Role Overview

As an Associate Media Director (AMD), you are the strategic bridge between our clients’ business goals and our media team's execution. You aren't just managing plans; you are leading a vision. You will serve as the primary point of contact for high-level clients, guiding them through the complex media landscape with precision, creativity, and data-driven insights.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned media professional with a "player-coach" mentality—someone who can architect a sophisticated multi-channel strategy one hour and mentor a rising Media Planner the next. This role requires deep experience in pharmaceutical marketing, including an understanding of regulatory considerations, healthcare audiences, and pharma-specific media strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Innovation

• Visionary Planning: Lead the development of holistic media strategies that align with brand goals, ensuring every tactic drives measurable business impact within the pharmaceutical landscape.
• Forward-Thinking: Drive media innovation by identifying and implementing key initiatives such as AI/ML integration, custom algorithms, and omni-channel audience segmentation.
• Thought Leadership: Stay at the forefront of industry trends (including pharma-specific regulations and advancements) to author and socialize POVs, keeping both the internal team and clients ahead of the curve.
• New Business: Partner with new business team to support growth efforts, contributing to brainstorms, tactical strategy, and high-stakes pitches—particularly within pharma and healthcare verticals.

Client Partnership & Advocacy

• Trusted Advisor: Serve as a strategic partner to senior-level clients (CMOs and Procurement), translating complex media data into actionable business narratives, with a strong understanding of pharmaceutical marketing dynamics.
• Education & Guidance: Lead "Media 101" sessions and Media Days to empower clients with a deeper understanding of the landscape, including pharma-specific considerations such as compliance and audience targeting.
• Performance Storytelling: Oversee high-level reporting and campaign wrap-ups that clearly demonstrate value-add wins, savings, and ROI.

Team Management & Culture

• Mentorship: Directly manage a diverse team (Planners, Supervisors, AMPs), creating personalized growth plans and fostering a culture of high performance and "team happiness."
• Operational Excellence: Standardize workflows and templates across brands to ensure efficiency and consistency.
• Resource Management: Work with leadership to build staffing scenarios, ensuring proper resource utilization and agency profitability.

Partner & Vendor Relations

• Strategic Negotiation: Lead large-scale account or agency-wide negotiations with media, data, and measurement partners, including those specific to healthcare/pharma.
• Financial Stewardship: Oversee media budgets in partnership with Account leads, ensuring fiscal responsibility and optimal payment terms (Ts and Cs).
• Framework Development: Guide teams in evaluating partner proposals using scorecard-based frameworks and SQAD benchmarking.

Qualifications

• Experience: 5–8 years in media planning with at least 2+ years of direct people management experience.
• Pharma Experience (Required): Demonstrated experience working on pharmaceutical and/or healthcare brands, with a strong understanding of regulatory environments, compliance, and audience nuances.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; ability to present persuasively to C-suite executives.
• Expertise: Deep knowledge of the media landscape, competitive tools, and emerging technologies.
• Soft Skills: Strong negotiation and influence skills, a high level of attention to detail, and the ability to remain calm and effective under pressure.