Senior Account Director - London

About JPA Health

JPA Health is a fully integrated marketing, communications and medical communications agency for clients ranging from emerging biotech to established pharmaceutical companies and public health organizations. We work exclusively within the health sector. We share our clients’ commitment to making people healthier. In fact, some might say we are obsessed with improving and protecting lives. Check out our sizzle reel!

The Role

akt health, a JPA Health Company, is an award-winning healthcare communications agency with work spanning PR and reputation, medical communications, and patient advocacy. Everyone has the right to live the healthiest life they can. That’s why we passionately believe in shaping a future where no one misses out on advances in healthcare. Our vision is clear: to enable better health for all.

We are seeking a Senior Account Director to join our dynamic and collaborative agency. The successful candidate for this role is an experienced account handler that takes an overall lead on their accounts and provides senior level input.

This position is a full-time, hybrid role reporting to the London office (Holborn based team) approximately 2 – 3 days per week.  

The Responsibilities

• Strategic Counsel 
  • Overseeing the execution of communication programmes across a range of life sciences UK, European and Global clients, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.  
  • Act as a trusted sounding board for clients, developing and implementing integrated communication strategies that align with client goals and objectives.  
  • Maintain a solid understanding of current affairs, health policy, competitor activity, and the broader life sciences landscape to demonstrate value and depth of understanding when speaking to clients. 
• Creativity and innovation  
  • Challenge clients to think boldly and do things differently. 
  • Lead creative brainstorms and developing innovative campaign ideas.  
  • Inject creativity, experience, and ‘blue sky thinking / AI elements’ into proposals developed for current and prospective clients. 
    
• Interrogation of the programme/strategy  
  • Continually track the progress of your client’s programmes, interrogate whether the strategy is still fit-for-purpose or needs revising, and assess performance versus KPIs. 
  • Delivery of communications programmes  
  • Proven experience delivering some or all of the following initiatives: corporate communications, brand campaigns, patient education and awareness programmes, HCP education, and media and social media strategies  
• Driving the team to meet projected forecasts  
  • Forward plan to ensure busy months are well-anticipated and any work that can be brought forward is delegated accordingly. 
  • Work with the senior team to set a target for the month ahead and ensure the team keeps the project moving in order to deliver on this target. Flag as soon as possible if there are any issues or reasons that the target will not be met. 
• Financial responsibilities  
  • Lead on monthly budget reconciliations, accurately logging the fees worked through the month and regularly communicating with your clients to explain what budget remains against each project.  
  • Develop business knowledge and support accurate budgeting for clients in line with price list and agreed rates versus resourcing. 
• New business  
  • Be able to demonstrate when you’ve been able to increase the scope of a project or sell your client another project to achieve organic growth on one or more of your accounts. 
  • Take a leading role / provide valuable insights as part of a pitch or planning team, showing depth of understanding and contributing creative or insightful ideas and tactics. 
  • Support the senior team in planning for the future growth of the company – specific role/objective to be defined on an individual basis. 
• Solutions focused attitude  
  • Across all client activity, maintain a solutions-focus mindset to overcome barriers to deliver a successful project, presenting a proposed solution and seeking support from senior team members as required. 
• Company 
  • Supporting company Directors in fostering a positive company culture. 
  • Taking a proactive role in personal development and contribution to the company by identifying and undertaking relevant training and networking events. 
  • Line management duties for the graduate and junior levels (following successful completion of probation period). 

 

About You

Our ideal candidate must have:

• A minimum of 6 years of healthcare communications experience (ideally of an agency background, although in house experience is also welcomed)

• Proven track record of managing multiple client accounts effectively 

• Strong experience in strategic communication planning and campaign execution 

• Able to drive organic and new business growth and to oversee account profitability

• Ability to lead strategy and client management. 

• A dynamic, passionate and values-driven personality who has the ability to nurture senior client relationships and is willing to get stuck in! 

• Exceptional written, presentation and organisational skills. 

• Proven ability to manage and motivate teams 

• A passion for healthcare and desire to help us achieve our vision of enabling better health for all 

• A desire to be a part of an ambitious, entrepreneurial agency at local and group level 

What Makes Us Different

As part of JPA Health, we offer the opportunity to work with purpose and achieve extraordinary results for our clients. You will elevate your career in an environment that thrives at the intersection of wellness, connection, and compassion. Our mission to help people live healthier lives begins with you.

Our approach prioritises compassion to ensure you and your family flourish. We promote flexibility with adaptable work arrangements for a balanced personal and professional life. Creating an inclusive environment where we can all belong, contribute and drive progress, where you can develop and grow, and be empowered. We want you to use your voice to help us shape the future of healthcare to help enable better health for all. We elevate each other. We work collaboratively. And we push ourselves to think bigger.

Benefits include:

• Generous holiday allowance and additional days off for charitable giving
• Unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, internal webinars through JPA’s Elevate Institute, tuition reimbursement, paid professional development, and paid learning and development time
• Private healthcare and access to wellness initiatives
• Competitive pay, discretionary bonus scheme, and opportunities to advance in your career.

At akt, we are committed to fostering a culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). We believe that our strength lies in the diversity of our team, and we strive to create an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and heard. We are dedicated to promoting equity in all aspects of our work, ensuring that all employees have equal access to opportunities and resources. We are inclusive, welcoming individuals of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, national origins, disabilities, and ages. Our commitment to DEI extends beyond our organisation, influencing the work we do and the partnerships we build. We believe that by embracing DEI, we can drive innovation, enhance our services, and contribute to a healthier society.

 

At JPA Health, we are committed to fostering a culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). We believe that our strength lies in the diversity of our team, and we strive to create an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and heard. We are dedicated to promoting equity in all aspects of our work, ensuring that all employees have equal access to opportunities and resources. We are inclusive, welcoming individuals of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, national origins, disabilities, and ages. Our commitment to DEI extends beyond our organization, influencing the work we do and the partnerships we build. We believe that by embracing DEI, we can drive innovation, enhance our services, and contribute to a healthier society.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. If you require an accommodation in order to apply for a position with JPA Health, please contact us for assistance at Recruiting@jpa.com.