Associate Vice President, Group Account Director

Position Summary:

The AVP, Group Account Director is involved in client strategy, client marketing, campaign budgets, and assists in up-selling new products and services to existing clients where applicable. The AVP, Group Account Director supports business development/sales efforts through overseeing and ensuring delivery of managed market services and products across multiple projects within an assigned client. This position assists Client Services leadership to build client relationships and ensure client satisfaction through high levels of performance achievement.  The AVP, Group Account Director is responsible for overall management, mentoring, training, and development of the Account Services department.

Essential functions of the job include but are not limited to:

Client Management

·       Leads one or more workstreams delivering sold projects, including key activities, schedules, milestones, outcomes, deliverables, resource plans, and budgets (~$2+mm)

·       Serves as the day-to-day client point of contact, communicating with the client on regular basis to monitor client satisfaction and quality deliverables

·       Liaise with client on a regular basis to ascertain strategic brand or departmental direction

·       Identifies obstacles and challenges and provide solution-oriented ideas to clients and assigned internal business team for discussion and implementation

·       Travel to meetings, as appropriate, to manage Client expectations and ensure highest quality execution

Brand Stewardship

·       Participates in strategy development discussions

·       Displays deep understanding of brand strategies and implications to owned initiatives

·       Develops, reviews, and comments on brand content to ensure alignment with brand strategies and initiatives

·       Works with Medical/Copy/Strategic Services to stay informed of relevant Client and therapeutic area developments to assist in the overall management of Client strategic objectives/needs; update Client and assigned internal business team accordingly

·       Continues to learn about industry, client, brand, strategy, etc.

Project Management

·       Liaises with internal teams to coordinate logistical components of program development, execution and budget management as appropriate

·       Ensures the highest standards of quality control of client materials and, as appropriate, develop best practices protocols for project teams to facilitate quality control and consistency

·       Leads internal teams to ensure project timelines are met, quality of work is high, and communication is fluid with all parties, each member understanding their roles

·       Attends internal meetings with strategy, client services, meeting services, traffic, and other key personnel to discuss project status

·       Demonstrates expertise in workflow process

·       Demonstrates self-motivation to move the business

Leadership

·       Manages Account teams and individuals to ensure they meet and exceed customer needs and expectations on a day to day basis

·       Coaches, develops, and supervises staff on an consistent and ongoing basis

·       Identifies and communicates clear roles and responsibilities of team members establishing ground rules

·       Exhibit a mastery to staff and clients of the health care industry, the medical marketing and communications field, disease-specific issues and clinical data that are of vital importance to clients

Business Development

·       Pursues and secures business with existing and prospective new Clients in order to achieve or exceed annual revenue objective

·       Supports pursuit of new business opportunities and development of pitch presentations

·       Develops tactical and budget recommendations aligned with brand strategies in conjunction with senior account and leadership as applicable

·       Develops SOWs in accordance to MSA and rate card for client assigned workstreams

Finance

·       Manages budgets, projections, reconciliation and forecasting to meet corporate and account goals

·       Provides monthly budget status updates and communication with client

·       Ensures budgets and project estimates are accurate and appropriately represent required project hours

Departmental Responsibilities

·       Provides standard and customized reports to clients at specified intervals

·       Adheres to PhRMA, FDA, OIG and ACCME guidelines

·       Attends internal meetings with strategic services, creative services, marketing operations, and other key personnel to discuss project status 

Qualifications:

Minimum Required:

·       Bachelor Degree

Other Required:

·       8+ years of experience with a pharmaceutical advertising agency experience or in a managed markets, medical communications company to include being the principal client liaison managing the relationship

·       5+ years in direct client/ brand account management  

·       Launch experience required

·       Experience supervising 2+ team members

·       Prior experience managing a large book of business

·       Ability to travel up to 20% for client meetings

Preferred:

·       Academic concentration in marketing, advertising, communications or related subject

·       Oncology experience or specialty experience (biologics/injectable drugs)

·       Sizable launch and multiple launch experience