Senior Account Director - Client Engagement

Coegi•Toronto, ON

5d•CA$140,000 - CA$165,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Account Director - Client Engagement (Canada) is the senior strategic lead and primary client relationship owner for one of Coegi's established pharmaceutical client accounts in the Canadian market. This role serves as the day-to-day senior point of contact for the client, partnering with brand leadership on strategic planning, business planning input, regulatory media execution, and integrated cross-agency coordination. The Senior Account Director acts as a trusted consultant to the client, contributing to broader business decisions in ways that extend beyond media. In addition to leading this account, the role partners with the President on growing Coegi's Canadian client portfolio through agency-to-agency relationship building, consultative new business conversations, and representation of Coegi within the Canadian market. This is a senior, individual contributor leadership role with dotted-line collaboration across a dedicated account team that includes a Client Engagement strategist, a Project Manager, and a Senior Account Manager focused on partner, vendor, and regulatory submission management.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, communications, business, or a related field.
Minimum of seven to ten years of progressive experience in client-facing account management at a digital media or advertising agency, with demonstrated experience leading senior client relationships and complex regulated accounts.
Direct experience in pharmaceutical or healthcare advertising is required.
Genuine on-the-ground experience working in the Canadian media and advertising market is required.
Working knowledge of PAAB and ASC requirements is essential.
Hands-on familiarity with Veeva PromoMats, MLR submission processes, and the realities of compliant pharma marketing operations.
Strong working knowledge of integrated digital media planning across paid social, programmatic, search, influencer, OOH, and emerging channels.
Comfort interpreting performance data and translating it into strategic recommendations.
Exceptional written and verbal communication, including senior client presentation skills and the ability to synthesize complex information into direct, decision-ready recommendations.
Proficiency in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office.
Familiarity with project management tools such as Asana.
Comfort working with AI tools to scale insight, knowledge management, and account operations.
Consultative posture, not a sales posture. You lead with strategic counsel and earn growth through trust.
Comfort owning a senior client relationship as the primary day-to-day point of contact, including with stakeholders well above account-manager level.
High retention of context across a complex, regulated account, and the discipline to document and share that context with a distributed team.
Strong agency instincts and operational maturity.
Comfort working across a hybrid team where a portion of account collaborators sit in the United States.
Interest in helping grow a Canadian client portfolio as a secondary, longer-term contribution.
Shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; promotes a harassment-free environment.
Treats people with respect; keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; works with integrity and principles; upholds organizational values.
Seeks feedback to improve performance; pursues training and development opportunities; shares expertise with others.
Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully; develops alternative solutions.
Responds promptly to client needs; solicits feedback to improve service; meets commitments.
Expresses ideas clearly in verbal and written form; listens actively; keeps others adequately informed.
Balances team and individual responsibilities; supports a collaborative team environment across geographies.
Adapts to changes in the work environment; manages competing demands; deals well with frequent change.
Follows through on commitments; prioritizes work effectively; communicates proactively on shifts in plan.
Displays original thinking; meets challenges with resourcefulness; generates suggestions for improvement.
Demonstrates proficiency with standard business software, learns new systems quickly, and adapts to evolving digital tools and platforms including AI.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with vaccine, biologic, or specialty pharmaceutical categories is a strong asset.
Familiarity with Health Canada submission context is preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior day-to-day strategic point of contact for client brand and marketing leadership, building and maintaining a long-term, trust-based relationship.
Operate as a consultative partner to the client, contributing to broader brand and business planning conversations that extend beyond paid media execution.
Develop and deliver senior-level strategic recommendations, business reviews, and presentations to client leadership audiences.
Anticipate client needs, business risks, and timing considerations across the brand calendar and proactively bring forward solutions.
Translate complex media, regulatory, and operational context into clear, direct counsel that supports confident client decision-making.
Set strategic direction for the account team, working closely with the Client Engagement strategy lead, Project Manager, and Senior Account Manager to ensure aligned execution against client goals.
Own account health, including client satisfaction, retainer scope alignment, profitability, and renewal positioning.
Partner with the Senior Account Manager to ensure regulatory submissions, partner and vendor coordination, and tactical deliverables are tracked and delivered against client expectations.
Partner with the Project Manager to ensure timelines, workback schedules, and task management align with brand and campaign cadence.
Lead account-level financial oversight in coordination with internal finance and operations, including retainer management, forecasting input, and identification of scope changes that warrant client discussion.
Oversee the development and quality of integrated media strategies and seasonal media briefs across paid social, programmatic, search, influencer, OOH, and emerging channels in the Canadian market.
Partner with the Client Engagement strategy lead to translate brand objectives, audience priorities, and competitive context into actionable media plans the client can confidently approve.
Provide senior review on campaign performance narratives, optimization recommendations, and reporting deliverables before they reach the client.
Stay current on the Canadian digital media landscape, including platform availability, regulatory limitations, and emerging vendor capabilities relevant to pharma.
Maintain working fluency in Canadian pharmaceutical advertising regulation, including PAAB and ASC requirements, to inform client recommendations and protect account compliance.
Provide senior oversight on Veeva PromoMats submissions, MLR cycles, and approval workflows managed at the account manager level, ensuring submissions are positioned for first-pass approval where possible.
Coordinate with the client's creative agency partner on integrated execution of regulated materials, including PTM campaigns, rep-triggered emails, conference materials, and HCP communications.
Maintain a working understanding of the client's product portfolio and category to ensure strategic guidance reflects therapeutic-area nuance and indication-level context.
Act as the senior Coegi point of contact for the client's creative agency, ensuring integrated planning, aligned timelines, and consistent communication.
Manage strategic relationships with select external vendors, partners, and sister agencies on behalf of the account.
Represent Coegi in senior-level client and partner meetings, including in-person presence in Toronto as needed.
Partner with the President on growing Coegi's Canadian client portfolio through consultative agency-to-agency relationships, network building, and inbound opportunity development.
Contribute to new business pitches and capabilities conversations for Canadian opportunities, with a focus on regulated industries and pharma where applicable.
Represent Coegi at relevant Canadian industry events and within the local agency community to strengthen Coegi's presence in the market.
Maintain a high standard of documentation, communication, and account hygiene, including knowledge transfer practices that support team continuity.
Stay informed on relevant industry and regulatory developments in Canada and apply insights to client recommendations and internal team direction.
Champion the adoption of AI capabilities, knowledge bases, and evolved ways of working within the account team.
Support cross-functional collaboration with Coegi's U.S. team and contribute to process improvements that strengthen the Canadian client experience.