VP, Client Services, Media

About the Role

We’re a different type of media partner, leveraging expertise and imagination to deliver a best-in-class, never-paint-by-number approach to omnichannel and media planning and activation. This role seeks a highly motivated and talented VP of Client Services to lead a portfolio of pharmaceutical brands within our media practice. The position requires a strategic mind, strong financial acumen, and leadership presence to run a business end-to-end, spanning account management and media strategy with a focus on owning and growing strong client relationships.

Responsibilities

• Client Leadership
  • Serve as the senior client partner across HCP and DTC brand teams, owning the relationship at the brand lead level and managing the daily operating cadence.
  • Monitor shifts in the client's business (e.g., new indication launches, partner agency changes, creative pushbacks, budget reallocations) and connect them to strategy, scope, and workstream implications.
  • Lead client meetings, oversee development and delivery of client deliverables, and act as the agency lead for annual tactical/brand planning cycles.
  • Act as the connective tissue between the agency’s media strategy, engagement strategy, and analytics functions, and the client’s brand and commercial analytics teams.
  • Translate deep knowledge of the client’s business, category, and competitive set into clear direction for internal teams and trusted client recommendations.
• Media Oversight
  • Provide strategic oversight of omnichannel planning, media strategy, and activation across search, social, programmatic, and partner-direct channels.
  • Pressure-test recommendations before client presentation and ensure integration with brand planning, creative, and broader marketing initiatives.
  • Oversee the media planning process end-to-end, from brief through client presentation, ensuring compelling, data-driven recommendations.
  • Step in on partner negotiations and escalations when necessary.
• Growth and Industry Presence
  • Identify and cultivate opportunities for organic account growth using data and performance insights.
  • Lead the agency’s response to new business opportunities within the category, shaping the strategic narrative and directing the team’s approach.
  • Champion the agency’s point of view on pharmaceutical media, developing and stewarding category insight and thought leadership.
• Business and Financial Ownership
  • Lead annual budget planning, building flat and plus-up scenarios with line-item rationale and framing financial trade-offs for brand leadership.
  • Own the financial health of the business in partnership with project management, including weekly fee burn against SOW, forecasting, and risk escalation.
  • Drive the full SOW lifecycle, including scope development, mid-year assessment, change orders, finance QA, and client execution.
• Team and Delivery
  • Ensure the business is staffed correctly by forecasting capacity, seniority, and channel skill mix against the pipeline.
  • Own the operating rhythm, ensuring projects kick off on committed dates with approved briefs and assigned resources.
  • Mentor and develop the team, raising the bar on strategy, storytelling, healthcare insight, and professional standards.
  • Drive professional standards across all client communication, surfacing issues early and owning follow-through.

Requirements

• 10+ years of relevant experience at a pharmaceutical/health & wellness advertising agency (as media agency-of-record) with 5+ years in client-facing roles.
• Deep understanding of and experience in HCP and DTC media buying and planning across digital, traditional, and point-of-care (e.g., programmatic, paid social, paid search, online video, native, health endemic, print).
• Proven ability to manage, liaise, think strategically, and solve problems.
• Effective presentation, mentorship, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in digital targeting, data privacy, cross-channel engagement strategy, omnichannel activation, and claims-based attribution.
• Understanding of brand fundamentals (positioning, messaging, creative concepts) and how they integrate.
• Excellent communication skills for presenting ideas to clients, senior executives, and internal teams with varying levels of media acumen.
• Strong writing and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects effectively and within tight deadlines.