Vice President, Sales (Advertising)

About Wolters Kluwer Health:  

Healthcare professionals, students, and researchers around the globe are making important decisions every day about patient care and outcomes using our integrated solutions, premium content and productivity tools. Our solutions are focused in the areas of Clinical Decision Support, Clinical Drug Information, Patient Engagement, Clinical Terminologies, Clinical Surveillance, Nursing Education, Medical Education, Allied Health Education and Medical Research. Four market-centered business units to serve the needs of our diverse customer base.  

Health Learning, Research and Practice help clinicians deliver better patient outcomes through digital solutions for healthcare education, certification, reference and research in more than 140 countries. Our Ovid research platform is the #1 medical research platform in hospitals and medical schools, while our Lippincott brand is highly valued by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. Our offerings range from print books to innovative technology-enabled solutions, such as virtual simulation and adaptive quizzing tools. We have a strong emphasize on creating expert solutions that combine subject matter expertise and technology to help drive better decisions faster. 

About the Role: 

The Vice President of Sales will lead a team of Sales Leaders focused on driving revenue growth and exceeding annual advertising sales targets across a diverse portfolio of products and services, including journal print and digital advertising, recruitment marketing, hospital reputation programs, reprints, and custom solutions. 

The senior leader is responsible for cultivating long-term, high-value relationships with healthcare society partners, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and agencies, delivering strategic value and trusted collaboration. 

Reporting to the SVP & GM of the Health Research Segment, the VP of Commercial Sales plays a critical role in positioning HLRP as a leader in healthcare media and in achieving the overall business goals 

Key responsibilities include: 

• Revenue Leadership: Own and execute the sales strategy to meet and exceed advertising revenue goals. Drive overall strategy for print, digital, and custom solutions – growing new business while safeguarding and expanding existing accounts to ensure year-over-year growth and high client retention. Engage regularly with top clients (pharma, biotech, medical device) and their agencies to expand partnerships and inform product innovation, focusing on the largest opportunities to maximize revenue. Represent the organization at key industry events (trade shows, conferences) to promote our offerings and develop new leads. 

• Team Development: Lead and coach a team of sales leaders, fostering a high-performance, accountable culture and supporting professional growth. Set clear goals and KPIs, conduct regular strategy sessions, and review territory/account performance. Provide mentorship and guidance on sales strategy, customer engagement, and value-based (consultative) selling techniques. Inspire the team to embrace new products and solutions, ensuring they understand how to incorporate these into client marketing plans. Attract and retain top sales talent by promoting a culture of success and continuous development. 

• Digital Transformation: Drive the evolution from a print-centric model to a digitally focused advertising business, including expanding programmatic advertising offerings, data-driven targeting solutions, and innovative digital content products. Position the organization at the forefront of healthcare media by continuously adapting the ad product mix to market trends – from programmatic banner advertising to sponsored content, webinars, and other emerging digital formats. Champion new digital products and ensure the sales team and clients understand their value in achieving healthcare marketers’ goals. Operational Excellence: Enhance the infrastructure supporting advertising operations, sales business systems, ad delivery platforms, programmatic tools, audience data capabilities, and analytics dashboards to improve efficiency and insight. Ensure consistent use of Salesforce for pipeline management and deliver accurate forecasts to senior leadership. Oversee timely, strategic responses to RFPs and renewal proposals to win key opportunities. Work closely with Ad Ops and product teams to optimize ad inventory performance, ensuring smooth campaign execution and delivery of promised results. 

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Thrive in a matrixed environment by partnering across departments to ensure seamless execution of growth strategies. Coordinate with product and publishing teams to align advertising offerings with audience engagement strategies. Leverage analytics and market research teams to develop metrics that demonstrate campaign impact. Collaborate on developing data-driven insights that inform both our internal strategy and our clients’ marketing decisions. 

• Metrics & Accountability: Instill a data-driven sales approach, using analytics to track performance and inform strategy. Monitor key sales metrics (pipeline health, conversion rates, client spend growth, etc.) and advertising performance indicators (impressions, click-thru rates, conversions) to continuously improve outcomes. Ensure the team is adept at translating campaign results into actionable insights and ROI stories for clients. Foster a mindset of continuous improvement, where data is used to celebrate successes and quickly course-correct when needed. 

Responsibilities: 

Business Leadership & Growth 

• Drive overall strategy to achieve advertising revenue goals across print, digital, and custom solutions. 

• Cultivate new business opportunities while safeguarding existing accounts to ensure year-over-year growth and retention. 

• Engage regularly with top clients, agencies, and medical societies to expand partnerships and inform digital product innovation and offerings. 

• Focus on the largest current and potential customers and/or agencies meeting with the key decision makers at these top accounts regularly to increase current revenues. 

• Represent the organization at key industry events (tradeshows & conferences). 

• Collaborate with London based sales team to expand international digital sales offerings for the EU (ROW) marketplace. 

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Sales Management & Talent Development 

• Lead the sales management process by setting clear goals, conducting weekly strategy sessions, and reviewing territory performance. 

• Ensure consistent use of Salesforce and deliver accurate forecasts to the divisional leadership. 

• Oversee timely and strategic responses to RFPs and renewal proposals in collaboration with leadership. 

• Lead, coach, and mentor the sales team to drive performance, strategic thinking, and professional growth. 

• Provide ongoing guidance on sales strategy, customer engagement, and value-based selling. 

• Champion new products and ensure team understanding of their relevance to client marketing plans. 

Transformational & Operational Excellence 

• Champion digital transformation by fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and shared accountability. 

• Improve advertising infrastructure, including business systems, ad delivery platforms, and reporting tools. 

• Collaborate cross-functionally to enhance digital product delivery (i.e. eTocs) and adapt to evolving market and regulatory conditions (cookie policy changes). 

• Identify and implement process improvements to increase productivity and operational efficiency. 

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Education & Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or equivalent experience preferred. 

• 10+ years of strategic sales leadership in B2B environments, ideally within healthcare medical media. 

• Proven success leading teams to exceed sales targets and navigate complex sales processes. 

• Strong understanding of pharmaceutical and med device marketing, digital advertising metrics, platforms, and healthcare media trends. 

• Skilled in relationship management, negotiation, and customer engagement. 

• Experience with sales forecasting, budgeting, and performance analytics. 

• Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and manage high-performing teams. 

• Proficient in Salesforce, Microsoft Office, LinkedIn Navigator, and digital collaboration tools. Working knowledge of ad/mar tech software such as AdBooks, etc. 

• Maintains deep industry knowledge, including market trends, competitor activity, and regulatory changes. 

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TRAVEL:  30%+ occasional travel to client site visits;’ or for WK business meetings; or to attend conferences and events 

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