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Group Account Director - Health

Group Account Director - Health

Havas Health NetworkToronto, ON, Canada
30+ days ago
Job type
  • Full-time
Job description

The Role

A Group Account Director (GAD) serves as a brand champion for our pharmaceutical clients, managing multiple accounts—or one very large, high-profile account. In this role, you will supervise the management of account groups, provide strategic support and leadership, and drive business growth within existing pharma / health accounts while ensuring strict adherence to PAAB regulatory and compliance standards. Supervision and development of the account team is critical to this position.

What We Expect From You

Strategic Thinking

  • Develop an intimate understanding of the healthcare and pharmaceutical markets in Canada to which the brands belong
  • Develop or contribute to the development of copy strategy / positioning
  • Actively lead strategic development by ensuring alignment between clinical data, regulatory requirements, and marketing initiatives.
  • Identify meaningful market research needs to support strategic decisions and guide its development
  • Interpret and apply market research data to inform strategic decisions.
  • Proactively provide clients with strategic insight and problem-solving on a consistent basis
  • Supervise the development of in-depth competitive analyses that capture the nuances of the healthcare market.
  • Stay abreast of market trends and monitor emerging drugs and therapies relevant to our clients.

Brand Championing

  • Ensure that all agency efforts and creative campaigns are in the best interest of building the brand
  • Challenge strategies, client direction, market research results, programs, or ideas that are not aligned with the brand positioning or the long-term vision
  • Ensure all strategies, creative, and tactics developed support the brand positioning
  • Continually seek opportunities for brand-building and innovative approaches to overcome obstacles.
  • Demonstrate passion for healthcare and pharmaceutical brands, showing unwavering commitment to maximizing their success.
  • Proactively provide business building that results in incremental income for the agency
  • Act as a brand champion across all agency team members
  • Persuasively guide clients toward the most effective creative and tactical outputs—even in situations where initial client hesitancy exists.

    • Creative / Branding

  • Encourage the development of breakthrough creative
  • Ensure high-quality agency output, reflective of consistently superior creative product
  • Contribute to the development of the creative product
  • Constructively review creative work to enhance its impact on building the brand
  • Recognize and advocate for world-class creative work both internally and with clients.
  • Ensure client creative comments are properly interpreted (and challenged if necessary)
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the agency branding process and foster / contribute to brand building among account groups
  • Manage seamless collaboration between account teams and creative teams

    • Client Relations

  • Develop / maintain strong interpersonal relationships with the client at appropriate levels
  • Quickly identify and resolve client conflicts
  • Continuously network with clients and potential clients
  • Provide proactive written recommendations to clients on a regular basis
  • Effectively represent agency POV to clients
  • Ensures client is kept up to date on competitive activity
  • Identifie and cultivate new business opportunities for the agency and its divisions

    • Management / Leadership

  • Supervise the management of each account
  • Oversee the development of the account team, ensuring team members are well-versed in healthcare compliance, regulatory issues, and market dynamics.
  • Understand client forecast / budget issues
  • Act as a mentor within the account group
  • Identify and help resolve people / departmental conflicts with practical solutions
  • Identify and propose development plans for account team members
  • Keep agency leadership informed of client activities, issues, and opportunities
  • Ensure account team is skilled at reviewing creative work and provide constructive comments
  • Advocate for staff growth and development while providing clear and regular performance feedback and annual reviews

    • Financial

  • Provide accurate and realistic forecasts for the group
  • Routinely monitor financial performance of accounts to maximize income generation
  • Demonstrate an understanding of income sources and client compensation structures for the group
  • Assist with fee negotiations and ensures routine monitoring for accuracy / adjustments
  • Review contracts / billing structure periodically to update or revise as needed
  • Ensure financial control of all client work (estimates, jobs, fees, billing) throughout the group

    • Key Requirements

  • Proven experience leading multiple or large accounts in a health ad-agency environment
  • Experience in Canadian health sector, with knowledge of local regulations and trends
  • Strong strategic thinking and market research interpretation skills, particularly in the context of healthcare and pharma
  • Expertise in brand positioning and campaign development
  • Ability to challenge and refine strategies to align with brand goals
  • Passion for creative work with a focus on high-quality output
  • Strong interpersonal skills and client relationship management
  • Experience in mentoring and developing account teams
  • Financial acumen with experience in forecasting, budgeting, and fee negotiations
  • Strong sales skills and ability to drive business growth
  • Accountability for meeting or exceeding forecasts
  • Collaborative approach to working with the strategy team on pitches