Associate Account Director

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

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Job Summary:

Real Chemistry is looking for an Associate Account Director to join our growing team!

As an Associate Account Director, you will be responsible for excellence in delivery across projects within medium-to-large and often complex client accounts. As a client account lead or captain (depending on size of account) you will provide strategic counsel to clients, manage execution of parallel ongoing projects and oversee a cross-functional internal team alongside the account lead and/or sponsor.

The Senior Account Manager role will see you take more of a defined leadership role within your accounts, with an increasing focus on guiding the team as they drive deliverables, actively checking and maintaining client satisfaction, and proactively seeking opportunities to grow the account.

What you’ll do: Client delivery

• Go-to for clients, managing relationships and setting their expectations of the agency

• Accountable for a portfolio of projects within at least two medium-to-large client accounts – with view across all projects and how they all work together within the master client strategy

• Ensure work is delivered to the highest standard and within agreed timeframes and budgets

• Troubleshoot and provide solutions to client challenges and last-minute requests, manage challenging client conversations as required

• Have the confidence to challenge clients as needed – ensuring only the best work is delivered

• Maintain knowledge of clients' business and external factors impacting it, providing counsel and shifting programme direction as needed

• Confidently formulate objectives and strategies for new client work, ensuring that programme strategy is pulled through

• Regular, proactive client contact and coaching others to build/maintain positive client relationships

• Facilitate client meetings/workshops and manage challenging client conversations when required

Business development

• Identify areas for organic growth within existing accounts (evolving existing programmes and/or additional tactics) and confidently sell new ideas to clients

• Identify new business opportunities outside of existing accounts and explore with the support of senior leadership

• Support the ongoing new business process, assisting in the production of credentials and participating in broader RFP responses when possible

• Lead development of content for the annual internal account planning process

Team management

• Develop your own authentic leadership style, instilling professional values and good working habits in your teams

• Inspire, motivate, and empower your team on a daily basis, leading by example and setting the standard for junior accounts team members

• Protect and promote our team culture, ensuring it is lived at every level through the Medical Communications team

• Facilitate and encourage cross-learning and sharing of best practices between team members

• Promote clear and free-flowing communication lines between accounts, MW, PM, creative, strategists and any other business functions active within your client accounts; support troubleshooting where issues arise, along with account Sponsors as required

• Provide coaching and mentoring to junior team members and manage their performance

• Support interviewing for new AAs – AMs

• Line manage at least one accounts team member AA – AM, providing day-to-day support and longer-term career development guidance

Financial management

• Take responsibility for financial management of your client business and participate actively in the monthly financial process

• Develop accurate budgets for more complex client programmes and track resource use against available budget throughout the month

• Coach others to develop accurate budgets for clients, reflecting back on previous projects and gathering cost quotes

• Accurately forecast and proactively alert senior leadership to any changes/potential slowing down of business

• Manage invoicing, track receipt of client POs, and attend month-end finance meetings

• Ensure the profitability of your accounts, addressing any problems such as over-service or scope creep

Agency environment

• Participate in internal initiatives which contribute to the culture or development of the Medical Communications team, or Real Chemistry more broadly (e.g., compliance/socials/inspiration)

• Keep abreast of award-winning work and insights from other industries, sharing as appropriate

This position is a perfect fit for you if:

• Our Company values – Best Together, Impact-Obsessed, Excellence Expected, Evolve Always and Accountability with an “I” – really speak to you.

• You are adaptable, resilient, and OK with adjusting your scope, responsibilities, and focus as we grow. When things change, so do we. We’re always evolving.

• You are proactive, driven, and resourceful with strong prioritization skills and a desire to dive into the data.

• You are highly organized self-starter, able to work independently and under tight deadlines.

What you should have:

• Must have minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a high science subject

• Ability to work within and lead cross-functional teams internally (confidently liaise with and guide tech, creative and account teams) to deliver outstanding client work

• Develop multi-faceted, multi-channel and multi-market strategies and campaigns to deliver against business objectives and strategic imperatives

• Work with analyst teams to identify key client KPIs, develop measurement and learning plans that communicate program performance reveal opportunities to increase success

• Experience in strategy development and execution of global programs, as well as local implementation

• Ability to relay high science of clinical trials or products to audiences with different levels of knowledge

• Ability to support and drive new business operations alone and as part of bigger team Indepth understanding of industry regulations in the UK and across Europe

• Experience with annual planning, resourcing, and forecasting

• Professional presence, performs with a sense of urgency and with a client service orientation

• Has confidence to manage upward when required; able to communicate with managers when deadlines will not be met or when issues are foreseeable

• Excellent business communication ability including informal/formal presentation and writing skills; this includes confident public speaking both internally and externally with clients, vendors, and affiliates

• Previous line management experience (ideally have had at least one formal linee)

• Demonstrated growth and experience in management roles

• Project management experience, demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, prioritize and manage detailed budgets

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Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile here .

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and support and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning. Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at: www.realchemistrybenefits.com .

At Real Chemistry, we believe we're at our best when we're connected. Our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach is designed to foster collaboration, learning, innovation, and meaningful relationships while providing flexibility where appropriate. Because our workforce spans multiple countries, regions, and client needs, work arrangements may vary by role and location. Some positions offer hybrid or remote flexibility, while others require regular in-office presence. For example, certain teams and regions, including some of our UK operations, have office-based requirements. Your recruiter will discuss the specific expectations for the role you're pursuing during the interview process and keep you informed throughout the hiring journey. For employees located within a one-hour commute of a Real Chemistry office, we require in-person attendance two days per week, either from a Real Chemistry office or when working onsite with clients. Employees in regions without a nearby office may work remotely and come together throughout the year for collaboration, culture-building, learning, and team connection opportunities. While these guidelines reflect our current workplace model, we understand that everyone’s circumstances are unique. If you require additional flexibility, we welcome an open conversation with your recruiter and our HR team to discuss your needs and determine what may be possible.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.

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