Account Director

Substance Global; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Substance Global seeks a senior social-first account leader to manage day-to-day delivery and senior relationships on a fast-paced, pharma-focused project account. You will coordinate with Strategy, Creative, Insights and Paid teams across global markets to ensure high quality work that meets brand goals and regulatory requirements.

The role requires 5+ years in pharma or healthcare account management, strong stakeholder engagement, budget oversight, and a track record of growing accounts.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of social-first account management experience in pharma or healthcare.
• Builds trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and leads meetings across global markets.
• Tracks record of growing accounts and expanding services.
• Leads integrated teams across strategy, social, creative, paid media and insights.
• Communicates clearly with brand teams, partners and third parties.
• Strong experience in proposals, scoping, pitches and presenting ideas.
• Manages multiple projects with deadlines and quality control.
• Understands social pharma considerations including approval processes.
• Has commercial awareness with budgets, scopes and resourcing.
• Deep understanding of social platforms and emerging innovations.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day senior relationships across allocated accounts.
• Deliver work to a high standard aligned with brand strategies and scope.
• Lead meetings, strategic discussions, and project communications.
• Identify stakeholder needs early and strengthen long-term relationships.
• Oversee health and profitability of accounts, including budgets and resourcing.
• Identify opportunities for organic growth and additional services.
• Set priorities across accounts and delegate effectively.
• Provide direction to Account Managers and support progression.
• Collaborate with Group Account Director on strategy and growth.
• Ensure integrated thinking with Strategy, Creative, Social and Paid teams.
• Stay current on industry developments and competitor activity.
• Lead new-business opportunities including proposals, costing, pitches.
• Raise Substance's profile through thought leadership and industry networking.

Skills

Senior account management

Pharma/Healthcare

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Proposal writing

Budget management

Social media strategy

Client relationship growth

Job description

This role leads day-to-day delivery and senior relationships on a project-based account for a pharmaceutical Business Unit. The account covers every social media discipline: organic and paid content, insights, project management and social creative.

This is a fast-paced, high-volume environment. Priorities shift quickly, several projects run in parallel, and deadlines are tight. The work is agile and varied, and the ideal candidate thrives in that pace while keeping quality high.

You will lead the delivery of social content that stands out visually and pushes the boundaries of innovation and performance. You will partner closely with the Group Account Director and work alongside Account, Strategy, Creative, Insights and Paid teams across multiple Business Units to grow the account and raise its standing.

Required skills, experience and competencies

The ideal candidate:

• Has 5+ years of social-first account management experience within pharma or healthcare, including time at a senior account management level
• Builds trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, leads senior-level meetings and presents strategic recommendations with confidence across global markets
• Has a track record of leading and growing accounts, identifying opportunities to expand relationships and services
• Leads integrated teams across strategy, social, creative, paid media and insights
• Communicates clearly in written and verbal formats with brand teams, external organisations, partners and third parties
• Has strong experience in proposal writing, scoping, pitching and presenting campaign and strategic ideas
• Oversees multiple projects and workstreams simultaneously, maintaining quality and deadlines
• Takes ownership of issues, with excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Understands the specific considerations of social media in pharma and healthcare, including regulated environments and approval processes
• Has strong commercial awareness, with experience managing budgets, scopes and resourcing
• Has a deep understanding of social platforms, their creative formats, and emerging innovations and opportunities across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit and X
• Has strong interest in digital technologies and AI, and how they apply to healthcare communications
• Brings new ideas and thinking to the work and the wider team

Responsibilities

• Own the day-to-day senior relationship across allocated accounts, acting as a trusted partner to brand teams
• Deliver all work to a high standard, aligned with brand strategies, objectives and agreed scope
• Lead meetings, strategic discussions, presentations and key project communications
• Identify stakeholder needs early and strengthen long-term relationships
• Own the health and commercial performance of allocated accounts, including budgets, scopes, resourcing and profitability
• Identify opportunities for organic account growth and additional services, working with senior leadership to develop them
• Set priorities across accounts, lead workflows and delegate effectively
• Provide clear direction to Account Managers, with regular feedback and support for their progression
• Partner with the Group Account Director and senior leadership on account strategy, forecasting and growth
• Work closely with Strategy, Creative, Social, Insights and Paid teams to ensure integrated thinking and consistently strong output
• Challenge briefs constructively so the team solves the right problem
• Oversee the status and quality of insights deliverables, paid campaigns and wider social activity
• Act as an escalation point for stakeholders and internal teams, resolving issues quickly and maintaining confidence in the team
• Stay current on developments, policies, trends and competitor activity across healthcare, pharma, health tech and social
• Lead and contribute to new-business opportunities, including ideas generation, proposals, scoping, costing and pitches
• Help raise the profile of Substance within pharma and healthcare through ideas, thought leadership, networking and industry opportunities