Account Director | Healthcare Communications | London

About us

Hanover is an award-winning communications consultancy that advises enterprises, institutions, and individuals on building recognition and enhancing reputation. From our offices across Europe and the Middle East, we adopt an integrated approach that connects the dots across channels, audiences and issues. Our collective of smart, curious people think differently and live by a shared mission, purpose, vision, and values. These shape how we work, not just with our colleagues, but with clients and partners too. Our mission is to ‘rewire communications for impact’ and harness its transformative power to advocate, trailblaze and make a difference.

We do this by igniting and empowering the potential of every individual within our company, recognising that each person is a unique spark, capable of creating extraordinary impact. We believe that by nurturing and harnessing the collective brilliance of our people, we can drive innovation, foster an uncommon work culture, and make a positive difference to society. Embracing the complete range of skills and services across the communications spectrum without constraint, we create the best outcomes for our clients and deliver world-class work.

We're in search of a driven professional to take on the role of Account Director in our Healthcare Communications team. You will play a pivotal role in delivering strategic guidance to our esteemed public relations clientele, overseeing account management, team leadership, and budgeting. The role involves spearheading new business initiatives, from identifying prospects to leading pitches, and nurturing the professional growth of junior team members up to the Consultant level. Passionate about propelling innovative healthcare products, services, and organisations to new heights of success, you will engage with a varied client portfolio, ranging from leading global healthcare corporations to dynamic startups, all while making a meaningful impact on patient care and the healthcare community.

Our client roster boasts prominent names like Lilly, AstraZeneca and Merck. Joining our team means bringing your expertise to a diverse array of projects, spanning product PR, patient advocacy, corporate communications, and media relations, within stimulating therapeutic fields such as neuroscience, immunology, and cardiometabolic health. Our team's excellence hasn't gone unnoticed—we've earned accolades from PRWeek, SABRE, and PharmaTimes, and we've been contenders for an agency award at the Communiqué Awards. Join us and be part of a team that's not just winning awards, but also making a real difference in healthcare communications.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide timely and relevant strategic advice to clients informed by broad intelligence-gathering on client, sector and competitors and policy environment.
• Project manage and supervise the delivery of all client services across multiple accounts.
• Exhibit a willingness to challenge the status quo, innovate, and embrace new ideas to drive the business forward.
• Lead regular client meetings and internal account management meetings, reviewing progress and allocating tasks.
• Manage account teams, providing direction and support to ensure high-quality client service.
• Manage client budgets and adhere to company budget setting and management processes.
• Ensure timely and accurate billing to ensure client needs are met within budget.
• Project manage activities focused on new business development, including marketing and new business pipeline management.
• Demonstrate an active and ever-expanding new business network that can provide significant opportunities for Hanover.
• Identify opportunities to cross-sell services between Hanover teams and/or offices.
• Provide personal management and mentoring of junior members of the team, up to Consultant level, providing guidance to improve quality of work, overall efficiency and foster a culture of excellence.
• Conduct performance reviews and support career progression for team members.
• Champion diversity and inclusion within the team and in client work, ensuring a range of perspectives are considered and valued.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:

• Proven track record of experience working in a healthcare / pharmaceutical PR role, ideally within a consultancy or in-house team.
• Proven media relations expertise with network of UK or international media connections.
• Proficient in both healthcare product and corporate communications.
• A willingness to challenge the status quo, innovate, and embrace new ideas to drive the business forward.
• Ability to lead teams and drive client accounts.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Effective time, project and financial management.
• Client focused with close attention to detail.
• Familiarity with relevant media (print, broadcast and digital) and digital communication channels.
• Proactive and experienced in developing new business.

BENEFITS:

In addition to a competitive salary, your core benefits package will include:

• An annual performance-related bonus plus additional bonus potential linked to recruitment, new business and long service.
• 25 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays).
• Private healthcare and dental insurance.
• Travel insurance.
• A company pension plan, including 5% employer contribution.

You’ll also have access to a wide range of opportunities and initiatives, including:

• Flexible working policies, plus eligibility to apply for a sabbatical after 2 years’ service.
• Summer Fridays finish (3pm) – early Friday finish the rest of the year (4pm).
• The Hanover Academy, which incorporates training, coaching, mentoring and reverse-mentoring opportunities to support personal development and career progression across all levels, with a generous training budget.
• International secondments as well as the opportunity to collaborate with all offices across the AVENIR GLOBAL’s network.
• A wellbeing programme, featuring (but not limited to) pre- and post-maternity leave coaching, a working parents’ group, subsidised gym membership.
• Our Culture Club, with a robust social calendar all year round and CSR activity.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement:

Hanover Communications is an equal opportunities employer, committed to creating and ensuring a fair, inclusive, and diverse work environment where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We believe that equality and diversity are essential to high performance and a thriving culture. We maintain a strict no-tolerance stance against any form of discrimination and harassment, ensuring all individuals are treated equitably, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital or pregnancy status, genetic background, or any other attribute safeguarded under our company policies or federal, state or local laws and legislation.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please send an email to recruitment@hanovercomms.com with the nature of your request. We are committed to transparency about how we collect and use your data, including ensuring we comply with legal obligations relating to data protection.

Hanover is part of AVENIR GLOBAL’s powerhouse of specialist communications consultancies across EMEA and North America. Collectively we rank among the top 15 largest communication firms in the world. Find out more about Hanover and working for us.