Program Director, Health Full Time

Thrive is a leading behavior change technology company founded by Arianna Huffington in 2016 with the mission to end the stress and burnout epidemic. Thrive helps individuals and organizations improve well-being, performance and mental resilience with its AI-powered behavior change technology platform. Thrive’s Microsteps – small, science-backed steps to improve health and productivity – have been adopted by employees at more than 125 organizations in over 140 countries, from frontline and call center workers to executives at multinational companies.

If you’re not sure that you’re 100% qualified, but this sounds like a role you would Thrive in – we want you to apply! We believe skills are transferable and passion for our mission goes a long way.

Advisory Services has rapidly become the defining growth engine for Thrive for Health. This role sits at the center of Thrive for Health’s most critical and highest-revenue work. Our portfolio now includes large pharma accounts spanning communications, media and PR, social, convenings, events, activations, and content licensing — and it continues to expand. The Program Director, Health Advisory Services serves as the operational and strategic backbone of this growing business.

This is a highly execution-oriented role — you’ll draft client-facing communications work products, own operational trackers, brief cross-functional teams, and build the systems and processes that make this business scalable and repeatable. You are the primary author of the comms plans, tentpole strategies, executive briefing materials, and activation documents that clients see, orchestrating internal inputs from Communications and Content teams to ensure successful delivery. You bring deep pharma fluency, thrive in complexity, and are energized by the opportunity to help build and shape a rapidly growing function.

How You’ll Contribute

• Own the master tracker and governance cadence across every advisory services account and pipeline. Ensure every deliverable lands on time, on spec, and on budget.
• Drive execution of pharma tentpole activations. Manage vendors, budgets, invoicing, MLRO submissions, and client review workflows.
• Draft client-ready communications work product as the primary author — annual comms plans, tentpole comms strategies, executive briefing materials, media narratives, status decks, governance review documents, and activation plans. First drafts come out of your hands at 80% complete; leadership refines rather than rebuilds.
• Translate strategic direction into executable briefs for the Communications and Content tactical teams supporting social, content, event planning, production, and PR — with clear context, deadlines, and success criteria so execution lands on strategy.
• Collaborate with the Global Head of Strategic Health Partnerships to scope new advisory services opportunities. Support the closing of new partnerships and onboard pipeline accounts.
• Your program management discipline, MLRO fluency, and governance ownership are the primary factors determining whether we deliver on our commitments — and whether clients renew.You own day-to-day execution and escalate only what genuinely requires their input. That shift has compounding value for the entire organization.

Qualifications & Skills

• 8+ years of experience in healthcare communications, corporate affairs, pharma advisory services, or account management
• Direct experience drafting client-ready strategic comms documents, particularly in pharma or a highly regulated industry
• Exceptional written communication skills, including client-ready strategic documents and concise executive briefing materials
• AI-forward working style with active use of tools like Claude and ChatGPT to accelerate execution and improve output quality
• Senior account leadership experience at a leading healthcare communications agency such as MSL, M Booth Health, VML Health, Real Chemistry, Edelman Health, Weber Shandwick Health, FleishmanHillard Health, or equivalent
• Director-level experience within corporate communications or corporate affairs at a major pharmaceutical company, including coordination across complex internal stakeholder groups
• Direct experience supporting major life sciences clients across therapeutic areas such as cardiometabolic health, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience, or immunology
• Cross-functional communications experience spanning internal communications, external corporate affairs, executive communications, media, or stakeholder engagement
• Demonstrated ownership of complex advisory services delivery, including timelines, deliverables, budget management, vendor coordination, and subcontractor oversight
• Working fluency in MLR/PRC review processes, FDA OPDP guidance, and the PhRMA Code

Who You Are

• You’ve built your career at the intersection of pharma, communications, and complex program delivery. You are a strong tactical leader able to generate a lot of the work product yourself orchestrating contributions from Communications and Content teams but owning the ultimate deliverable. You instinctively know where every workstream stands, identify risks before they escalate, and can move seamlessly between strategic thinking and operational execution.
• You understand the realities of regulated healthcare communications. You don’t need to be taught what MLR means, why it matters, or how to navigate competing stakeholder priorities while maintaining compliance and speed.
• You’re equally comfortable leading a CEO-level check-in, briefing a cross-functional team, or managing vendor operations behind the scenes. You communicate clearly, escalate thoughtfully, and operate with strong judgment and low ego.
• You thrive in high-complexity environments, hold multiple priorities simultaneously, and bring a bias toward action that increases the effectiveness of the teams around you.

✨ What We Offer

• 🌍 Mission-Driven Impact: Be part of a company that’s truly making a difference in people’s lives around the world.
• 🚀 Career Growth: Develop within the company and help shape our growth strategy.
• 💙 Human-Centric Culture: Thrive in a supportive environment with a range of wellness perks and benefits.
• 💰 Competitive Compensation: Enjoy a comprehensive and rewarding total compensation package.
• 🩺 Health & Financial Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage plus a 401(k) program with company match.
• 🌴 Time to Recharge: Generous paid time-off programs designed to help you rest, reset, and recharge — including Thrive Time, a benefit unique to Thrive that gives employees additional paid time off after major projects or intense periods of work to truly recharge and recover.

Compensation

Base compensation for this role will likely fall in the $136,000-$180,000 range.

• Please note: We provide a competitive mix of salary, performance bonus, and equity. The final offer amount will depend on factors like experience, expertise, and may differ from the range above. This range also excludes additional benefits, such as 401(k), and medical, dental, or vision insurance.

Thrive is deeply committed to creating a safe and welcoming work environment free of discrimination and harassment so that all employees can bring their whole selves to work.

Thrive is proud to ensure equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family or parental status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Thrive is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. Please inform Thrive’s Recruiting team if you need any assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.