Health Strategy Lead, Healthcare, Ruder Finn

Ruder Finn is one of the world's largest independent global communications and integrated marketing agencies, recognized for bold ideas, strategic thinking, and a culture that pushes what's next. The agency continues to earn recognition for its industry leadership, creativity, and growth, including being named Large Agency of the Year at the 2026 PRWeek U.S. Awards and one of PRWeek's Best Places to Work.

Ruder Finn is seeking a Health Strategy Lead to drive strategic thinking across a portfolio of healthcare and life sciences clients. This role is responsible for uncovering the human, cultural, market, and business insights that inspire breakthrough communications, brand, and engagement strategies for healthcare clients. They will translate complex challenges into clear strategic direction, ensuring creative ideas are grounded in evidence, differentiated in the marketplace, and capable of driving measurable business and reputational impact.

The Health Strategy lead will transform research and insights into compelling strategies for clients and new business prospects in the health care space. This includes identifying unmet audience needs, analyzing market dynamics, competitive landscapes, and cultural trends, and synthesizing data into compelling creative briefs that inspire breakthrough ideas. Strategists partner closely with creative teams, client leaders, digital specialists, and healthcare experts to develop communications strategies that solve complex business challenges, inspire innovative campaigns, and create meaningful connections between healthcare brands and their audiences.

The ideal candidate is an intellectually curious strategist with deep healthcare expertise, exceptional storytelling skills, and the ability to connect business objectives with insightful solutions. They thrive in collaborative environments, inspire teams with innovative thinking, and are passionate about elevating strategic excellence across client work and new business.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead strategic planning across a portfolio of healthcare clients, serving as a senior advisor on creating insights and strategies that lead to creative concepting, ideation and integrated solutions

• Utilize our agency's planning framework across all clients and new business opportunities to drive the development of strategic brand communications plans.

• Develop insight-driven communications strategies that align with client business priorities and lead to the development of innovative, culturally and audience-grounded creative programs

• Translate market dynamics, stakeholder research, cultural trends, competitive intelligence, and audience insights into actionable communications recommendations

• Partner closely with account, creative, digital, and analytics teams to ensure strategic consistency across all client deliverables

• Drive research briefs with analytics team and develop creative briefs for creative teams

• Lead strategic workshops, messaging sessions, positioning exercises, and brand narrative development with clients and cross-functional teams

• Develop messaging architectures, audience segmentation strategies, communications platforms, campaign frameworks, and measurement approaches

• Identify emerging trends across healthcare, AI, technology, media, and culture that can inform innovative client strategies

• Provide strategic counsel during product launches, data milestones, regulatory events, issues management, and corporate reputation initiatives

• Elevate strategic thinking and creativity across the healthcare practice by mentoring teams on planning methodologies, storytelling, and insight development

• Play a leadership role in business development by developing strategic approaches, leading discovery sessions, contributing to pitch narratives, and presenting to prospective clients

• Collaborate with senior leadership to identify opportunities for client growth, new service offerings, and innovation across the healthcare portfolio

• Champion the use of AI, analytics, research, and emerging technologies to strengthen strategic planning and improve client outcomes

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in strategic planning at an agency with an expertise in healthcare Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Business, Life Sciences, Public Health, or a related field

• Deep understanding of the healthcare ecosystem, including pharmaceutical, biotech, medical technology, payer, provider, and patient advocacy landscapes

• Proven experience as an inspirational leader, mentor, and strategist

• Demonstrated experience developing integrated communications strategies for healthcare brands across multiple stages of the product lifecycle

• Strong understanding of healthcare audiences, including healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, advocacy organizations, policymakers, investors, and employees

• Experience leveraging audience research, data, analytics, cultural insights, and market intelligence to shape communications strategy

• Outstanding presentation, facilitation, and storytelling skills with the ability to influence senior client stakeholders

• Experience leading strategic planning for new business opportunities and agency pitches

• Strong collaborator with the ability to work across multidisciplinary teams and inspire strategic thinking at every level

• Curiosity about emerging technologies, including AI, and enthusiasm for applying new tools to strategic planning and communications

• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced agency environment

Benefits and More

• You will receive a competitive base salary and bonus opportunity

• You will also be able to enroll in our Health, Dental, Vision, company paid Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Account, as well as 401k (match) plan.

• Monthly allowance for cell phone, office equipment, etc.

• Generous PTO policy with paid maternity/paternity leave

• Transit benefits

• Professional learning and development opportunities

• Workplace flexibility

• On-site and off-site social gatherings

The anticipated salary range for this position, at the time of posting, is $160,000-$240,000. The salary of the applicant selected for this role will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, education, internal equity, geography, relevant years of experience, certifications, skills, abilities of the selected applicant, and other job-related qualifications. In addition, a range of medical, dental, vision, disability, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and/or other benefits also are available by the company.

We have openings across multiple levels within the agency. If you're interested, please reach out to HumanResources@RuderFinn.com, we'd be happy to discuss similar opportunities that align with your experience.

Ruder Finn provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Ruder Finn will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Ruder Finn believes that diversity and inclusion among our employees is critical to our success as a global company, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.