Account Director | Healthcare | Dublin

We are looking for an ambitious, enthusiastic Account Director to join our dynamic and fast-growing Dublin team. As an Account Director at Hanover, you hold a critical leadership position where strategic acumen and management skills come to the forefront. Your role involves providing top-tier public affairs and communications advice to our existing clients, ensuring that their needs are met and exceeded through your deep understanding of their commercial objectives and the broader market landscape. You will be responsible for the comprehensive management of accounts. This includes being the main point of contact with clients across accounts, overseeing project teams, ensuring the highest standards in client outputs and managing service levels.

Irish and European policymakers are facing huge challenges in their approaches to managing healthcare. The traditional approaches are no longer sustainable and new thinking and solutions are needed to get the latest medicines, innovations and technologies to patients. The healthcare sector is alive with exciting and game-changing developments in personalised medicine and digital healthcare that could transform patient and family lives and support the healthcare systems of the future.

In order for companies to get cut through in this changing world, closer alignment is needed between public affairs, policy and market access to unlock opportunities to get the latest innovations to patients more effectively and quickly.

The team in Ireland is working with some of the leading players in the pharmaceutical sector to navigate the fast-changing landscape. This includes companies bringing through the next generation of cancer medicines and pioneering advances in hepatitis C, diabetes and rare diseases.

Your responsibilities extend to spearheading new business initiatives, where you will lead the charge in identifying and securing new opportunities for growth. This involves the entire spectrum of new business development, from the initial acquisition of leads to project management of proposals to the highest standards and the dynamic delivery of pitches that showcase Hanover's unique value proposition.

In addition, you will also manage and mentor junior team members up to the Consultant (Account Manager) level, helping them to hone their skills and advance their careers within the company. By fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement, you will ensure that the Advocacy team is equipped to meet the challenges of the industry and contribute to the high standards of service that Hanover is known for.

In your role, you will be expected to maintain a strong focus on productivity and billability, ensuring that your time is allocated efficiently across client projects and contributes directly to the team's revenue. Your performance will be assessed based on your ability to manage tasks effectively, meet client expectations, and adhere to project timelines, all while maximising billable hours. Your targets for billability and productivity rates are detailed below, and you will receive regular feedback on your performance from your PM.

In championing Hanover's core values and behaviours consistently across all aspects of your role, you set a standard of excellence and integrity that resonates throughout the team and the work we deliver.

Primary Responsibilities:

Client Handling:

- Provide timely and relevant strategic advice to clients informed by broad intelligence-gathering on client, sector, competitors and policy environment.
- Develop close client relationships and be the first point of contact across client accounts.
- Ensure quality control of client or topic-specific environmental analyses and bespoke policy submissions.
- Provide project management and supervise the delivery for all client services on multiple accounts.
- Lead regular client meetings and ensure internal meetings (e.g., account management catchups and brainstorms) are as productive as possible.
- Maintain an uncompromising commitment to detail, rigorously reviewing all communications, reports, and client deliverables to ensure accuracy and professionalism in every aspect.

New Business:

- Project manage activities focused on new business development, including marketing and new business pipeline management.
- Identify prospective clients or new work streams from existing clients to cross-sell opportunities and secure £100,000 pa new fee income.
- Identify and oversee research needed to support new business pitches.
- Write and edit tender documents to a high standard. Supervise the development of all other materials required for pitches.
- Demonstrate an active and ever-expanding new business network that can provide significant opportunities for Hanover, update Zoho as appropriate.
- Identify opportunities to cross-sell services between Hanover teams and/or offices.
- Support one or more work streams (IN-Network, Finance, Marketing, Training, Internal Communications, IT, Intern Programme) to deliver Hanover’s business objectives.
- Regularly contribute newsworthy articles to the Hanover website in consultation with the Marketing Director and Advocacy leadership.
- Expand personal network through event attendance and relationship building.

Personal Management:

- Promote and demonstrate the Hanover Values and Behaviours across the full range of your role.
- Support, mentor and PM to Account Executives/Senior Account Executives by providing guidance to improve quality of work and overall efficiency, including making recommendations to the MD for recognition of work or promotions.
- Contribute to opportunities for continuous improvement in all areas of role delivery and the wider team processes and practices.
- Champion inclusion within the team, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued.
- Demonstrate confidence in your abilities and the quality of your work, encouraging your team and those around you to strive for excellence.
- Contribute towards the recruitment process, helping to identify and select high-quality candidates at junior team level.

Collaboration:

- Proactively establish relationships with your peers outside of your immediate team and across the wider business (including in other markets).
- Take the time to understand what other teams in the business do (including in other markets) working together with the Digital, Strategy & Insights, and Creative teams to guarantee a unified and forward-thinking approach.
- Facilitate a culture of welcome and inclusion, helping new starters to feel part of the Hanover family from day one.

Financial Management:

- Diligent oversight of project management practices, ensuring the punctual, cost-effective, and superior delivery of all client initiatives.
- Endorsement and finalisation of Project Initiation Documents in collaboration with clients.
- Comprehensive grasp of the company's financial planning, management procedures, and familiarity with Hanover's financial and marketing platforms, including the use of Project Initiation Documents, issuing Purchase Orders, and navigating Zoho and Maconomy systems.
- Evaluating and adjusting team resource distribution by analysing data through Power BI.

Performance Measurement:

- A commitment to achieving targets for Productivity (3) and Utilisation (65%), ensuring efficient allocation of your time across client projects.
- ‘All In’, fully engaged in driving business growth and delivering exceptional value to our clients.

Skills & Experience:

- Minimum of 3 years’ experience from either a PR/public affairs consultancy, research, journalism or in-house policy team.
- Advanced understanding and keen interest in Irish current affairs.
- Excellent relationships across health, business and corporate affairs landscape.
- Experience of independently leading budgeting, managing resourcing and developing new business.
- Background in health and/or technology an advantage.
- Experience in line management and developing talent.
- Excellent verbal and creative writing skills.
- Experience working within a close-knit team, with the ability to work independently.
- Strong attention to detail, highly organised and ability to think creatively.

What We Offer:

In addition to a competitive salary, your core benefits package will include:

- An annual performance-related bonus plus additional bonus potential linked to recruitment, new business and long service.
- 25 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays).
- Private healthcare insurance.
- A company pension plan, including 5% employer contribution.
- Enhanced maternity/paternity & family friendly policies.

You’ll also have access to a wide range of opportunities and initiatives, including:

- Flexible working policies, plus eligibility to apply for a sabbatical after 2 years’ service.
- Summer Fridays finish (3pm) – early Friday finish the rest of the year (4pm).
- The Hanover Academy, which incorporates training, coaching, mentoring and reverse-mentoring opportunities to support personal development and career progression across all levels, with a generous training budget.
- International secondments as well as the opportunity to collaborate with all offices across the AVENIR GLOBAL’s network.
- A wellbeing programme, featuring (but not limited to) pre- and post-maternity leave coaching, a working parents’ group, subsidised gym membership, LiveSmart sessions on mindfulness, sleep, etc.
- Our Culture Club, with a robust social calendar all year round, Trailblazer of the Month award, Lunch & Learns, CSR activities, and an opportunity to win an Out of Office activity fund.

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