HR to identify and deliver training needs across team, including the onboarding of new employees
• Contribute to overall team process by sharing ideas and best practices
• Estimate project hours for individual projects for proposals and SOWs
• Approve timesheets for direct reports
• Participate in a weekly Directors Call

Financial Management:

• Develop proposals and SOWs based on accurate estimating and tracking of hours, and reconciliation against estimates
• Continuously monitor client budgets and communicate when changes in direction or new requests impact scope
• Regularly review financial status of account(s) with supervisor and accounting
  
• Participate in any necessary financial meetings to ensure accurate internal data and to support client financial status communications

Performance Standards:

• Show commitment, determination, confidence, and sense of ownership
• Generate results through effective written and oral communications and leadership skills
• Command respect of freelancers and designers and be able to effectively oversee and manage work
• Effectively handle multiple assignments at a time
• Work individually, under pressure, and meet deadlines, while maintaining a positive attitude
• Provide exemplary customer service
• Show a strong understanding of all roles in the process, particularly those most related to the skills of the core team
• Lead meetings, negotiate conflicts, build teams and understand group dynamics, and enable creative thought processes
• Understand the attributes of project delivery success to proactively manage client expectations and demonstrate value
• Work well with diverse individuals and cross functional teams
• Show strong customer focus and results orientation
• Have executive presence, including outstanding presentation and communication skills
• Identify opportunities and contribute to new business development

Background/Experience/Skills:

• Bachelor’s Degree and /or 10+ years’ experience in the life sciences, pharmaceutical industry or in medical education/advertising
• Experience with senior client level relationship management (be seen as an expert within marketing)
• Proven problem solving, critical thinking, and networking skills, as well as confidence in conveying ideas and directives
• Proven ability to contribute to new business development and lead generation, build account plans, and respond to proposal requests
• Experience in identifying opportunities and converting these into business
• Ability to make successful presentations and lead meetings
• Experience working on sales training materials to educate field representatives on brand-specific access challenges and solutions
• Excellent computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (PPT, Word, Excel)
• Proficiency in Apple software (Numbers, Pages, Keynote)
• Veeva Vault experience a plus
• Maintain regular hours and work overtime for high priority projects

Victory Healthcare Communications is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent to perform the many tasks necessary to providing high-quality service. An integral part of this policy is to provide equal employment opportunity for all persons considered for employment and to recruit and administer hiring, working conditions, benefits and privileges of employment, compensation, training, opportunities for advancement (including upgrading and promotion), transfer, and termination of employment (including layoffs and recalls) for all employees without discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, sex (including pregnancy), familial status, marital/civil union status, religion, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for military status, mental or physical disability (including perceived disability and AIDS and HIV status), or other characteristics unrelated to a person’s qualification and/or job performance).