Account Director (Medical Communications)

Ogilvy was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy. David created a culture that deeply respects and cares about its people and clients. Our mission is to inspire people and brands to make an impact and we are committed to attracting, growing, and retaining the best talent in the industry. Ogilvy Health UK is made up of healthcare communication specialists across the disciplines of medical education and communications; brain sciences; brand promotion; digital and social; strategic planning; public relations and creative/design. We believe we are like no other: we blaze new trails; we encourage a culture of creativity and innovation; we challenge, and we change; and we recognise and reward our team. In medical education, our approach is founded on expertise that combines biomedical science, learning theory and behaviour change to create impactful medical and professional education. Scientifically Grounded, Creatively Driven.

About the Role

Due to significant growth and a rapid resurgence of activity on a high-priority, strategic account, we are seeking an experienced and dynamic Account Director to join our team. This is a pivotal role within a fast paced environment, offering the chance to lead and shape key workstreams on an account with substantial future potential. If you're ready to make a significant impact and drive continued success, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

What You’ll Do

• As an Account Director, you will be instrumental in guiding and growing this crucial account.
• You will lead the delivery of diverse medical communications projects, provide expert strategic direction to our clients, and inspire your internal teams.
• This role demands a proactive leader who can manage multiple workstreams, contribute to business development, and ensure financial oversight and long-term client success.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic planning and delivery of a broad range of medical communications projects.
• Serve as a key client contact, providing expert counsel and direction.
• Oversee and direct internal project teams, fostering collaboration and excellence.
• Drive forward planning and ensure seamless execution across workstreams.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to achieve account objectives.
• Contribute to ongoing business development initiatives, identifying opportunities for growth and partnership.
• Maintain full financial oversight of projects, including budgeting, forecasting, reconciliations, and client invoicing.
• Ensure the continued long-term success and growth of this busy, priority account.

What You’ll Need

• Demonstrable experience within medical communications.
• An in-depth understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and the drug development process across pre- and post-launch environments.
• Proven experience in account direction, programme management, and providing client counsel within highly regulated pharmaceutical settings.
• A track record of delivering strategically effective projects that consistently meet pharmaceutical company clients' objectives, budgets, and timelines.
• Experience across a broad range of medical communications project types.
• In-depth experience liaising with top-tier global clinicians and other healthcare professionals, always within permitted guidelines.
• Expertise in collaborating with various specialties within pharmaceutical clients (e.g., Medical Affairs, Marketing, Research and Development, Legal/Regulatory, Procurement).
• Working knowledge of and strict compliance with key industry guidelines (e.g., ABPI, Sunshine Act).
• In-depth knowledge of the content development process and pharmaceutical company approval systems (Medical, Legal, Regulatory).
• Demonstrated ability to oversee the financial management of projects, including budgeting, forecasting, reconciliations, and client management.

How We’ll Support You

Ogilvy celebrates its people. Fully. Enthusiastically. Unhesitatingly. We’ll empower you with the tools you’ll need to succeed. We’ll give you the autonomy to seek out new paths and better ways of doing things. We’ll support you with colleagues who are experts in their disciplines, drawn from across the Ogilvy network. And we’ll provide opportunities for you to do work of which you’ll be proud, with people you’ll be proud to call your teammates. Join a friendly, non-hierarchical, and eclectic team united by a shared commitment to doing the best work of our lives (it's one of our values!). Beyond client work, you'll have opportunities to engage with our vibrant culture and social teams, and contribute to our fantastic DEI initiatives, championing diversity across our agency and industry.

We offer a flexible working hybrid model: 2 days in the office (all-agency anchor days for collaboration and socialising) and 3 days working remotely from wherever you work best.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday + your birthday off and a paid volunteering day - after 2 years service you can purchase up to an additional 5 days per year.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• A generous pension scheme - you pay in 4% we pay 6%, following probation contributions are matched up to 10.5% (17.5% in total).
• Choose from either Private Medical Cover (Bupa from day one) OR Dental cover OR a monthly leisure allowance of £45 to spend on your health & wellbeing.
• A fantastic Employee Assistance Programme provided by Telus which offers brilliant support, expert advice and specialist counselling.
• Help at Hand - quick free access to a remote GP, mental health support, physio or a medical 2nd opinion.
• Free 1-2-1 Coaching - online coaching for your professional or personal growth provided by Thrive Partners.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we’re committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone who wants to work at Ogilvy. For us, diversity, equity and inclusion is integrated into everything that we do. We believe that for creativity to flourish, everything about how we work must have diversity at its core. Your race, colour, ethnic, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, have no bearing on our hiring decisions, but we encourage everyone to feel free to express their true selves in an environment we are consistently striving to make as inclusive as possible. We aim to facilitate an accessible and positive application experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments from us to support you through the process or expect to require any adjustments to working conditions to be able to best perform in the role, please let us know. We are happy to consider all reasonable adjustments. If you live with a disability and you would like to take advantage of our offer of a guaranteed interview under the Disability Confident Scheme, please ensure you fill out our voluntary Equal Opportunities Questionnaire when applying.