Associate Media Director

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V; New York (NY); On-site; USD 97,000 - 156,000; Full time

Job summary

Heartbeat, a full-service healthcare marketing agency, is seeking an Associate Media Director to lead integrated media strategy across pharma brands. You’ll guide planning, buying, and analytics while collaborating with Client Services, Production, Creative and Strategy to deliver game-changing campaigns for consumers and HCPs.

The ideal candidate has 5–6 years in pharma media with a proven cross-functional leadership record, channel optimization expertise, and a data-driven storytelling

Qualifications

• 5–6 years of experience in pharma media planning and buying across multiple channels.
• Experience leading media teams and mentoring junior staff.
• Proven ability to translate consumer and patient insights into media strategies.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort with data-driven optimization.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams (Client Services, Production, Creative, Strategy).

Responsibilities

• Lead accounts across integrated media strategy, planning and buying.
• Develop plans aligned with the client’s marketing direction and brand goals.
• Direct the core planning team to develop media knowledge and growth.
• Maintain client relationships and report to leadership.
• Grow client relationships through industry and business insight.
• Oversee campaign timelines, insertion orders, and vendor communications.
• Drive innovative, forward-thinking solutions to client business problems.
• Mentor Supervisors and Planners to expand skills during campaigns.

Skills

Pharma media planning

Team leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Media analytics

Data-driven decision making

Tools

MRI

Kantar Stradegy

Google Analytics

Job description

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

We’re Heartbeat, the marketing agency for Healthcare Challenger Brands and the brave clients behind them. And hopefully you’re our next Associate Media Director, helping us to deliver game-changing campaigns for consumers & HCPs. Read on to learn more about what qualities we’re looking for in a new member of the crew and why you’re gonna dig working with us.

Responsibilities

How you’ll strengthen the team:

Here’s how you’ll make your mark:

Essential Functions

• Lead accounts across integrated media strategy, planning and buying
• Work alongside internal teams (Client Services, Production, Creative, Strategy) to develop well rounded plans and strategy that align with the client’s marketing direction and brand goals
• Responsible for directing the core planning team to help fuel their learning and advancement. Lead by example to ensure they understand various media channels, and their applications against client strategies and goals.
• Maintains thorough, up-to-date client relationships, including knowledge of client’s business (market share, business priorities, key competitor strategies, etc.).
• Establish and grow client relationships by demonstrating an understanding of industry and client business issues • Report into a Media Director or Group Director, keeping them abreast of day-to-day status and flagging and elevating any concerns.
• Manage team of supervisors / planners / assistant planners across multiple accounts
• Drive innovative, forward thinking solutions to client business problems

Campaign Execution & Maintenance

• Monitors campaign timelines to ensure proper progression of media buys, such as timely issuance and receipt of client authorizations, delivery of paperwork to vendors, specs to creative agencies, delivery of creative assets to vendors, etc.
• Responsible for overseeing creation and maintenance of insertion orders and placement of advertising with media vehicles.
• Using multiple sources of external data, perform campaign analysis directly relevant to, and to assist in, optimizations, planning, and/or buying decisions.
• Monitors media for pacing, delivery, placement, and flight-date discrepancies and negotiates credit or billing adjustments when necessary.
• Maintain the workload of the team across brands, delegating tasks and monitoring individual responsibilities to ensure the most effective use of individual and team skills. Mentor and delegate to Supervisor and Media Planners to grow their knowledge base and expand individual management skills.
• Active in research for competitive presentations and audience analysis for plan building

Qualifications

What you’re bringing with you:

Across 5-6 years of experience, you know what it takes to slay Media Planning. These are the core skills you’ve totally nailed:

• Extensive understanding of marketing concepts, specifically in the pharmaceutical and patient markets
• Experience in Pharma media planning across all media channels, online/offline, traditional and emerging channels
• A demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally, manage teams, and supervise professionals
• At least 5-6 years experience at a media agency, with integrated hands-on planning experience (including buying, implementation, analytics, and optimization).
• Experience managing a Media Supervisor and/or Media Planner • Working knowledge of ad servers, MRI, Kantar Stradegy, Google Analytics required.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize with multiple projects and clients with different timelines and deliverables.
• A proven track record of gaining trust and respect by consistently demonstrating sound creative, strategic, and analytical thinking skills.
• Ability to build and maintain strong interpersonal/professional relationship with employees, vendors, clients, etc.
• Demonstrated command of Media Research resources, capabilities and limitations. • Strong math and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of consumer insights and how to put insights into action.
• Strong attention to detail.

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 [e-mail].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. #LI-JM4

Compensation Range: USD $97,375.00 - USD $155,961.00/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. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility 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 9/21/2026.