Principal Strategy Director

In the fast-changing world where our clients deliver life-changing medicines and technology, Cognite’s dynamic team drives our mission of bringing science to life.

As an independent agency, we create clear, compelling communications, focusing on the transformative therapies that are inspiring the future of healthcare and the highly complex diseases they treat.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and analytical Principal Strategy Director to join our growing team. Reporting to the SVP Strategy and Growth, you will be responsible for:

Agency Operations

• Actively contributing to the development and refinement of Cognite’s strategic frameworks and playbooks, ensuring our ways of working remain best-in-class
• Sharing market insights, therapy area knowledge, and competitor intelligence across teams to strengthen agency-wide capability
• Acting as a bridge between departments and our clients, ensuring agency thinking is consistently applied to client work
• Driving innovation in how the agency approaches client strategy, embedding new thinking
• Acting as a visible thought leader within the agency, championing continuous improvement, and inspiring the broader Strategy team

Client Work

• Leading the strategic vision and strategic planning direction for your accounts
• Anticipating market shifts and proactively adapting strategic approaches to keep Cognite and its clients ahead of the curve
• Helping teams with client research, including competitive landscape research, disease area research, and patient insights
• Supporting account teams with client strategic work (e.g. brand strategy, brand planning, tactical planning, advisory boards, workshop preparation, customer journeys, and segmentation)
• Challenging internal and client thinking with evidence-based insights
• Ensuring strategic excellence is consistently embedded across teams
• Being the final signatory on new strategic briefs to ensure they align with the overarching brand or disease strategy
• Facilitating workshops, brand planning sessions, and strategic advisory engagements with authority and vision
• Proactively suggesting opportunities to strengthen proposals through innovation, digital integration, or market insights

New Business

• Leading strategic development for pitches in assigned therapy areas or verticals
• Being accountable for pitch quality, innovation, timing, and team collaboration

Client Relationships

• Acting as a go-to strategic partner for senior clients
• Confidently leading strategic discussions in client workshops and meetings

We believe someone with the following experience could be a good match for this role:

• Degree-level qualification in a relevant science
• 5+ years’ experience in one or more healthcare agencies
• Strong commercial acumen and familiarity with using market insights to drive business performance
• Verbal and written communication to a high standard
• Analytical mindset
• Strong PowerPoint skills

Cognite’s agency values—Everyone matters; Science at the heart; Entrepreneurial mindset; True partners; and Doing the right thing—shape how we work every day. We believe every individual can make a positive difference; we put science at the core of everything we do; we embrace curiosity and courage to find solutions; we build lasting partnerships focused on shared goals; and we act with integrity and inclusivity in all our interactions.

Our benefits include:

• Discretionary company bonus and incentive schemes
• Health reimbursement plan
• 401(k) retirement plan—up to 5% employer match
• 20 paid vacation days per year
• 20 paid sick leave days per year

If you are passionate about bringing science to life, then we would love to hear from you.