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Chief Creative Officer (Pharma)

CG Life
Chicago, IL Full Time
POSTED ON 1/13/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 3/13/2026

Job Title: Chief Creative Officer                     

Reports To: COO                                                        

Position Summary:

Seasoned, inspiring creative leader with a relentless passion for uncovering the big idea and ensuring that it is expressed in a brand experience that inspires, engages, and delivers results.A creative leader who understands the challenges of working within a regulated industry, but consistently produces award-winning work that elevates the strategy and connects with the audience. This leader has a craftsperson’s mastery of creating and/or directing brand strategy, positioning, messaging, storytelling, art direction, typography, photography, layout, film, omnichannel, and social-media ideation. The ideal candidate will be well-versed in current design and marketing/advertising trends and standards within agency biopharma communications and marketing. The ideal candidate also demonstrates a keen understanding of pharma brand launches, omnichannel creative best practices, and a proven track record of delivering award-winning creative campaigns.

The Chief Creative Officer (CCO) provides daily creative leadership and will be instrumental in guiding and managing the creative team, overseeing the creative expression of strategic briefs, establishing the agency’s creative vision, and contributing to growth as a part of new business pitch teams to grow the agency and the careers of those on the growing creative team.

 

Responsibilities:

  • Create an environment across CG Life in which great work can be done
  • Build teams (with hiring and structuring) that do great creative work that gets results for clients and impacts the lives of patients for the better
  • Raise the profile and creative reputation of CG Life; elevate creative reputation within the marketing community and client community
  • Contribute to the growth of CG Life with creative work that helps to win pitches and achieve incremental growth with existing clients
  • Partner with cross-functional senior leadership to ensure that CG Life’s range of capabilities are equally grounded in creativity and innovation
  • Lead, manage, and grow the careers of the Creative leads and encourage strong leadership downstream
  • Assist the agency’s efforts in M&A activity; evaluating opportunities and supporting integration
  • Create short- & long-term goals for the creative team to achieve
  • Partner with Chief Client Officer to ensure that growth goals are achieved and creative work of the highest caliber is delivered
  • Be a visual tastemaker, peacekeeper, mediator, and inspirational force
  • Lead creative across media for new business pitches
  • Experiment with new tools and techniques to improve our work and engage group leaders to implement
  • Always staying on the lookout for innovative ways to enhance not only the creative department but also the agency at large
  • Recommend and lead efforts to build the agency’s eminence in the marketplace, including significant awards for client work; thought leadership in the industry; publishing of articles, blogs, or white papers; speaking engagements at key conferences and/or company-sponsored events; and an established PR and media presence
  • Demonstrate ability to switch into problem-solving mode when challenges or concerns arise
  • Respect your teammates and contribute to a positive work environment
  • Has a solid record of attracting new employees and retaining top talent.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in advertising, marketing, copywriting or equivalent area of study.
  • 15 years of relevant experience, 10 years of creative management, ideally in a large agency with rare disease product launch experience
  • Experience running creative teams in a client-facing role, supporting $50 MM in annual agency revenue
  • Extensive pharmaceutical experience is required, rare disease and  medical device experience preferred
  • A master of details, able to juggle multiple responsibilities and that unusual ability to thrive under tight deadlines
  • Expert proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Figma and Sketch. Advanced experience with MS Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
  • Mastery of digital, video and print production process
  • An articulate, friendly, whatever-it-takes, down-to-earth attitude, along with a strong work ethic
  • Must be self-motivated, professional, detail-oriented, and possess excellent oral and written communication skills, leadership skills and time management skills
  • Has executive-level command of consulting skills (presentations to varied audiences – in preparation and delivery, status/risk reporting and mitigation, composure under stress, strategic and detail-oriented
  • Has a consultative personality (objective, collaborative, listener) and is adept at relationship-building
  • Strong client service skills with a commitment to superior quality
  • Experience in scoping, staffing, and managing a creative team
  • Digital experience and social media savvy
  • A desire to do great work in a tight-knit, dynamic agency located in multiple locations; travel as required
  • Creates a culture of inclusion where new approaches and ways of thinking are welcomed as the pathway to more innovative solutions for our clients and their challenges

We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package to all of our employees:

  • Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance. We cover a generous portion of employee contributions
  • 401K plan. We invest in present and future you, which is why we offer a generous match and immediate vesting on our plan
  • Parental Leave. Generous paid time off for parents to bond with their newest addition
  • Professional Development. Each employee has an annual budget to allocate to professional development opportunities. Employees are encouraged to take a workshop, attend a webinar, join associations, and do anything else that will help them grow in their careers.
  • And more! We offer flexible time off, life insurance, LTD, a robust employee assistance program, and more!

At CG Life, we recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. As required by law in this state, the estimated salary range for this position is $280,000 - $300,000 and represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect. We tailor our offers within the range based on organizational needs, internal equity, market data, geographic zone, and the selected candidate’s experience, education, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the selection process. At CG Life, it is not common for individuals to be hired at the higher end of the range, and compensation decisions depend on a variety of factors. This position is eligible to participate in a discretionary bonus program, subject to the rules governing the plan. CG Life offers a variety of benefits, including health benefits, 401K retirement with a generous company match and immediate vesting, and flexible time off.  

This job posting is intended for direct applicants only; please, no outside recruiters.

Salary : $50

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