Vice President, Account Director

Company description

Heartbeat is a full-service agency for healthcare Challenger Brands. Challengers are playing a high-stakes game—they must battle behemoth market leaders, upend ingrained treatment habits, or transform a “me-too” product into “yes-please.”

The agency is known for serving up distinctive strategies and differentiating approaches, ensuring clients’ market positions are uniquely owned. Heartbeat designs their organization around a 100% integration model, housing media, strategy, med comms, creative, technology, and even point of care/population health under the same roof for the tightest, most integrated campaigns possible. They price work based on outcomes, not outputs. Their innovative model delivers not only alignment, but powerful orchestration, greater efficiency, and maximum impact for every dollar spent—all the necessary elements for Challengers to triumph.

That’s the philosophy, here’s the creds: 250+ employees between NYC & LA; 6 agency leaders with decades of tenure; a pile of awards from the likes of the Mannys, MM&M Awards, OMMAs, and Clios; an industry-leading commitment to diversity and inclusion (with a Med Ad News D&I Champion nod to match); and a President who dared to be quoted as saying, “We celebrate people who stand up and say, ‘You know what? This is dumb.' Damn straight.

Overview

The Vice President, Account Director serves as the senior strategic lead across one or more brands, driving excellence in media planning, client partnership, and integrated team performance. Reporting to the EVP, Media Lead, this role is responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality work across cross-functional teams, fostering trusted client relationships, and finding opportunities to drive organic growth. The VP, Account Director acts as a key advisor to clients and internal collaborators, championing critical thinking, operational excellence, and business results while helping to shape the future growth of the agency's media practice.

Responsibilities

Knowledge

• Pharma media experience across a diverse set of conditions, disease states, and audiences (DTC, HCP, Payer, etc.)
• Perspective beyond Pharma to bring guidelines for media across audiences and channels (e.g. CPG, retail)
• Understands the total marketing process and the strategic role of media
• Provides insights on industry trends and client's business
• Contributes to thought leadership in the form of POV’s and articles
• Proactively self-educates on Heartbeat Media, Publicis Groupe, and client business functions, capabilities, tools, and processes

Managing and Leading Others

• Builds trust, models inclusion, and shows respect for all employees
• Exerts some lateral influence to manage cross-functional employees
• Provides clear communication on business initiatives and client requests
• Ensures teams are properly trained on tools and processes
• Drives adherence processes and guidelines
• Participates in formal development process, including performance management, goal-setting, mid- and yearly reviews
• Nurtures and develops mid-level and lower-level talent
• Participates in Heartbeat’s interviewing efforts
• Contributes to the agency culture

Strategy & Account Management

• Drives the planning process
• Responsible for the overall approach, and plan on each account
• Collaborates with internal cross-functional leaders to ensure strategic alignment of deliverables with client needs
• Pushes for continuous improvement of self, team, and client deliverables
• Provides a point of escalation

Organic Growth and New Business

• Assists EVP in setting organic growth goals 
• Helps EVP drive adherence to organic growth roadmaps and business plans
• Encourages team to incorporate new agency initiatives into recommendations
• Assists EVP in finding opportunities to upsell and cross-sell to existing clients
• Scopes client work with Project or Business Management partner

Client Service

• Responsible for relationships with clients and agency partners
• Conveys passion for clients and their businesses
• Works with clients to shape their marketing priorities and new client relationships
• Drives professional, impactful standards within team for all written and verbal contact with clients; 'gold-standard' writer and presenter
• Serves as point of escalation for client concerns

Qualifications

• 10+ years of media experience
• 6+ years management experience preferred
• Deep cross-channel media knowledge and experience
• Pharmaceutical industry preferred
• BA/BS; advanced degree a plus
• Proven ability to lead people (mentoring and developing) and projects
• Proven ability to develop talent
• Proven ability to earn the respect of clients, internal partners, and peers
• Strong innovation and creativity skills

Additional information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [email protected].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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Compensation Range: USD $121,315.00 - USD $194,220.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 12/14/2026.