Account Director – Pharma

Account Director – Pharma

About Operatic Agency:

Operatic Agency isn’t just another creative digital agency—we're a powerhouse of research, strategy, storytelling, and technology that fuels business growth. Named one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies for six years, we bring brands closer to their audiences with bold ideas and cutting-edge executions.

If you’re passionate about transforming ideas into impactful narratives, thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, and are eager to make a difference, we want you on our team!

About the Role:

Operatic Agency is looking for an experienced Account Director to join our growing Client Strategy & Services team.

In this role, you will lead a portfolio of pharmaceutical accounts spanning Canada, the US and global markets, serving as a trusted strategic partner to clients and leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver impactful work.

You will be responsible for the health and growth of your accounts, combining pharmaceutical expertise, marketing acumen, and audience insight to translate complex scientific, clinical, and business objectives into clear, relevant, and effective solutions.

As a senior client lead, you will create clarity from ambiguity, identify opportunities, and bring together the right expertise across Operatic's Centers of Excellence to move both client business and agency partnerships forward.

What You’ll Do:

Become an Expert in Your Client’s Business

• Develop a deep understanding of your clients’ businesses, brands, therapeutic areas, audiences, competitive landscapes and priorities.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the pharmaceutical landscape, therapeutic areas, competitive environments and evolving client needs.

Develop Integrated Marketing Strategies

• Translate scientific, clinical and business objectives into clear, actionable marketing strategies and plans.
• Apply strong marketing principles and audience insight to ensure work is relevant and meaningful to the HCPs, patients, caregivers and consumers it is intended to reach.
• Provide strategic leadership across a range of pharmaceutical programs, including advisory boards, medical education, HCP marketing, DTC campaigns, product launches and lifecycle management.

Orchestrate Cross-Functional Teams

• Understand the breadth of Operatic’s services and know when to bring in the right people to support a client’s needs.
• Set clear direction for multidisciplinary teams, connecting work across Operatic’s Centers of Excellence and keeping teams focused on the broader client objective.
• Bring structure and clarity to complex assignments involving multiple disciplines, stakeholders or markets.

Guide Clients with Confidence

• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders and serve as a strategic partner across both day-to-day and longer-term business needs.
• Lead client meetings, presentations, workshops and challenging conversations with confidence, clarity and sound judgment.
• Take ownership of your accounts, making decisions and moving work forward autonomously while recognizing when additional expertise or escalation is needed.

Deliver Operational Excellence

• Maintain senior oversight of scopes, budgets, forecasts, timelines and resourcing to support both successful delivery and account profitability.
• Manage multiple concurrent workstreams, proactively addressing risks, priorities and changing client needs.
• Lead Canadian, US and global assignments, adapting to the requirements of different markets, clients and regulatory environments.

Contribute Beyond Your Accounts

• Identify and pursue opportunities to expand client relationships, partnering with agency leadership on proposals and new business opportunities.
• Coach and develop members of the Client Strategy & Services team through clear direction, feedback and mentorship.
• Contribute to the continued development of Operatic’s Client Strategy & Services practice and a collaborative, accountable agency culture.

What You’ll Bring:

• 6+ years of experience within a pharmaceutical, healthcare advertising or medical communications agency, with meaningful experience leading client relationships and accounts.
• Strong understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and the considerations involved in developing regulated healthcare communications.
• Strong marketing acumen and an understanding of how audience needs, behaviours, and experiences shape effective healthcare communications.
• An ability to combine pharmaceutical knowledge, marketing principles, and human insight to develop work that is strategically sound, relevant and impactful.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain senior client relationships and become a trusted extension of the client's team.
• Demonstrated experience managing and growing accounts, including scoping, forecasting and identifying organic growth opportunities.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary agency teams and managing complex, concurrent programs.
• Strong strategic thinking, with an ability to create clarity from ambiguity and connect client business objectives to actionable recommendations.
• A high degree of ownership and autonomy, with the judgment to confidently move work forward while knowing when collaboration or escalation is needed.
• A proactive, growth-oriented mindset and natural curiosity about clients' businesses and where the agency can add greater value.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence presenting recommendations and navigating challenging client conversations.
• Strong financial acumen, with experience managing scopes, budgets, forecasts and account profitability.
• Ability to prioritize, delegate and make decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Life Sciences or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Experience We'd Be Excited About:

You don't need to check every box, but additional experience in any of the following would be an asset:

• Rare disease or specialty pharmaceutical marketing
• Pharmaceutical product launches, including pre-launch, launch and lifecycle planning
• Advisory board strategy, planning and execution
• Accredited and unaccredited medical education
• DTC strategy and campaign development
• Working across Canadian, US and global pharmaceutical accounts
• Familiarity with PAAB, Health Canada and US pharmaceutical regulatory environments
• Supporting new business pitches and organic account growth

Why Operatic Agency:

Competitive compensation and benefits.

This role offers a salary of $90,000–$125,000 CAD commensurate with experience, plus a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and mental health support.

Meaningful, complex work.

You’ll lead projects across a diverse portfolio spanning pharma, healthcare, and consumer brands—with real creative and technical depth. Every project is different, and the work genuinely matters to the clients and audiences it reaches.

A team that holds a high bar—and supports each other in meeting it.

We’re proud of our culture: collaborative, accountable, and driven by a shared standard of excellence. We recognize great work and celebrate the people behind it.

Real investment in your growth.

We offer mentorship, access to industry tools and training, and advancement pathways. You’ll be supported by senior leadership who want to develop you, not just deploy you.

Hybrid flexibility.

Our head office is based in Hamilton, Ontario, and we operate on a hybrid model: 2 days per week in the office, with the remainder remote. You’ll have a collaborative home base with room to focus on your own terms.

Operatic Agency values inclusion and access for all applicants and employees. Should you require accommodation to participate in the application and interview process, please let us know. Only those selected for next steps will be contacted.