Associate Director, Medical & Scientific Communications

Associate Director, Medical & Scientific Communications

(Agency Equivalent = VP, Client Services)

The Associate Director is responsible for managing client relationships, delivering projects in alignment with operational excellence standards, and leading account team. AD is accountable and responsible for the assigned clients both in terms of growing and nurturing relationship and ensuring all deliverables meet or exceed client expectations. AD is also responsible for day-to-day success of their team and continued growth and development of individual team members.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Client Relations and Brand Management

• Establish meaningful, professional relationships with client stakeholders, including gaining understanding of their individual roles, communication preferences, personal motivators, and the desired outcomes for the brand, their projects, and our team.
• Ensure Simpson Healthcare’s brand is properly represented and promoted throughout client interactions, communications, and deliverables.
• Partner with client stakeholders to develop strategies to ensure they are able to attain desired outcomes.
• Be trusted partner that client sees as providing added value to ensure long, continuous relationship.
• Collaborate with Leadership in identifying opportunities to provide additional services that will assist client in attaining desired outcomes. Discuss opportunity with Marketing to assist in process.
• Attend and ensure success and a positive experience for all key client meetings, inclusive of weekly client status calls, brand planning meetings, workshops, advisory boards, speaker trainings, and congresses.

Project Management

• Responsible for management of all projects for assigned clients ensuring that deliverable meets operational excellence standards (on budget, on time, error-free, on strategy, and within all relevant policies and guidelines).
• Ensure project team members are communicating effectively with other Simpson Healthcare internal teams and third-party vendors regarding expectations, timelines, quality, and budgets.
• Monitor project progress and identify client requests for changes in deliverables, timing, and/or project goals.
• Communicate all scope changes to all other project team members, Marketing, and Finance through internal CCR process and/or internal scope change process, where needed.
• Work with leadership in preparing, updating, and/or reviewing monthly phasing reports for all assigned clients to ensure accuracy of amounts invoiced to clients. Ensure timely communication with Finance of phasing reports.
• Adhere to all standard operating procedures (SOP’s) and drive internal project team adherence to PIT Crew, Basecamp, CCR, Good to Go, and Weekly client update meetings, sign off SOPs.
• Maintain working knowledge of managed products, disease areas, and brand and company strategy and goals.
• Collaborate with Leadership and Marketing in preparing and delivering client pitches, presentations, and metrics ensuring quality, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Ensure full delivery and management of all scoped work and/or identify any projects at risk/canceled and work with Marketing and Leadership to propose new solutions to realize the full PO amount.

Internal Team Management

• Lead by example. Adhere to all SOP’s and enforce staff’s adherence to same.
• Ensure all staff members are preparing timesheets weekly. Ensure staff understanding of appropriate SHEP numbers to code time and importance of reporting all time worked.
• Ensure staff understands responsibilities and duties both for specific projects assigned and as relates to SOPs.
• Supervise and train staff members.
• Align with Leadership on staff growth and development for team members, including opportunities to assume new responsibilities, expanding skill sets, and providing constructive feedback. VP then to execute agreed upon plan, mentor, and provide constructive feedback.
• Create a positive work environment, fostering a team approach, encouraging open communication.
• Weekly one-on-one meetings with all direct reports.
• Partner with Leadership in preparation of annual performance reviews and in discussions with direct reports. For new hires, prepare performance review after 90 days and discuss with direct reports. If needed, prepare performance improvement plans and discuss with direct reports.
• Assign projects to staff in accordance with staff experience, growth, and bandwidth with consultation with Leadership.
• Identify needed modifications and/or new systems, tools, and processes to enable team and company effectiveness and efficiencies.
• Identify and discuss with Leadership needed resources for team to deliver client business.