Senior Account Director

The Senior Account Director is responsible for leading a portfolio of client accounts within the Life Sciences sector, acting as a senior strategic partner and primary point of contact. With over 10 years’ experience in agency-based client services or growth roles, this individual brings a proven track record of managing complex, global and multi-market portfolios, building enduring relationships with senior stakeholders.

A strategic and commercially minded leader, they demonstrate strong expertise in budget management, pricing, and margin optimisation, alongside a proactive approach to identifying growth opportunities and driving innovation. With exceptional communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, they confidently influence and challenge senior stakeholders, elevating client relationships beyond execution while maintaining the highest standards of service, creativity, and profitability.

Key Responsibilities

Client Relationship & Strategic Leadership

• Own, develop, and execute strategic relationship plans for Executive Leadership, C-Suite, and key stakeholders across assigned accounts.
• Act as a trusted advisor to clients, providing strategic counsel, insight, and creative innovation that supports their business objectives and elevates partnership value.
• Lead the creation and execution of robust client retention and growth strategies, ensuring year-on-year account stability and expansion.
• Develop and implement tailored business development plans within existing client portfolios, identifying opportunities for new services and revenue streams.
• Champion the agency’s full-service offering, ensuring digital, creative, production, content, and engagement solutions are effectively positioned and integrated into client strategies.
• Provide strategic guidance on compliant engagement across multiple channels, partnering with client medical, legal, and regulatory teams to deliver innovative, ethical, and patient-centric solutions.

Commercial & Financial Management

• Own the financial performance of allocated accounts, including revenue forecasting, gross margin delivery, and profitability targets.
• Lead the commercial review process, ensuring accurate pricing models, transparent financial tracking, and proactive margin management.
• Drive commercial excellence through regular analysis of client profitability, resource utilisation, and pricing initiatives.
• Identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities across the full agency offering, expanding scope and increasing account value.
• Shape commercial models that support integrated delivery (retainers, project-based, SOWs across disciplines).
• Ensure internal CRMs, budgets, and commercial documentation are accurate, complete, and aligned with internal governance standards.

Client Delivery & Quality Assurance

• Oversee delivery of all client Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), ensuring standards of excellence across all programmes.
• Provide senior oversight of project and account management teams to ensure delivery is on time, on budget, and to the highest compliance and quality standards.
• Ensure seamless collaboration between specialist teams, removing silos and driving efficiency across all workstreams.
• Champion a “one agency” approach, ensuring clients experience a unified, best-in-class service across all capability areas.
• Partner with internal operations, compliance, and delivery teams to maintain robust governance frameworks.
• Lead Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to evaluate performance against KPIs, identify areas for improvement, and shape future strategies.

New Business & RFP Management

• In partnership with New Business Development, lead the strategic response and delivery of RFPs, proposals, and pitch presentations for assigned accounts and support new opportunities across the business.
• Contribute to the development of thought leadership, case studies, and credentials that reinforce the agency’s expertise within the Life Sciences sector.
• Identify opportunities to embed longer-term partnerships, including retainers, transformation programmes, and strategic advisory relationships.

People Management

• Develop, mentor, and coach direct reports, ensuring regular check-ins to support performance and career development.
• Oversee the development and progression of the wider team, ensuring clear development plans are in place.
• Work with Talent Management to assess skills, identify training needs, and implement development strategies aligned to individual and business goals.
• Lead recruitment processes, including interviewing and selection of new team members.
• Provide consistent leadership, motivation, and direction, fostering a high-performing and collaborative team culture.
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure best practice sharing and consistent delivery standards across the business.
• Oversee management of team availability, including holidays and lieu days.

General

• Monitor and review timesheet activity within company systems.
• Prepare monthly client project analysis to ensure team and resource costs are aligned with client budgets.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10+ years’ experience in a client services or growth-focused role within an agency environment.
• Strong experience within the Life Sciences sector.
• Proven track record of managing complex, global or multi-market client portfolios, with the ability to build and sustain long-term senior stakeholder relationships.
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated, multi-disciplinary programmes and teams across strategy, creative, digital, and delivery functions.
• Strong commercial acumen, with proven experience in budget management, margin optimisation, pricing strategy, and driving profitable account growth.
• Exceptional presentation, negotiation, and communication skills, with the ability to influence and challenge senior stakeholders, including C-Suite.
• Strategic and commercially minded thinker, with a proactive approach to identifying growth opportunities, driving innovation, and elevating client partnerships beyond execution.

Last but not least, we believe in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Jack Morton and Genuine are equal opportunity employers; we strongly value diversity at our companies. We do not discriminate on race, religion, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law. 

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