Associate Director, Healthcare & Life Sciences

Agency:

Job Function:

Job Subfunction:

Job Description:

Portland is a global advisory firm, helping companies, foundations, governments and organisations communicate effectively, grow and succeed. We advise clients navigating business and reputational challenges, including regulatory change, political transition, and legal disputes and crises, ensuring they seize opportunities to engage in policy discussions and in the media when it matters most.

Headquartered in London, with a network of team members in critical markets, our advisors are drawn from the worlds of politics, business, law and journalism. Our work is supported by specialist digital, research and creative teams, and backed by Omnicom’s global network and capabilities. Combining political nous and cultural savvy, Portland’s advisers build strategies and campaigns tailored to clients’ needs, delivering outcomes that make a difference.
 

The Team:

Our Healthcare and Life Sciences team is a group of trusted advisors to the world’s most influential healthcare and scientific organisations, helping them navigate the fast-evolving policy, political and media landscape.

The Role:

We're seeking an Associate Director to join our healthcare and life sciences team to work across our portfolio of integrated healthcare communications, public affairs and policy accounts – with a particular expertise in the UK and Global healthcare landscape. You’ll lead strategic communications, media and integrated policy programmes to build corporate reputation amongst high-level decision-makers and deliver impactful policy change.

Key Responsibilities:      

Provide strategic advice on major client accounts, providing senior counsel to clients as a trusted partner, identifying media opportunities to support their objectives

Lead the development and delivery of high impact, UK and global strategic communications programmes

Support the leadership of account teams, ensuring on-time, high-quality delivery  

Be a member of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Management Team, supporting growth of accounts, marketing and new business, developing strategies for business development including leading proposal and pitch processes  

Line manage and mentor junior colleagues, supporting professional development

Contribute to Portland's marketing, thought leadership and events

Support day-to-day commercial performance – revenue, servicing, capacity planning  

Support integration across the Portland offer and wider Omnicom network, including partnership working with other Omnicom agencies    

What we’re looking for:  

At least 7-8 years’ experience leading healthcare and life sciences strategic communications programmes for pharmaceutical, biotech and wider healthcare companies, ideally within an agency / consultancy environment   

Excellent knowledge of the UK and Global healthcare media and policy landscape, and strong media connections

Trusted advisor who can provide counsel to senior clients and stakeholders on complex pharmaceutical and healthcare issues

Commercially minded and able to lead financial aspects of accounts, including budgeting, servicing, invoicing and resourcing  

Experience in leading and winning new business proposals and pitches for healthcare and life sciences companies  

A collaborative leadership style with a record of developing and supporting colleagues and working in partnership across a large agency network / multi-market consultancy    

Demonstrable experience of using AI tools in healthcare communications programmes   

What we offer: 

At Portland we offer hybrid working, with our teams working together from the office three days a week. We are committed to development and have an open doors culture where you will have the opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced people in the business.

Our remuneration package also includes our competitive pension contributions, private healthcare or health cash plan, life assurance cover, company contribution to gym membership, wellbeing workshops and activities, company parties, birthday day off, lunch contribution each week and more!

To the extent permissible by local law, Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager.

Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: https://www.omc.com/privacy-notice/

To the extent permissible by local law, Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager.

Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: https://www.omc.com/privacy-notice/

At Omnicom Group, careers are designed for growth. We’ve purposefully crafted a transformative talent experience built with accountability in action — focused on community, impact, and opportunity.