Group Director, Paid Media (Client Experience)

Real Chemistry•Chicago, IL

10h•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. Real Chemistry is looking for a Group Director, Paid Media (Client Experience) to join our growing team! The Group Director, Paid Media (Client Experience) is a portfolio-level leader and trusted partner to both clients and internal teams. You’ll guide the strategic vision, operational excellence, and talent development across a group of accounts, ensuring the work we deliver is innovative, data-driven, and flawlessly executed. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and leadership — empowering teams to deliver outstanding results while championing integration across Client Service, Strategy, Ad Operations, and Business Intelligence. You’re not just managing media — you’re shaping how we think, work, and grow. This is a hybrid role, based in any of our US offices, including Boston, Chicago, Carmel, or Lambertville.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in media strategy, planning, and activation across digital channels
Deep understanding of DTC and HCP audiences, omnichannel strategy, and the evolving media landscape.
Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire teams, manage complex portfolios, and deliver outstanding client results.
Advanced financial acumen with experience managing large-scale budgets and scopes of work.
Exceptional client relationship and communication skills — equally adept at boardroom presentations and day-to-day problem-solving.
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with a proven record of working effectively across Strategy, BI, and Ad Ops.
Comfort with ambiguity, change, and growth — you see process as an enabler, not a constraint.

Responsibilities

Lead portfolio-level media strategy and oversee execution across multiple brands.
Serve as the senior client partner — driving collaboration, anticipating needs, and shaping recommendations that ladder up to measurable business outcomes.
Champion innovation in media, exploring emerging opportunities and piloting first-to-market activations.
Oversee annual planning, SOW creation, budget management, and forecasting for assigned portfolio.
Ensure financial health of accounts through proactive scope, budget, and reconciliation management.
Bridge strategy, creative, analytics, and activation — ensuring alignment from campaign planning through measurement and optimization.
Drive integration across internal teams and partner agencies to deliver seamless, cross-channel work.
Translate data and insights into meaningful, client-ready stories that inspire confidence and action.
Partner with Strategy and BI to evolve measurement frameworks, establish KPIs, and drive learning agendas.
Lead, coach, and grow a team of Media Directors and Supervisors — fostering curiosity, accountability, and continuous development.
Build scalable processes, tools, and workflows to improve clarity, quality, and efficiency across the team.
Create a culture of collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence that embodies our values.
Serve as a role model for strong communication, diplomacy, and partnership across departments.
Contribute to agency initiatives that improve how we work, plan, and partner.
Represent Spring & Bond externally — nurturing publisher and vendor relationships and identifying new opportunities.
Collaborate on POVs, playbooks, and case studies to advance industry thought leadership and internal education.