Director, Editorial

Company description: Heartbeat is a full-service agency for healthcare Challenger Brands. Challengers are playing a high-stakes game—they must battle behemoth market leaders, upend ingrained treatment habits, or transform a “me-too” product into “yes-please.” The agency is known for serving up distinctive strategies and differentiating approaches, ensuring clients’ market positions are uniquely owned. Heartbeat designs their organization around a 100% integration model, housing media, strategy, med comms, creative, technology, and even point of care/population health under the same roof for the tightest, most integrated campaigns possible. They price work based on outcomes, not outputs. Their innovative model delivers not only alignment, but powerful orchestration, greater efficiency, and maximum impact for every dollar spent—all the necessary elements for Challengers to triumph. That’s the philosophy, here’s the creds: 250+ employees between NYC & LA; 6 agency leaders with decades of tenure; a pile of awards from the likes of the Mannys, MM&M Awards, OMMAs, and Clios; an industry-leading commitment to diversity and inclusion (with a Med Ad News D&I Champion nod to match); and a President who dared to be quoted as saying, “We celebrate people who stand up and say, ‘You know what? This is dumb.' Damn straight.

Own editorial priorities and trade-offs across multiple brands and teams. Anticipate department-level risks and adjust staffing, sequencing, or focus accordingly. Make decisions that weigh quality, capacity, and risk across the full portfolio of brands. Hold a firm quality line while knowing when and how to flex standards to protect client outcomes. Oversee that staff read for clarity, grammar, and spelling; proofread; fact-check claims; and conform text to FDA regulations, AMA style, and client style. Detect patterns that could erode quality or capacity and address them early. Delivery Hold accountability for QC and editorial quality standards across the department. Lean in to edit day-to-day work during launches, label updates, and influx periods. Meet client deadlines without jeopardizing the integrity of the work. Manage tight deadlines while remaining solution focused and calm in high-tension situations. Recommend refinements to the editorial operating model and identify workflow and business process improvements within the department and at client interfaces. Lead the implementation of solutions that improve operating and business results. Knowledge Apply strong judgment across staffing, sequencing, and prioritization. Reinforce consistent use of tools, process, and editorial standards across brands. Help inform agency operations and SOPs to strengthen how work moves. Bring strong fact-checking skills and command of FDA regulations, AMA style, and client style. Work fluently across both digital and print materials and the systems that route them. Understand how editorial decisions affect timelines, budgets, and client relationships. Leadership Lead editors at all levels, setting clear expectations for performance and judgment. Serve as the escalation point for complex quality or client challenges. Evaluate and train staff, resolve staff issues, manage client needs and expectations, and foster a positive team atmosphere. Lead the editorial staff to excel, answering general and account-specific questions and coaching on time management and workload prioritization. Conduct performance reviews for editors who report to them and develop managing editors and associate directors who lead with strong judgment. Onboard staff within editorial and across disciplines, maintain org charts and onboarding materials, and deliver training. Build trust with senior stakeholders and clients through consistent editorial performance.