Senior Strategy Director

Syneos Health; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading biopharmaceutical services firm is seeking a Senior Strategy Director in the City of Westminster to lead brand and creative strategies across key agency accounts. The role demands a proven strategist experienced in healthcare communications, with a strong aptitude for collaboration and innovative thinking. You will manage major brand strategies while fostering client relationships and supporting a diverse team. This position offers a dynamic work environment dedicated to improving patients' lives globally.

Benefits

Inclusive workplace

Collaboration with diverse experts

Career growth opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven track record as a strategist in a healthcare-focused environment.
• Experience with developing launch strategy frameworks.
• Ability to run workshops and communicate effectively.
• Strong understanding of healthcare communications.

Responsibilities

• Lead brand and creative strategy for key agency accounts.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure strategic alignment.
• Build strong client relationships and provide strategic support.
• Advocate for innovative strategic thinking.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Interpersonal skills

Excellent communication

Original thinking

Time management

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Overview

The Senior Strategy Director, EU Client Strategy is responsible for leading the brand and creative strategy thinking on selected key agency accounts, major new business pitches and, on occasion, speculative new business outreach, reporting to the Head of Client Strategy, EU.

Responsibilities

• Be accountable for ensuring that the strategy work delivered on allocated tasks is original, high quality, motivating and actionable, aligned with client needs and new business pitch requirements, and leverages internal resources across Advertising, Public/Professional Relations, Digital Communications, Medical Communications and Clinical Trial Recruitment offers.
• Contribute to strategy work spanning areas such as insight development, brand strategy, positioning, messaging, and concept testing based on project needs.
• Prepare with originality and facilitate with energy internal and external workshops in both new business and existing business contexts.
• Collaborate with and contribute to a productive team of Strategists based in London and Germany.
• Provide strategic support, as directed, to all EU regional in-market Syneos Health Communications offices and offers, and across the broader affiliate network (including US) to support larger global opportunities.
• Work in sync with the Creative Department to ensure all deliverables are on strategy before broader internal presentation, and contribute to concept generation and approval where appropriate.
• Ensure that, on allocated accounts, major agency deliverables are on brief prior to internal management, and then client presentation.
• Collaborate closely with Medical Strategy on allocated accounts to ensure brand strategy recommendations are based on sound science.
• Build strong and influential client relationships, negotiating as necessary regarding amendments to strategy in line with client wishes while explaining what is and is not possible.
• Consult, when appropriate, across the broad, integrated team to draw on wider expertise.
• Lead allocated strategy projects through to delivery in accordance with timelines outlined by Project Management.
• Be an advocate and thought leader on strategy, researching new ways of thinking and evaluating them for inclusion among agency deliverables.
• Collaborate with the Head of Insight to assist in the development of new research tools that might add value to the agency's overall strategy offering.
• Flex as needed to support evolving business and client needs.

Qualifications and Experience

• A proven track record as a strategist within an omnichannel environment including, but not limited to, Advertising, Public/Professional Relations, Digital, Medical Communications and Clinical Trial Recruitment, in a healthcare-focused environment.
• Specific experience to include:
  • Developing and completing launch strategy frameworks and activity plans.
  • Supporting clients in structuring and writing launch, or annual, brand plans.
  • Leading strategic thinking on significant global as well as regional launches.
  • Comfort and proficiency in planning, structuring and running both internal and external workshops.
  • A proactive and conscientious manner with an outstanding aptitude for clear and direct strategic thinking, and bringing a wealth of original and inspiring ideas.
  • Ability to create stories for others to work on, with keen awareness of current trends in healthcare communications and society at large.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, balancing a crystal-clear strategic vision with openness to others’ ideas.
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills to persuade clients and explain strategies to creative and account teams.
  • Fluency with applying AI tools to support project productivity and output quality.
  • Strong time and self-management skills with ability to work across multiple projects.
  • People-oriented approach to building engaged, productive and happy teams within account groups and the Client Strategy team.
  • Willingness to constructively challenge colleagues, other agencies and clients alike.
  • Comfort in advising and collaborating with extended team members.
  • Ability and generosity to inspire, influence and share knowledge with less experienced colleagues in brand and creative strategy.
  • Appreciation of financial management and budgets for projects.
  • Strong attention to detail, excellent organisational and administrative skills.

Company and Diversity

At Syneos Health, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. We also encourage you to join our Talent Network to stay connected to additional career opportunities. Syneos Health Communications is powered by Syneos Health, a global professional services organisation designed to help the biopharmaceutical industry shorten the distance from lab to life®. We have a proven pedigree in health, with industry titans in every facet of healthcare. This eliminates guesswork and fuels our passion for total, life-changing solutions. At the heart of health, we are uniquely poised to predict what’s next and respond to the market’s demand for smarter and faster answers. We can help our customers make important decisions within their business due to our understanding of the complexities of working in the healthcare industry. Syneos Health Communications makes the complex simple. Work Here Matters Everywhere. How are you inspired to change lives? Syneos Health companies are affirmative action/equal opportunity employers (Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled).

Discover what our more than 29,000 employees already know: work here matters everywhere. We work hard and smart, all in the name of getting much-needed therapies to those who need them most. A career with Syneos Health means your everyday work improves patients’ lives around the world. Selecting us as an employer secures a career in which you’re guaranteed to:

• Collaborate with passionate problem solvers
• Partner with the most diverse team of experts in the industry
• From the top down, our people are inspiring. Everyone has a voice and is encouraged to use it
• Be empowered and thrive. Here, there’s no shortage of challenging work, learning and opportunities
• Evolve in a growing, global company that is always looking for ways to work smarter and more efficiently
• Over deliver and out-perform
• Challenge the status quo in a highly competitive and ever-changing environment
• Be agile and take initiative to find new solutions reflective of high-quality standards
• Help change lives by shortening the distance from lab to life

Syneos Health is an equal opportunity employer. We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.