about the role
As a Senior Vice President (SVP), you are charged with maximizing the agency’s overall performance by delivering exemplary client service, driving growth into your client work, generating new business and recruiting, developing and growing our staff. An SVP at GCI Health is responsible for at least $500K-$1MM worth of business and has a strong knowledge of how to develop high-end strategic programming, thoughtful digital strategies and successful media relations efforts. In addition to managing the profitability of accounts, you’ll be an active participant in select new business pitches, contribute to networking, prospecting and thought leadership, and operate with the highest professionalism and enthusiasm for our clients, industry and agency.
Responsibilities
Client Service:
Exemplify strategic leadership.
Build and maintain relationships with decision-makers at client level; resolve major concerns.
Ensure everything we do is grounded in research and measurement, infused with creativity and aimed at furthering the client’s business goals.
Manage and motivate team to ensure superior client service.
Act as a senior strategic partner to client on several accounts, leveraging category expertise.
Demonstrate ability to deliver superior client service across a wide range of clients.
Continually seek organic growth opportunities.
Strengthen client relationships and seek organic growth opportunities.
Design/execute client development plans to drive organic growth.
Successfully and autonomously run and grow a key piece of business.
Take ultimate responsibility for client satisfaction and retention.
Be a trusted adviser to clients through your ability to listen, reason, imagine and proactively solve their problems.
Ensure highest-quality client service, measured by client retention and satisfaction.
Be prepared to manage tough client conversations and navigate sensitive client-related issues.
Solicit client feedback, sharing best practices across agency and offices.
Media:
Leverage high-level media contacts and your industry knowledge to secure quality coverage and ensure results.
Counsel clients about media opportunities. Conduct media training and participate in media interview with the client.
Counsel clients about realistic and attainable media metrics. Work carefully with media specialists to meet set metrics and manage client expectations along the way.
Oversee strategy development for issues.
Continually build relationships with key media on behalf of clients and GCI Health.
Know when to engage media specialists.
Work with clients to cultivate and maintain relationships with their in-house media specialists, as appropriate.
Digital/Integrated Marketing:
Demonstrate solid knowledge and understanding of the digital media landscape including social media (blogs, social networks, forums), conversational marketing, viral marketing, community development and engagement, and content distribution.
Have a strong knowledge of key influencers and trends in the digital media space.
Think digitally, guiding teams to incorporate digital and social strategies into programming to support client objectives.
Serve as senior counselor on development and implementation of these digital media strategies and initiatives.
Test and champion emerging communications tools and technologies within the agency.
Inspire team members to embrace digital media strategies.
Manage a multi-program initiative over one year or more.
Know when to engage GCI Health’s digital team.
Business Development:
Drive organic and new business growth, meeting or exceeding established targets.
Lead, manage and execute new business pitches; develop strategy and content; identify key resources and staff across the network to participate in new business, etc.
Continually seek opportunities to network and market GCI Health.
Develop and market new products and methodologies to drive growth.
Develop new business prospects continuously by identifying target clients, networking externally and within WPP, meeting with target clients, and selling all GCI Health’s services.
Target high potential existing clients in other regions and cross-sell GCI Health capabilities.
Successfully establish a presence in the pitch presentation room. Work with other senior leaders to make pitches a success.
Communication:
Provide high-level oversight of all team and client communications.
Exhibit superior presentation skills.
Possess the ability to read the room and be self-aware to tailor communication.
Communicate with clarity and precision.
Financial Management:
Maintain personal billability target and ensure that staff targets are met.
Record your billable hours in Maconomy and approve your team’s hours on a weekly basis.
Ensure billing is on time and on budget, manage staff capacity and ensure receivables don’t fall beyond 60 days.
Employ capacity management tools for staff planning and billing.
Resolve issues with financial management process.
Ensure monthly projections are submitted by the first of the month, quarterly reconciliations and annual budgets are submitted on time.
Understand client contracts and develop detailed scopes of work.
Diversity and Inclusion:
Create an inclusive and welcoming environment.
Demonstrate flexibility in a changing work environment.
Bridge differences between and among yourself and others.
Seek out and use ideas, opinions and insights from diverse sources and individuals.
Use self-awareness to deflect biases.
Consistently demonstrate integrity and credibility while building trust through inclusive behavior.
Team Management:
Develop highly functional, cross-office account teams imbued with a sense of teamwork and an entrepreneurial spirit.
Provide strategic leadership, counseling and mentoring to the account team to ensure members have the skills to flawlessly execute client programs.
Provide constructive feedback during performance reviews and ongoing.
Effectively manage performance of the team and individual team members.
Set a standard for vision, creativity and innovation that engages top performers and attracts new talent.
Serve as a coach and mentor to vice president staff.
Continually look for ways to engage top performers through career and learning opportunities so they remain on track with their future at our company.
Ensure team members attend trainings to enhance their skills.
Lead by example; always maintain a professional demeanor.
Identify key talent within the account group and develop a retention plan using targeted client assignments, developmental offerings and incentive programs.
Use reward and recognition programs to motivate and retain staff.
Be a brand ambassador to help attract the best talent.
Accountability:
Fulfill all commitments of your role.
Take responsibility for team mistakes and misjudgments and use those as learning experiences to avoid recurrences.
Take responsibility for tough decisions and actions to get things done.
Agency Responsibilities:
Market GCI Health to clients and establish and maintain the reputation and perceived value of the agency; continually reinforce GCI Health’s unique “Do Something Different” approach to clients.
Lead local/regional/global professional development programs, advancing organizational expertise throughout the network.
Be actively involved in employee recruitment by always presenting the company in a positive light.
Speak confidently about the company and its capabilities to others outside of the agency.
Understand and adhere to the GCI Health confidentiality and disclosure agreements and code of ethics/conduct.
Build and nurture a GCI Health culture that easily extends local expertise across the network.
Create a unique culture that recognizes great work and provides staff with compelling career opportunities.
Generate thought leadership for personal positioning and that promotes GCI Health in the marketplace.
Contribute thought leadership – original research or white papers in your area(s) of expertise.
Contribute to the execution of a business plan reflecting full support of, and participation in, the GCI Health strategic plan. Participate in agency Learning and Development opportunities as appropriate and as agreed upon with your manager.
Do Something Different in your approach, involvement and agency contributions!
*The job description is a summary of typical job functions and is not an exhaustive list of possible duties. The jobholder’s responsibilities and duties may differ from those outlined above. Other duties, as assigned, may be part of the job.
About GCI Health
GCI Health is one of the most highly recognized global integrated healthcare communications agencies in the world, with recent industry honors including The Holmes Report Agency of the Decade, 2019 MM&M Midsize Agency of the Year, The Holmes Report North American Healthcare Agency of the Year and several Global Best Place to Work For awards. At GCI Health, we are Inspired by People. We share our clients’ desire to improve the health of all people around the world and work tirelessly to contribute to their ambitious goals. Our approach to communications is rooted in looking at all stakeholders – patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, policymakers, reporters and payers – as people with distinct perspectives that shape how they think about health. We create breakthrough, people-driven programs that drive tangible results for our clients and the people they serve. And we carefully curate a culture that is catalyzed by the belief that people should be as successful in their personal lives as they are in their professional ones.
We know we learn best when Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (I.D.E.A) are embedded into everything we do for our people, agency, clients and communities we serve. We wholly believe that creative truly inclusive and innovative solutions by growing talent that mirrors the marketplace is critical to our success. To that end, we strongly encourage applications from talent across all dimensions of race/ethnicity, LGBTQ, differently abled and veteran status to come and grow with us.
How to Apply
Please send your resume to David E. Miller, US HR Director, at [email protected]
GCI Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer.