Account Director, Earned Media in Edinburgh

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.

Job Summary

We’re looking for an Account Director to specialise in all things media relations for our Integrated Communications team. Working across some of our largest global accounts in areas such as obesity, oncology and rare diseases, you will be confident working with clients, cross‑functional internal teams, and the media. We’re looking for someone either with a strong agency background who wants to develop their career to specialise in media relations, or someone with a strong media or press office background who wants to jump straight into the variety of work that comes with agency life!

Responsibilities

• Managing multiple client accounts of varying sizes
• Developing and maintaining strong client relationships
• Overseeing the distribution of client announcements via the appropriate regulatory channels and following up with media in a timely manner
• Developing high‑level and persuasive communications plans to meet the clients business objectives
• Taking accountability for the financial performance of accounts through close management of budgets and team members
• Partnering with internal team leads to grow integrated business (social media/digital, creative), and to develop new business opportunities

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience within an integrated health PR/marketing agency and/or press office
• Experience with pharmaceutical clients
• Experience working within media relations, and interest in growing further in this area
• Some scientific knowledge from education or work
• Strong understanding of the UK and European media
• Understanding of the ever changing digital landscape
• Exceptional presentation skills — both verbal and written, formal and informal
• Project management experience, demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, prioritize and manage detailed budgets

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.

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 vision plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning.

Working with Real HART: Since the pandemic, we have adapted to how our people told us they want to work. We have office locations in cities in the US, UK, and Europe with many employees and clients that serve as hubs where and when they need us. For employees who are within an hour of one of our offices, we expect attendance in the office two days per week, either at a Real Chemistry office or onsite with clients. We are also actively opening new office locations, so if one opens near you, our Real HART policy will apply. We are not looking for attendance for the sake of attendance but believe that the opportunity to coordinate in‑office team meetings, 1:1 meetings with managers, taking advantage of on‑site learning, and connecting with client partners is critical to delivering on our purpose of making healthcare what it should be. Outside of these offices, we have regions, where people work remotely but come together quarterly for collaboration, culture and learning opportunities. We call this our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach. Real Chemistry believes we are best together – and our workplace strategy fosters connection and collaboration in person – but also supports flexibility for our people.

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, colour, 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.