Surgical Manager

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience.

Job Summary
As a Senior Account Manager, you will act as the key day-to-day client contact, managing relationships and taking responsibility for the delivery of several medium to large projects. As a client account lead or captain (depending on the size of the account), you will be responsible for managing the execution of parallel ongoing projects and take an active role in coaching your junior team and ensuring projects are delivered effectively alongside the account lead and/or sponsor.

Stepping up from the Account Manager role, you should have a clear understanding of the programme as a whole (not just the projects you are working on) across your accounts, increasing your involvement in the strategic planning and financial management of your accounts and focusing on developing your leadership style to actively manage up and down, based on project needs.

Responsibilities
Client delivery

• Act as day-to-day client contact: provide regular status updates to your client (leading updates on more complex projects); anticipate client needs; respond to client queries and share recommendations (following discussion with your account lead); manage client expectations on timelines, scope of project, etc.; take client briefs and clearly communicate to team members, implementing realistic project plans.
• Confidently formulate objectives and strategies for new client work with support from your account lead, ensuring that programme strategy is pulled through.
• Lead large projects with less support from your account lead, being accountable for the whole project from start to finish.
• Provide counsel to the client throughout the project with confidence to challenge the client when required; manage challenging conversations with the client, as required.
• Provide support to your account lead in addressing programme and team challenges.
• Formulate solutions to client challenges such as last-minute requests.
• Have a clear understanding of the programme as a whole (not just the projects you are working on), including the client objectives, strategy and environment so that you are able to confidently lead internal meetings and client calls.
• Ensure momentum is maintained across the programme and contact with client continues whenever the account lead is absent.

Business development

• Identify areas for organic growth within existing accounts (evolving existing programmes and/or additional tactics) and confidently sell new ideas in to clients, with support from your account lead.
• Play a management role in the new business process (assisting in the production of credentials and pitch presentations, coordinating and managing team members and external suppliers), having a significant share of voice/visibility with the internal cross-functional team.

Team management

• Begin to develop your leadership style, instilling professional values and good working habits in your teams.
• Look for opportunities to inspire, motivate, and empower your team on a daily basis, leading by example and setting the standard for junior accounts team members.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to junior team members and manage their performance.
• Support interviewing for new AAs – SAAs.
• Line manage at least one accounts team member AAs – SAAs, providing day-to-day support and longer-term career development guidance.

Financial management

• Develop more complicated budgets for integrated client programmes and track resource use against available budget throughout the month.
• Coach others to develop accurate budgets for clients, reflecting back on previous projects and gathering cost quotes.
• Support your account lead with the financial management of your accounts, proactively getting involved in invoicing, forecasting and resourcing and attend month-end finance meetings.
• Complete your timesheets and expense claims accurately and on time and take an active role in reviewing timesheets across the majority of your projects.

Agency environment

• Participate in internal initiatives which contribute to the culture or development of the Medical Communications team, or Real Chemistry more broadly (e.g., compliance/socials/inspiration).
• Keep abreast of award-winning work and insights from other industries, sharing as appropriate.

Required Skills And Experience

• Excellent business communication skills, including informal/formal presentation and writing skills.
• Skilled in data communication and able to develop final documents and presentations.
• Able to develop solutions to client needs and problems, with a strong work ethic and a track record of high-quality deliverables on schedule and on budget.
• Experience coaching and mentoring junior team members.
• High energy, able to effectively operate in a fast-paced, growing and evolving environment.

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile.

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vision plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and support and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning.

Working with Real HART: Since the pandemic, we have adapted to how our people told us they want to work. We have office locations in cities in the US, UK, and Europe with many employees and clients that serve as hubs where and when they need us. For employees who are within an hour of one of our offices, we expect attendance in the office two days per week, either at a Real Chemistry office or onsite with clients. We are also actively opening new office locations, so if one opens near you, our Real HART policy will apply. We are not looking for attendance for the sake of attendance but believe that the opportunity to coordinate in-office team meetings, 1:1 meetings with managers, taking advantage of on-site learning, and connecting with client partners is critical to delivering on our purpose of making healthcare what it should be. Outside of these offices, we have regions, where people work remotely but come together quarterly for collaboration, culture and learning opportunities. We call this our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach. Real Chemistry believes we are best together – and our workplace strategy fosters connection and collaboration in person – but also supports flexibility for our people.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.