Job Description – Vice President, Account Director

Overview
GSW Worldwide, a full-service advertising agency, provides liberating ideas to health-and-wellness clients through extensive resources in all major markets in the world. Named 2008 Most Creative Agency and 2007 Agency of the Year by Med Ad News, GSW Worldwide creates marketing solutions through advertising, public relations, market access strategies, media, and market research.

Description of Duties

• Leads the team(s) and director-level clients in all aspects of the client-agency relationship; travels extensively with clients; inVentiv officer tasks as requested.
Major responsibilities include:
– Strategic planning and consultation with client(s)’ brand champion
– Present/sell high-quality deliverables
– Compliance with client contract and budget
– Financial management and reporting
– Agency personnel management and development
– inChord cross-selling, new business development, and revenue growth-for both new and existing clients.

Leads client in identifying and understanding brand barriers and strategic vision in collaboration with account leadership (SVP, insight planner and creative lead); challenges strategies and directions not aligned with the brand.
• Develops client(s) scope of service or project agreements with account leadership.
• Develops staffing plan and ensures appropriate support of the overall scope with account team leadership, creative services, operations, and finance.
• Establishes and leads cross-functional team in support of client needs; monitors and manages team activity to ensure timely delivery of products and services to accounts.
• Oversees and manages all financial aspects of client relationship including compliance to contract/agreements, write-offs, receivables, etc.; ensures that existing new business and cross-selling revenue goals are achieved.
• Partners with creative team lead and planner to execute the creative cube and all strategic initiatives.
• Oversees relationships with other marketing partners of clients, as required.
• Facilitates communication between team members and clients necessary to maintain strong relationships and effective account management.
• Resolves conflict and celebrates success; sets clear team priorities; explains brand objectives and strategies; defines success in terms of the whole team.
• Keeps sr. management apprised of critical client concerns and opportunities; provides brand review meeting content.
• Provides management direction and developmental support to direct reports in preparation for future positions; provides challenging and stretching assignments; pushes tasks down to empower others; shares ownership and visibility.
• Facilitates agency performance evaluation, development plans, and MBO plans; holds frequent development discussions and address areas requiring improvement.
• Facilitates training support for new client managers who are acclimating to advertising and branding principles, and implementation processes.
• Attends all client’s meetings, market research, conventions, and communicates key learning to team and client.
• Actively participates in client presentations, selling and defending the agency’s point of view.
• Has comprehensive knowledge of inVentiv solutions and application to all aspects of pharmaceutical marketing, research, and sales; helps ensure that inVentiv cross-selling opportunities are facilitated and revenue goals are achieved.
• Helps lead new business activities and pitches as requested.
• Stays current with industry news and competitive environment to continually expand knowledge.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of marketing experience or other related disciplines (at least 5 of which in a senior management capacity); or
• Minimum 10 years of agency account service experience with at least 2 years as an account director.
• Must be able to travel .
• Experience working on any and all of the following: pharmaceutical brand launch; professional marketing (e.g. direct-to-physician, managed care/healthcare plans, devices, pharmacies, etc.); and consumer marketing (e.g. direct-to-patient, relationship marketing, consumer).
• Specific industry or therapeutic expertise (as required by client).

Key Competencies for Position:

• Strong presentation and persuasion skills: Can develop a clear point of view and tell a meaningful “story”; is effective in a variety of settings and group sizes with clients, peers, subordinates, and bosses; confidently expresses both data/facts, plus more controversial topics; commands attention and can manage group dynamics.
• Brand champion: Demonstrates good creative judgment and understands the elements of breakthrough advertising; provides constructive comments.
• Industry application: Can quickly learn new industry, company, product, and/or technical developments of the client’s-as well as the agency business-to function at a high level of accomplishment.