Senior Account Director (Patient Advocacy & Policy) in London

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.

Job Summary: Real Chemistry is currently seeking a Senior Account Director with solid client services experience in life sciences who can lead client strategy engagements and oversee project execution across different communication platforms as well as drive new business opportunities. The role will be working as part of our Global Advocacy team, supporting on patient advocacy and health policy, across a range of therapy areas.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain strong client relationships through exceptional client relationship skills
• Identify and lead on opportunities for account growth
• Oversee the distribution of client announcements via the appropriate regulatory channels and follow up with media in a timely manner
• Develop high-level and persuasive communications plans to meet the clients business objectives
• Lead operational efforts and be accountable for the financial performance of engagements through close management of budgets and team members
• Ensure the quality of the account team(s) is held to the highest standard and that all client requests are handled in a strategic and timely manner
• Partner with shared service leads to run and grow integrated business (social media/digital, creative), and to develop new business opportunities
• Directly supervise account staff and promote continuous learning and development to help build a high performing culture

Required Skills & Experience:

• 5+ years in client services within a healthcare agency, specialising in patient advocacy and health policy
• Extensive experience working with pharma and biotech clients
• Strong understanding of policy within the UK, European and Global markets
• Exceptional presentation skills — both verbal and written, formal and informal
• Highly organized, proactive and a solution-oriented thinker under pressure
• Project management experience, demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, prioritize and manage detailed budgets
• Supervisory skills, with ability to manage and cultivate junior staff and effectively collaborate with vendors
• Positive, team-oriented attitude
• Demonstrated experience developing direct reports and influence-managing matrixed teams a must
• Exceptional organizational skills leading to flawless execution of tactical plans is required

Please note: this role requires hybrid working with 2 days per week from one of our offices - London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks.

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. 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 support 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, 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.