Scientific Director

Synaptiq Health; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A global medical communications agency in London seeks a Scientific Director to oversee the Medical Team's quality and client interactions. This role requires leadership of medical writers and strategic management of client accounts. The ideal candidate holds an MSc and has extensive medical communications experience, particularly in biopharma. Responsibilities include managing client relationships, providing scientific expertise, and ensuring compliance with industry standards. The position entails in-office work for a minimum of 2 days per week and offers comprehensive benefits including 25 days of leave and private medical insurance.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Birthday day off

Enhanced maternity and paternity policies

Life assurance

Private medical insurance

Pension with up to 7% matching contributions

Support and well-being services

Qualifications

• An MSc in a relevant subject is essential.
• Extensive experience in a medical/scientific role within a medical communications agency.
• Experience developing global communications programmes at a strategic level is essential.
• Expertise in medical writing within both medical and marketing contexts.
• Ability to motivate and inspire team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of medical writers to deliver content.
• Provide scientific expertise across assignments.
• Manage client relationships from a medical perspective.
• Work on new business proposals and pitches.
• Ensure compliance with guidelines affecting communications.

Skills

Medical writing expertise

Leadership and team management

Client relationship management

Strategic communication

Knowledge of pharmaceutical industry

Motivation and inspiration skills

Education

MSc in a relevant subject

Tools

Medical communications software

Job description

We are a global medical communications agency blending deep scientific expertise with creative brilliance to inspire change. Behaviour change starts with inspiration. By infusing vibrant creativity into our work, we produce engaging medical communications that have the power to captivate and spark action.

Our absolute commitment to scientific precision across diverse therapy areas, including the complex fields of rare disease, oncology and advanced therapies, ensures we can make change a reality. For over 10 years, our team of exceptional PhD and advanced degree medical writers, strategists and world-class creatives have generated award-winning innovation across medical affairs and commercial disciplines.

We are driven by a desire to create inspiring work that changes lives for the better, always guided by our core values; INTEGRITY, IMAGINATION, AGILITY, COLLABORATION and EMPOWERMENT that underpin who we are and the positive culture of our team.

Part of Synaptiq Health, our network includes healthcare PR specialists, Beyond PR.

ROLE

The Scientific Director will lead and oversee all elements of the Medical Team for several accounts within the business and is responsible for the overall quality of our work for our clients, plus playing an active role in organically growing our key growth accounts. They may lead the scientific strategy in pitches for new work and our key existing accounts and will be the most senior client contact in relation to scientific strategy, ensuring that all services and projects are appropriate strategically and in terms of content. The role involves development and management of a team of medical writers, including resourcing and training.

This role is offered on a fixed-term basis to cover a period of maternity leave. The contract is expected to last for 12 months but will be dependent on the return of the substantive post-holder and may end earlier or later depending on their return date. The role will require in-office working for a minimum of 2 days per week.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead a team of in-house medical writers and freelancers (where needed) to deliver the company’s content perspective.
• Provide scientific / medical expertise across assigned accounts, offering clients strategic advice for their communications needs and programmes and ensuring that what we deliver is in line with this strategic advice.
• Support assigned accounts to develop and grow its scientific services and enable the winning of more strategic and content focused accounts
• Attend client meetings (virtually and face-to-face when required), providing senior medical oversight and guidance.
• Manage client relationships from a medical perspective, acting as the senior point of medical contact, resolving issues when required and supporting the team internally.
• Work on new business proposals and pitches, leading the scientific elements, ensuring that proposals are in line with scientific strategy for the product and overseeing proposal development to ensure quality.
• Work with the Client Services and medical leadership teams in the planning, budgeting and allocation of medical writing resource to ensure accurate budgeting in proposals and appropriate resourcing for live projects.
• Ensure that the processes and systems in operation within your teams are fit for purpose and regularly reviewed to ensure quality output and efficient working.
• On occasion, undertake some medical or scientific writing on specific proposals or projects, either where resource is an issue or where the project is specifically suited to a senior level / strategic writer.
• Keep up to date with the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries in terms of news and changes to guidelines and regulations nationally, regionally, and internationally, that affect service companies and scientific communications. To be responsible for compliance within the agency with those guidelines, policies and regulations that apply to the agency’s work.
• Support development of team members appraising performance where appropriate, guiding professional development and addressing employee relation issues as required.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• An MSc in a relevant subject is essential.
• Extensive experience of working in a medical/scientific capacity within a medical communications agency or of working with medical communications agencies within biopharma in a medical affairs, medical, marketing or clinical capacity.
• Experience of developing global communications programmes at a strategic level is essential.
• Expertise in medical writing within both medical and marketing contexts.
• Ability to motivate and inspire, creating an environment for success, providing growth opportunities to team members.
• Expertise in communication, collaboration and negotiation.
• Knowledge and understanding of the healthcare / pharmaceutical industry, trends and processes.

OUR REWARDS

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Birthday Day off & 3 days off between Christmas and New Year
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity policies
• Life assurance
• Private medical insurance
• Pension – up to 7% matching employee/employer contribution
• Support and well-being services

We look forward to hearing from you!