Vice President, Account Director

Publicis Groupe; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 121,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness is seeking a VP, Account Director to join the New York team, leading healthcare client relationships and strategic account management. The role requires deep knowledge of HCP channels, budgeting, and cross-functional collaboration to drive brand plans and performance.

You will oversee agency operations, guide tactical plans, and ensure expert stewardship of client budgets, contracts, and timelines while mentoring junior staff and maintaining strong client trust.

Qualifications

• Exhibits Integrity and Trust.
• Exhibits Self Development.
• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• MBA or Master’s in Marketing or related discipline preferred.
• Experience in healthcare communications environment required.
• 8+ years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Drives the process and details, develops tactical plans; forecasts budgets.
• Finances: develops and administers clients’ budgets based on accurate estimating and tracking of hours, out-of-pocket expenses, and reconciliation against estimates.
• Maintains thorough knowledge of contract and its implications.
• Makes sound decisions on hours, priorities, and potential problems; proactively solves issues.
• Provides team leadership and direction to junior account staff.
• Ensures timely, accurate client documentation and communications.

Skills

Integrity & Trust

Self Development

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA or Masters in Marketing

Job description

Company description

At Saatchi & Saatchi Health, we believe in making the impossible possible in health. We partner with our clients to turn complexity into clarity, ideas into impact, and ambition into real-world outcomes.

By combining creativity, data, and technology, we create work that doesn’t just reach people--it moves them, connects with them, and makes a difference in their lives. Because when our people bring curiosity and courage to the work, we unlock new possibilities for our clients, and better outcomes for the patients they serve. We’re here to push what health can be. And to make it matter.

Overview

Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness is looking for a VP, Account Director to join our team in New York.

Responsibilities

Agency Operations

• Drives the process and details, and develops tactical plans. Forecasts budgets.
• Finances: Develops and administers clients’ budgets based on accurate estimating and tracking of hours, out-of-pocket expenses, and reconciliation against estimates. Raises client awareness as to when changes in client direction affect estimates. Thorough knowledge of contract and its implications.
• Sound decision making regarding hours dedicated to jobs, what to prioritize. Thorough knowledge of all basic financial tools necessary to account management
• Trouble shoot: Solutions oriented. Knows when things might get off track in agency operations. Uses experience and judgment to proactively solve for potential problems before they get too big. Ability to solve client issues, independently moderate conflicts and influence management decisions
• Team Leadership: Takes on wider, formal and informal leadership responsibilities within the agency
• Management: team leader, provides clear and fair direction & feedback to junior account staff

Knowledge

• Deep, expert understanding of HCP Healthcare, the audience and at least two channels.
• Demonstrates and applies extensive and expert knowledge of assigned brands
• Successfully serves as point of authority and/or source of advice for therapeutic area
• Ensures team adherence to agency process. Identifies issues and leads problem resolution

Tactics and Execution

• Develops marketing/ brand platform briefs). Owns the agency process. Shows resourcefulness and thoroughness in developing tactical plans, including budgets and timelines.
• Production: Supervises and effectively manages the production of client-approved marketing tools
• Creative: Collaborates on creative brief development
• Assumes responsibility for the writing and preparation of marketing communications plans and proposals

Client Relationship

• Communicate key client issues/ initiatives to team accurately and in timely manner
• Builds trusting relationships with client counterparts. Is seen as strategic, integral to the account, and offering added value.
• Brand Champion: Ensures everyone focused on brand strategy and positioning: client, account team, and other internal departments
• Agency Champion: Understands, communicates and advocates the agency POV Presentations: Ensures client is kept apprised of all account activity: this includes ultimate responsibility for ensuring that appropriate written reports are delivered accurately and quickly. Presents complex data or messages in clear, succinct, compelling manner to clients
• Lead role in ensuring timely, accurate client documentation & correspondence

Qualifications

• Exhibits Integrity and Trust
• Exhibits Self Development
• Bachelor’s degree
• MBA, Masters in Marketing or related discipline preferred
• Experience in healthcare communications environment required
• 8+ year’s experience

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.

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 11/2/2026.