Account Director

Medical Communications | West Coast Team

The Opportunity

A growing medical communications agency is seeking an experienced Account Director to join its West Coast Account Services team. This individual will serve as a key strategic partner to pharmaceutical and life sciences clients, building strong relationships and translating client objectives into high-quality, impactful medical communications programs.

The Account Director will lead the day-to-day management of assigned accounts and projects, partnering closely with internal cross-functional teams to ensure work is strategically aligned, delivered on time, and managed within scope and budget. The role is ideal for someone who combines excellent client leadership with strong operational, financial, and project management skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary day-to-day contact for clients, developing strong, trusted relationships with client stakeholders and key opinion leaders.
• Translate client strategic objectives and tactical plans into actionable programs and deliverables.
• Lead projects from initial planning and scoping through execution and final delivery.
• Partner closely with medical, scientific, creative, digital, editorial, and project management colleagues to deliver high-quality work.
• Participate in client strategy discussions and ensure internal teams understand the broader strategic objectives behind each initiative.
• Develop and manage Statements of Work (SOWs), project budgets, timelines, milestones, and reconciliations.
• Monitor project progress and proactively identify timeline, budget, resource, or scope risks.
• Manage client expectations and communicate project updates, changes in scope, and potential challenges in a clear and solutions-oriented manner.
• Facilitate internal and client-facing meetings, ensuring clear next steps, ownership, and follow-through.
• Oversee resource allocation across assigned projects and accounts.
• Support the development of strategic and educational materials, including presentations, training initiatives, and other medical communications deliverables.
• Ensure projects successfully navigate applicable medical, legal, and regulatory review processes and meet client requirements.
• Identify opportunities for organic account growth by understanding evolving client needs and recommending relevant solutions or additional tactics.
• Contribute to tactical recommendations, proposals, and new opportunities within existing client relationships.
• Provide guidance, delegation, training, and mentorship to junior Account Services team members.
• Maintain awareness of relevant market, competitive, and industry developments and apply those insights to client programs.

Qualifications

• Approximately 4+ years of account management, project management, or client services experience within a medical communications or healthcare advertising agency environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing pharmaceutical, biotech, or broader life sciences clients.
• Strong understanding of medical communications programs and the processes required to take projects from ideation through implementation.
• Experience developing and managing SOWs, budgets, timelines, and project scopes.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to monitor budgets, recognize scope changes, and manage account profitability.
• Track record of building strong client relationships and serving as a trusted strategic partner.
• Experience identifying organic growth opportunities and developing tactical recommendations.
• Familiarity with pharmaceutical industry terminology, products, regulatory requirements, and review processes.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to successfully oversee multiple concurrent priorities.
• Proactive, solutions-oriented approach to addressing client and internal team challenges.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with and lead multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience mentoring or overseeing junior team members is strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with project management/workflow platforms.