Senior Director, Strategic Account & Project Management

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Senior Director, Strategic Account & Project Management

Organization Overview

Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. Every day, we make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing, and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, and more active lives.

The Lilly Creative Capabilities team fuses data, creativity, and technology to turn bold ideas into work that moves people worldwide. As a true creative engine, we partner across the enterprise, uniting deep brand expertise with integrated insights and modern production to deliver breakthrough ideas with confidence and speed. We design human-centric experiences that build trust, deepen understanding, and drive measurable outcomes. Together, we push past “good enough,” raising the bar for creative excellence and operational agility. If you are driven to lead, to learn fast, and to raise the bar every day, come help us redefine what a best-in-any-class in-house agency can do.

Who We Are

We are transforming our in-house agency (IHA) to set a new standard for operational and strategic excellence. As Senior Director, Strategic Account & Project Management, you will lead the evolution of how we align marketing priorities, streamline execution, and deliver integrated solutions that drive measurable business impact. This role ensures brand strategies are executed with excellence across multiple customer groups, including healthcare professionals (HCP), direct-to-consumer (DTC) audiences, and others as needed. You will oversee account and project management for a diverse portfolio of 15–20 brands across multiple therapeutic areas, ensuring strategic alignment and seamless execution of integrated marketing programs, from campaign refreshes to large-scale launches. Our team thrives on collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement, always raising the bar for operational excellence and client partnership. If you are passionate about building high-performing teams, optimizing processes, and ensuring every initiative delivers results, this is your opportunity to shape the future of our IHA.

What We Are Looking For

• Proven ability to build, lead, and develop IHA centralized account and project management teams that support marketing brand stakeholders across the U.S., including both HCP and DTC audiences.
• Strategic leadership experience in designing and implementing enterprise-level account management frameworks that align with organizational goals and drive operational excellence.
• Lead strategic account planning and execution across a dynamic portfolio of brands and high-impact projects, setting the account vision and driving measurable marketing results.
• Guide marketers and creative partners through the IHA process for developing original campaigns or campaign refreshes for multi-faceted marketing programs targeting both HCP and consumer audiences across U.S. and global markets.
• Build and nurture strong, trust-based relationships with brand leaders by understanding their strategic priorities, anticipating needs, and ensuring all account and project management activities align with established brand strategies to drive long-term success.
• Serve as the in-house agency’s senior account authority for top-tier brands and portfolios, ensuring every initiative aligns with business goals and delivers measurable results.
• Inspire and lead account and project management teams to operational excellence by streamlining workflows, optimizing resources, and consistently exceeding expectations across timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
• Demonstrate exceptional prioritization skills by balancing competing demands across multiple brands, projects, and stakeholders to ensure the highest-value initiatives are delivered on time and within scope.
• Drive close, cross-functional collaboration across IHA teams while serving as a strategic resource by providing insights on tactical strategy, brand objectives, and business needs to fuel integrated campaigns that resonate and perform.
• Champion innovation in process and delivery by driving efficiency and scalability through modern technologies and best practices, including AI-enabled solutions and advanced marketing tools.
• Steer creative teams through complex MLR review processes while balancing compliance with creativity in regulated environments.
• Model inclusive leadership by cultivating a culture of empowerment, accountability, and purpose-driven collaboration.
• Stay informed of and incorporate relevant customer and marketing insights, brand strategies, and business objectives into the creative development process.
• Partner with subject matter experts in personalization, modular content, web, search, and social media to optimize messaging across paid and owned channels.

Minimum Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, advertising, journalism, business administration, or a related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in large-scale account management and project leadership within a creative agency, in-house team, or multi-brand portfolio organization.
• 10+ years of senior-level leadership overseeing account and project management teams delivering integrated marketing initiatives across multiple channels and audiences.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization and/or visas for this role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in leading centralized operations that support multiple stakeholders, manage complex brand portfolios, and deliver measurable business impact in regulated or high-volume marketing environments.
• Proficiency in Workfront or another similar project management systems.
• 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 the importance of process rigor, documentation, and cross-functional review.
• Demonstrated success in leading centralized teams that support multiple brands and stakeholders across diverse marketing channels.
• Strong leadership presence with a collaborative, ego-free approach to driving results.
• Proven success managing enterprise-level clients and complex, multi-channel creative campaigns.
• Effective capacity management skills at both individual and team levels.
• Ability to diagnose process vs. technology pain points and implement solutions through project planning and milestone management.
• Deep understanding of creative development, digital marketing, brand strategy, and omnichannel strategy.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), or equivalent certification.
• Exceptional 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. Relocation package provided. Up to 15% travel.

Note: When applying internally for a position your current supervisor receives notification that you have applied to the position. We encourage employees to discuss the opportunity with their supervisor prior to applying.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Lilly may continue to provide U.S. visa sponsorship for current U.S. employees who meet the basic qualifications of the role and, prior to applying, have confirmed U.S. visa feasibility with Lilly’s U.S. Immigration Team. U.S. employees do not include individuals completing an STA or LTA in the U.S. from abroad. Roles on the B path, S path, or that do not minimally require a bachelor’s degree are not feasible for visa sponsorship.

#WeAreLilly

Lilly is proud to offer market-competitive employee benefits designed to empower you to live your best life. Employees may elect medical, prescription drug, dental and/or vision coverage for you and your family in one of two health plan options, enjoy best-in-class mental health support, and concierge services for orthopedic, cardiovascular, fertility care, and LGBTQ health navigation. We also support well-being with a fitness membership, health coaching, and wellness activities at no additional cost. Our retirement benefits are designed to help our employees feel secure in their financial future by including a defined benefit pension, a 401(k) match, and retiree medical coverage. We provide life and disability insurance for peace of mind and protection for you and your loved ones and paid time-off benefits to support you in life’s moments that matter including personal illness, caregiver, bereavement, and other family needs, in addition to annual paid vacation and holidays. Lilly reserves the right to terminate or modify company-provided benefits at any time in its discretion. The company compensation structures are aligned to the location of hire. The United States pay range and benefits offering do not apply to any location outside of the United States.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is

$154,500 - $226,600

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

#WeAreLilly