Vice President, Brand Strategy

Overview

You provide the vision, set the pace and inspire success.

There is one thing you do that is exceptional: lead. You formulate a plan and focus your team to solve the unsolvable, beat the unbeatable and come out on top. Your capacity to creatively strategize, motivate , and elicit achievement makes you the right fit for this vital Vice President role with GSW.

To this end, we are seeking a VP, Brand Strategy to join our team – a gifted storyteller with a passion for crafting insightful and compelling narratives about our clients’ brands and products in ways that engage audiences on a human and empathetic level.

Your role will be to elevate the agency’s insight into the lived experience of illness today, from the perspective of all key audiences – including physicians, patients and caregivers as applicable – and ensure they are at the forefront throughout the strategic and creative development process.

You will work seamlessly with account, medical and creative teams to build, enable and advocate strategic ideas that lead to effective creative campaigns that help drive powerful change.

This is a highly visible, high volume role that requires an entrepreneurial spirit to seek out opportunities on your assigned accounts, as well as client-facing expertise to maintain the agency’s relationship as a trusted client partner.

GSW is a full-service healthcare communications agency that goes beyond advertising to create personalized brand experiences. We develop strategic marketing solutions for pharmaceutical, biotech and health-and-wellness clients around the world. We create experiences that involve, inspire, educate and activate people through ongoing brand journeys.

Responsibilities

• Proactively works as a core team member together with account, medical and creative colleagues to become a valued strategic partner both internally and externally
• Provides a deep understanding of the behaviors, drivers and motivations of healthcare audiences (professional and consumer, as applicable)
• Identifies business-building, brand equity, personality, and positioning opportunities for client brands

• Leads the account team in developing compelling, single-minded strategies and briefs that inspire great creative

• Perseveres in nurturing and championing the “big creative idea”
• Leads the agency in market research planning, execution and translation
•  Participates in new business efforts, including conducting primary and secondary research, shaping the creative brief, and aiding in developing the final presentation

Job Requirements

• Candidates should have a minimum of 8+ years of strategic planning experience at a creative agency

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in a related field (including marketing, communications, journalism) or social sciences (including medical/cultural anthropology, psychology or ethnography)
• Proven track record in applying their expertise to the creative development process
• Demonstrated skill in the art of storytelling
• Strong research facilitation skills (especially qualitative, with knowledge of quantitative methodologies and analysis); familiarity with behavioral science principles is advantageous
• Experience coordinating and running workshops (internal and external)
• Outstanding – and client-facing – communication skills (articulate, good writer, strong presenter)
• MUST have either professional pharmaceutical or DTC experience

GSW turns against the premise of doing the “same old.” Our culture is focused on collaborative, meaningful advertising and day-to-day interpersonal interaction. We value the diverse backgrounds of our team members, and everyone has the opportunity to provide input and be heard. GSW is comprised of creative, motivated individuals who are all here for a reason. We welcome those who strive to work above and beyond their role, who voice their opinion and who are engaged in all aspects of the agency.

GSW is part of Syneos Health Communications, a purpose-built collective of agencies focused on supporting health and biopharmaceutical innovators. We work in scalable, collaborative teams that partner across disciplines and geographies to deliver integrated communications strategies that accelerate brand performance. In today’s fast-changing and complex environment, success lies in making connections: between science, emotion, and technology; between data, design and human insight. We’re able to make those connections because our medical communications, digital, advertising, public relations, data science, research and market access specialists work closely with each other and with healthcare experts, including physicians, pharmacists and advocates. Together, we are the connected healthcare partner tapping rich insights to drive innovation, change behavior and pioneer a new era of accountable marketing.

Syneos Health Communications is powered by Syneos Health, a global professional services organization designed to help the biopharmaceutical industry shorten the distance from lab to life.

WORK HERE MATTERS EVERYWHERE | How will you accelerate bringing new therapies to patients?

Syneos Health is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer (Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled) 

As a healthcare company we have an important responsibility to protect individual and public health. Except in those locations where state or local law impacts this vaccination requirement, this position will require individuals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of their job responsibilities unless an exemption can be confirmed based on a medical condition, sincerely-held religious belief, or other reasons recognized by applicable law. Submission and approval of an exemption request does not necessarily guarantee that an accommodation can be provided for any specific job. 

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