21GRAMS- Director of Transformation

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

**Job Summary:**

Real Chemistry is looking for a Director of Transformation to join our growing team!

21GRAMS seeks a confident, empathetic, and highly organized Director of Transformation to partner with department leads within 21GRAMS and Room42 to drive operational change that sticks. In this role, you will work side by side with leadership to orchestrate improvement plans and follow through on the initiatives that bring agency excellence to life, from how we staff and scope projects to how creative work gets made to how AI and technology are adopted and how work flows across the agency.

This position is integral to 21GRAMS, part of Real Chemistry, a healthcare advertising and communications firm dedicated to making healthcare more human through innovative, client-centered work conducted with integrity and excellence. You will build the plans, hold the timelines, manage the pilots, and check in with teams along the way so that change is not just announced but adopted. You will represent leadership in rooms they cannot be in, carrying their intent forward with clear communication, confidence, and teamwork. Success in this role looks like real, lasting change across the agency, not initiatives that fade once the initial excitement wears off.

This role can be remote within the United States or based in any of our U.S. office locations, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Lambertville, NJ, San Francisco, or Carmel, IN.

**What you’ll do:**

Cross-Departmental Partnership

* Build trusted, collaborative relationships with leaders and teams across every department, serving as a consistent and credible partner throughout periods of change
* Translate leadership's vision and priorities into clear, actionable plans that department leads and their teams can understand and rally around
* Facilitate alignment across departments when an initiative touches multiple teams, ensuring no group is caught off guard or left out of the process
* Bring a point of view grounded in what is realistic and sustainable for teams, balancing leadership's ambitions with the day-to-day realities of the work

Initiative Orchestration & Implementation

* Orchestrate change initiatives end to end, from initial planning through implementation, adoption, and long-term reinforcement
* Build clear project plans, timelines, and milestones for each initiative, and hold department leads and teams accountable to them
* Check in regularly on active initiatives to monitor progress, troubleshoot obstacles, and course-correct before momentum stalls
* Establish feedback loops that surface what is working and what is not, and adjust plans based on real input from the teams living the change
* Know when to push forward and when to pause, recalibrate, or bring in leadership for additional support

Operational Focus: Staffing, Scoping, Creative Process & Flow of Work

* Support initiatives that improve how the agency staffs projects, helping ensure the right people and mix of talent are in place from the start
* Help roll out scoping processes and tools that create clearer, more consistent project setups across departments
* Partner with Creative and Project Management leadership to improve creative process and the flow of work, reducing friction and rework
* Identify where current ways of working are creating bottlenecks, confusion, or inconsistency, and design practical solutions in partnership with the teams affected
* Ensure new processes and tools, including AI and other technology, are documented, communicated clearly, and easy for teams to adopt

Leadership Representation & Communication

* Communicate plans, decisions, and changes clearly and consistently across departments, adapting the message for different audiences and levels
* Serve as a calm, credible voice during periods of change, helping teams understand the reasoning behind new ways of working
* Escalate risks, roadblocks, and team concerns to leadership proactively, along with recommendations for how to address them

Adoption & Organizational Sustainment

* Monitor adoption of new processes and initiatives over time, distinguishing between change that has stuck and change that is at risk of reverting
* Recognize when teams are overwhelmed or resistant, and adjust pacing, support, or communication to help change take hold
* Champion a culture of continuous improvement, empathy, and teamwork throughout every initiative
* Measure and report on the impact of change initiatives, using both team feedback and operational data
* Build long-term organizational muscle for change by equipping department leads with the tools and confidence to sustain new ways of working independently

 

**This position is a perfect fit for you if:**

* Our Company values, **Best Together, Impact Obsessed, Excellence Expected, Evolve Always, and Accountability with an "I"**, genuinely resonate with how you work and lead.
* You demonstrate the **Real Chemistry Can** mindset by approaching challenges with optimism, accountability, creativity, and a solutions-oriented attitude, always looking for ways to make a meaningful impact for our clients, colleagues, and communities.
* You are adaptable, resilient, and comfortable adjusting your scope, responsibilities, and priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment. As our business grows and changes, so do we.
* You are proactive, driven, and resourceful, with strong prioritization skills, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to leverage data to inform decisions and drive outcomes.
* You are energized by innovation and the transformative potential of AI, actively exploring new technologies, identifying opportunities to work smarter, and championing practical, responsible AI adoption that drives meaningful business impact.

**What you should have:**

* Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution, or equivalent professional experience

* 8+ years of progressive experience in operations, change management, program or project management, or organizational effectiveness within an agency, consulting, or professional services environment
* Minimum 3+ years leading cross-functional change initiatives or operational programs
* Demonstrated experience partnering with senior department leaders across functions such as Account, Strategy, Creative, or Project Management to design and implement change
* Track record of implementing initiatives that measurably changed how teams work, and sustaining that change over time

Industry & Technical Knowledge

* Strong understanding of agency operating models, including how Account, Strategy, Creative, Project Management, and studio or production functions work together
* Familiarity with staffing, scoping, and creative workflow processes within an agency environment
* Proficiency with project and program management tools such as Workfront, Smartsheet, or equivalent
* Working knowledge of change management frameworks and methodologies, such as ADKAR or Kotter's model, preferred
* Comfort evaluating AI tools and agents to improve team efficiency

Leadership & Communication

* Confident and buttoned-up communicator, able to represent leadership credibly and clearly in their absence
* Empathetic listener who can hold space for team concerns while still moving initiatives forward
* Strong facilitation and relationship-building skills, with the ability to earn trust across departments without direct authority
* Comfortable pushing for progress and holding teams accountable, while remaining genuinely open to feedback and new ways of working

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Experience in a healthcare, pharmaceutical, or life sciences advertising or communications agency environment
* Formal change management certification, such as Prosci or ADKAR, or equivalent
* Experience partnering with internal production or studio functions similar to Room42
* Background in process improvement, organizational design, or agency operations
* Experience supporting new business transitions, account restructuring, or large-scale operational rollouts

CORE COMPETENCIES & ATTRIBUTES

Professional Competencies

* Change Leadership: Designing, orchestrating, and sustaining change initiatives that improve how the agency operates
* Cross-Departmental Partnership: Building trusted relationships with Account, Strategy, Creative, Project Management, and Room42 leadership
* Initiative Orchestration: Planning, implementing, and following through on projects from concept to adoption
* Process Improvement: Identifying and fixing friction in staffing, scoping, creative process, and flow of work
* Executive Presence: Representing leadership credibly and confidently when they cannot be present
* Clear Communication: Translating plans and decisions into messages teams can understand and act on
* Empathy & Team Orientation: Balancing accountability with genuine care for the people experiencing change
* Adoption & Sustainment: Ensuring change sticks long after the initial rollout

Required Leadership Attributes

1. Change-Positive, Growth-Oriented

You actively seek smarter,