Director, Resource Management

Real Chemistry•Chicago, MA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

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 #LifeatRealChem 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 #LifeatRealChem. Resource Director About the Role The Resource Director is a senior, strategic resourcing leader and a critical business partner to Finance, HR, Departmental Senior Leadership, and Operational teams across Real Chemistry . This role brings both analytical rigor and people leadership to the function, translating multiple complex data sources into clear insights and driving meaningful change across resourcing practices. The Resource Director ensures that resourcing intelligence directly informs business decisions, workforce strategy, and financial performance in a dynamic, integrated services environment. This individual operates with calm authority and a solutions-first mindset—equally comfortable presenting performance analysis to senior stakeholders and resolving complex staffing challenges—ensuring the Resource Management function is a trusted strategic partner across the organization.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in Resource Management, Workforce Planning, or Operational Staffing, with 2–3+ years in a leadership role .
Experience operating in a complex, matrixed professional services or agency environment (healthcare experience strongly preferred).
Strong understanding of cross-functional team structures and integrated delivery models .
Strong financial acumen , including billability, utilization, forecasting, and margin management.
Proven ability to influence and drive alignment across senior stakeholders without direct authority.
Excellent analytical and reporting skills , with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
Experience with enterprise resourcing and workflow tools (e.g., Workfront or similar).
Demonstrated success in driving process improvements and operational efficiency .

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end resourcing across assigned Business Units and capabilities
Make informed, data-driven staffing decisions that align to project needs, client delivery expectations, and business priorities.
Lead resolution of complex or high-stakes staffing challenges, acting as a senior escalation point within the RM function.
Balance client delivery, employee experience, and financial performance in all staffing decisions.
Provide senior-level guidance on prioritization across competing demands, influencing stakeholders across a matrixed organization.
Oversee freelancer and external resource utilization, ensuring spend aligns to budget and margin targets.
Own and maintain forward-looking resourcing forecasts in partnership with Department and Capability Leads.
Proactively identify capacity risks and skill gaps, and recommend solutions (e.g., hiring, upskilling, freelance, outsourcing).
Support workforce planning through level analysis, capacity modeling, and organizational design inputs.
Partner with HR and Talent Acquisition to align hiring strategies to current and future demand.
Take accountability for achieving billability and utilization targets across the Business Unit.
Partner closely with Finance to evaluate performance, identify risks (e.g., overservice), and optimize margin.
Deliver monthly performance reporting with clear insights and actionable recommendations.
Contribute to discussions around scoping, pricing, and delivery models, ensuring resourcing implications are understood.
Champion consistent application of Resource Management best practices across the organization.
Drive process improvements in partnership with Operations and Finance (e.g., reporting, tooling, workflows).
Ensure Workfront (or equivalent tools) are used effectively for allocations, forecasting, and reporting.
Improve cross-functional collaboration and data quality to elevate the impact of Resource Management.
Lead, mentor, and develop Resource Managers and Resource Associates.
Support onboarding, training, and growth of the team to build capability and consistency.
Conduct regular 1:1s, contribute to performance reviews, and support goal setting and development plans.
Model best practices in stakeholder management, analytical rigor, and strategic thinking.
Foster a proactive, solutions-oriented, and commercially aware team culture.