Associate Director, Strategic Account and Project Management

Who We Are

We are transforming Thread Collective, Lilly's in-house creative agency, to set a new standard for operational and strategic excellence. As Associate Director, Strategic Account & Project Management, you play a pivotal role in turning brand strategies into actionable plans and delivering seamless execution across a diverse portfolio of brands and indications. You ensure strategic alignment and flawless delivery of integrated marketing programs, ranging from campaign refreshes to large-scale launches, within a specific brand portfolio or across multiple therapeutic areas.

What We Are Looking For

• Partner closely with the Creative Account Manager on day-to-day execution, keeping in-progress work on brand, on goal, and aligned with brand strategies and business objectives.
• Own the brand relationship and serve as the senior point of contact for brand stakeholders, building strong relationships and working to anticipate needs to proactively communicate opportunities and solutions.
• Own budget and scope for the brand portfolio, keeping priorities, timelines, and deliverables within plan.
• Schedule and lead strategic check-ins, bringing together the creative, operations, and review partners who are important to the execution of stakeholder initiatives.
• Lead monthly and quarterly forecasting with brand partners and operations, working with Operations to understand known work, capacity, and the path each campaign needs to take through MLRO and into market.
• Support the Senior Director in strategic planning, resource allocation, and continuous improvement initiatives, including documenting process and pain points across every stage of the work.
• Champion the use of modern tools (e.g., Workfront and AI-enabled planning and forecasting) and best practices to drive efficiency and scalability.
• Translate brand strategy into campaign plans by leading campaign mapping, setting campaign priority, and finalizing the tactics and claims each campaign needs across multiple brands and audience types.
• Champion client objectives while fiercely advocating for the agency's vision and creative excellence, ensuring alignment and mutual success.
• Analyze brand performance and campaign KPIs, delivering sharp insights and strategic recommendations that shape the next planning cycle and drive measurable business results.
• Oversee work moving through MLRO, partnering with review leads to anticipate risk, resolve escalations, and balance compliance with creativity in regulated environments.
• Review work against the campaign plan through a creative strategy lens, giving creative teams thoughtful feedback that elevates the work.
• Build and maintain each brand's intelligence base, gathering customer insights, brand health data, and brand strategy so campaign planning starts from a shared view of the brand.
• Partner with subject matter experts in personalization, modular content, web, search, and social media to optimize messaging across paid and owned channels.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, advertising, journalism, business administration, or a related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in account management and project leadership within a creative agency, in-house team, or multi-brand portfolio organization.
• 5+ years of experience managing account and/or project management teams delivering integrated marketing initiatives across multiple channels and audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in Medical, Regulatory, and Legal workflows, with a track record of advising and guiding teams to align strategies and execution with compliance standards.
• Experience leading brand or campaign planning and forecasting with senior stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Workfront or another similar project management system.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills, able to drive alignment and inspire action at all levels.
• Experience working within highly regulated or compliance-heavy environments such as healthcare, finance, government, or media, with a strong understanding of process rigor, documentation, and cross-functional review.
• Demonstrated success managing or supporting teams that deliver marketing initiatives for multiple brands, projects, or stakeholders across diverse channels.
• Collaborative leadership style with a focus on driving results and fostering a positive, team-oriented environment.
• Proven ability to manage key accounts or complex, multi-channel creative projects.
• Effective capacity management skills at both individual and small team levels.
• Ability to identify and address process or technology challenges, implementing solutions through project planning and milestone management.
• Solid understanding of creative development, digital marketing, brand strategy, and omnichannel execution.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), or equivalent certification preferred.
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Comfortable receiving and implementing feedback from peers, partners, and stakeholders to align with shared goals and elevate outcomes.

Other

Position based in Indianapolis: remote work options may be considered. Relocation package provided. Travel up to 15% is expected. Lilly may provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role for internal applicants only.