Senior Strategist

Company description Publicis is an omni-channel communications agency with over 600 employees across our Canadian operations. The office is the largest in our industry in Canada and boasts talent across various disciplines of marketing and advertising expertise. Publicis carries a balanced split of Canadian, U.S. and Global clients for which we are Agency of Record. Publicis supports a range of D&I actions through our Driving Change team as well as giving back to the community through a long-standing participation in the Out of the Cold Program. With a strong, active and familial culture, Pub United is the agency’s social club, hosting events as wide reaching as Curling, Trivia Nights and more. Overview We're looking for a Senior Strategist to join a small, growing strategy team within Publicis Health Canada. Our team works across a broad range of therapeutic areas — from OTC and vaccines to oncology, immunology, and specialty care — for major US and Canadian healthcare clients, spanning both HCP and patient/consumer audiences. In this role, you'll be dedicated to one or two clients, giving you the depth to truly understand their brands, their markets, and what it takes to grow their business. This is a hands-on, client-facing strategy role. The core of your day-to-day will be building engagement strategies that drive measurable behavior change. You'll also develop creative briefs and activation plans with a high degree of ownership, and contribute to annual brand planning with room to grow those skills over time. You'll interact with clients regularly — this is not a back-office role. You'll work side-by-side with an experienced Strategy Lead who is invested in growing and mentoring the people on the team. You'll also collaborate closely with client service leads, creative leads, medical strategists, and media planners. As part of Publicis, you'll have access to a global network of healthcare experts, data resources, and tools — and you'll regularly work with colleagues across the network. Responsibilities Build engagement strategies that change how HCPs and patients think and act — including customer journeys, touchpoint planning, digital and interactive strategies, content strategy, and messaging frameworks. Develop activation briefs and plans — write briefs that give creative teams a clear, inspiring springboard; lead tactical ideation; collaborate with media on channel strategy; and help clients plan their annual tactical roadmap. Support brand planning — work with the Strategy Lead to facilitate annual brand planning sessions with clients, contributing strategic thinking and helping translate plans into actionable next steps. Facilitate working sessions — lead workshops, brainstorms, or planning sessions with clients and cross-functional teams as needed (roughly 10–15% of the role). Measure and learn — help build effectiveness frameworks so the team and clients can track what's working and adjust. Qualifications 5+ years of experience in engagement strategy, brand strategy, or a closely related discipline within healthcare (pharma, biotech, vaccines, OTC, or medical devices). Agency experience is required. You understand the pace, the deliverable expectations, and the cross-functional dynamics of agency life. Experience across HCP and consumer/patient audiences. You've worked on campaigns or programs targeting both. Strong problem-solving instincts. You can take a messy brief, ask sharp questions, and quickly get to the heart of what needs to be solved. You think in terms of business impact. Your recommendations are grounded in what will actually move the needle, not just what looks good on a slide. You write and present clearly. Your deliverables are well-structured, persuasive, and free of unnecessary complexity. You can organize and prioritize. You manage your own time well, know what matters most, and don't wait to be told what to do next. You're comfortable with AI tools. You use them to work faster, think better, and challenge your own first drafts. It's not the job — it's how you do the job well. Fluent in English (required). French is an asset. You're curious, flexible, and a team player. You listen actively, you're open to feedback, and you'd rather collaborate than compete. No inflated egos. What we offer A tight-knit strategy team that is doing well and growing within one of the largest healthcare communications networks in the world. Direct mentorship from a senior strategist with deep experience leading healthcare strategy teams. Access to Publicis' global resources — data, media, strategy expertise, and a network of specialists across disciplines and geographies. Work with major healthcare clients on meaningful brands and therapeutic areas. A real growth path. The healthcare team is expanding, and there is room to grow into a director-level role as the team and your capabilities evolve. Occasional travel between Montreal, Toronto, and client locations. Additional information Salary Transparency matters to us. The salary range for this position is $115,000 -$120,000 per year. Actual compensation within this range will be based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and applicable certifications. This range reflects what we reasonably expect to offer based on current market data. AI Use We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications or analyzing resumes. These tools assist our recruitment team but never replace human decision-making. We believe in a human-first approach, where your experience and potential are recognized by people. Publicis Canada is committed to building a diverse workforce representative of our community. We encourage and are pleased to consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, aboriginal status, age, disability or persons who may require an accommodation, to apply. If you require a specific accommodation please contact Human Resources.

5+ years of experience in engagement strategy, brand strategy, or a closely related discipline within healthcare (pharma, biotech, vaccines, OTC, or medical devices). Agency experience is required. You understand the pace, the deliverable expectations, and the cross-functional dynamics of agency life. Experience across HCP and consumer/patient audiences. You've worked on campaigns or programs targeting both. Strong problem-solving instincts. You can take a messy brief, ask sharp questions, and quickly get to the heart of what needs to be solved. You think in terms of business impact. Your recommendations are grounded in what will actually move the needle, not just what looks good on a slide. You write and present clearly. Your deliverables are well-structured, persuasive, and free of unnecessary complexity. You can organize and prioritize. You manage your own time well, know what matters most, and don't wait to be told what to do next. You're comfortable with AI tools. You use them to work faster, think better, and challenge your own first drafts. It's not the job — it's how you do the job well. Fluent in English (required). French is an asset. You're curious, flexible, and a team player. You listen actively, you're open to feedback, and you'd rather collaborate than compete. No inflated egos. What we offer A tight-knit strategy team that is doing well and growing within one of the largest healthcare communications networks in the world. Direct mentorship from a senior strategist with deep experience leading healthcare strategy teams. Access to Publicis' global resources — data, media, strategy expertise, and a network of specialists across disciplines and geographies. Work with major healthcare clients on meaningful brands and therapeutic areas. A real growth path. The healthcare team is expanding, and there is room to grow into a director-level role as the team and your capabilities evolve. Occasional travel between Montreal, Toronto, and client locations.

Build engagement strategies that change how HCPs and patients think and act — including customer journeys, touchpoint planning, digital and interactive strategies, content strategy, and messaging frameworks. Develop activation briefs and plans — write briefs that give creative teams a clear, inspiring springboard; lead tactical ideation; collaborate with media on channel strategy; and help clients plan their annual tactical roadmap. Support brand planning — work with the Strategy Lead to facilitate annual brand planning sessions with clients, contributing strategic thinking and helping translate plans into actionable next steps. Facilitate working sessions — lead workshops, brainstorms, or planning sessions with clients and cross-functional teams as needed (roughly 10–15% of the role). Measure and learn — help build effectiveness frameworks so the team and clients can track what's working and adjust.