Medical Communications Associate Scientific Director/Strategist

Accenture PLC; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Accenture Song in Dublin seeks a Medical Communications Associate Scientific Director/Strategist to shape scientific strategy and storytelling across complex medical communications programmes. You will lead content development, translate clinical data into compelling narratives, and mentor writers while ensuring scientific integrity.

You will partner with medical writers, strategists, creatives and technologists to deliver evidence-led solutions that improve healthcare outcomes and engage

Qualifications

• Significant medical communications experience and ability to translate complex science for multiple audiences.
• Strong experience guiding content strategy and storytelling for healthcare campaigns.
• Proven capability to advise clients confidently and credibly on scientific matters.

Responsibilities

• Act as senior scientific and content partner, shaping strategy and priorities.
• Lead scientific direction of medical communications programmes from evidence interpretation to narrative guidance.
• Translate complex data into clear objectives and healthcare professional–facing content.
• Shape scientific strategy, therapy areas, stakeholder landscape and unmet needs.
• Set scientific vision and content framework ensuring alignment with programme goals.
• Lead workshops and narrative development sessions with diverse stakeholders.
• Provide scientific leadership across multidisciplinary teams to deliver integrated solutions.
• Ensure scientific accuracy and editorial quality across deliverables.
• Identify opportunities to deepen client relationships and grow programmes.
• Lead proposals and new business pitches with scientific storytelling.
• Coach writers and scientific staff to strengthen strategic thinking.
• Contribute to ongoing development of scientific content capabilities.

Skills

Medical communications

Strategic storytelling

Science communication

Client-facing advisory

Lead multidisciplinary teams

Job description

Job title: Medical Communications Associate Scientific Director/Strategist
Location: Dublin
Career Level: 7 - Manager

Practice: Accenture Song - Marketing - Life Science

Accenture Song accelerates growth and value for our clients through sustained customer relevance. Our capabilities span ideation to execution: growth, product and experience design; technology and experience platforms; creative, media and marketing strategy; and campaign, content and channel orchestration. With strong client relationships and deep industry expertise, we help our clients operate at the speed of light through the unlimited potential of imagination, technology and intelligence.

As a team:

We are a community of scientists, strategists, creatives, technologists and problem-solvers united by a shared ambition: to improve healthcare through better communication, engagement and experiences.

What makes Song unique is the opportunity to work across the entire healthcare ecosystem. We don’t operate in silos. Our medical experts collaborate with creatives, experience designers, AI specialists, digital practitioners and marketing strategists to solve complex client challenges in ways that would not be possible within a traditional agency model.

We are naturally curious, relentlessly collaborative and always learning. We challenge each other to think bigger, innovate faster and bring fresh perspectives to every brief. Together, we create work that not only informs and educates but also changes behaviours, strengthens relationships and ultimately improves outcomes for patients.

Joining Song means joining a team that values expertise, embraces innovation and believes the best ideas emerge when different disciplines work as one. Here, you’ll have the freedom to grow your career, explore new areas of healthcare and contribute to work that makes a genuine difference.

In our team you will learn:

• How to shape scientific and content strategy around complex medical affairs and healthcare challenges.

• How to transform evidence, insights and scientific understanding into clear, differentiated and compelling narratives.

• How to provide senior scientific counsel and become a trusted strategic partner to clients.

• How to connect medical strategy and scientific content with creative, experience, data, digital and technology capabilities.

• How to lead multidisciplinary teams while protecting scientific integrity, clinical accuracy and audience relevance.

• How to identify opportunities to evolve client programmes, strengthen scientific engagement and create meaningful growth.

• How emerging technologies, including AI, can support more effective, efficient and connected approaches to scientific content.

As an Associate Scientific Director/Strategist you will:

• Act as a senior scientific and content partner to clients, providing confident, evidence-led counsel that helps shape their scientific strategy and communications priorities.

• Lead the scientific and strategic direction of complex medical communications and marketing programmes, from interpreting the evidence and defining the core narrative through to guiding content development across audiences, channels and formats.

• Translate complex scientific, clinical and strategic information into clear communication objectives, compelling stories and content experiences that are relevant to healthcare professionals, patients and other priority audiences.

• Shape each client’s scientific strategy, evidence base, therapy area, stakeholder landscape and unmet needs, using this understanding to challenge constructively and add value beyond the immediate brief.

• Set the scientific vision and content framework for projects, ensuring that every deliverable is connected to a clear strategic purpose and contributes to the wider programme ambition.

• Lead scientific workshops, content planning discussions and narrative development sessions, bringing together diverse perspectives to create alignment and unlock stronger ideas.

• Provide scientific leadership across multidisciplinary teams, working with medical writers, strategists, account leads, creatives, experience designers, digital specialists and technologists to deliver joined-up solutions.

• Ensure the highest standards of scientific accuracy, editorial quality and clinical integrity, providing decisive review, guidance and sign-off across complex deliverables.

• Consider the full content ecosystem rather than individual deliverables, identifying opportunities to improve consistency, connectivity, reuse and impact across programmes and campaigns.

• Identify opportunities to deepen client relationships by anticipating emerging scientific and communication needs and translating them into valuable new programmes or solutions.

• Lead the scientific strategy and storytelling within new business proposals and pitches, helping to create differentiated responses grounded in insight, evidence and audience needs.

• Coach and mentor writers and scientific colleagues, helping them strengthen their strategic thinking, scientific storytelling and confidence as client-facing advisers.

• Contribute to the continued development of our scientific content capability, identifying ways to improve quality, efficiency, innovation and collaboration across the team.

We are looking for experience in the following skills:

• Significant medical communications or related healthcare agency experience, with a strong understanding of pharmaceutical codes of practice, governance requirements and scientific standards.

• Leading scientific and content strategy across complex medical affairs, medical education or scientific communications/marketing programmes.

• Interpreting clinical data, scientific evidence, publications and medical strategy to identify the most relevant insights and implications for communication.

• Developing scientific narratives, communication platforms, content strategies, educational programmes and marketing campaigns for healthcare audiences.

• Acting as a trusted scientific partner to clients and providing confident, credible and constructive strategic counsel.

• Leading the development and review of high-quality scientific content across different audiences, channels and formats.

• Applying critical thinking to interrogate evidence, challenge assumptions and strengthen the scientific and strategic rationale behind recommendations.

• Understanding audience needs and translating complex science into content that is accurate, accessible, engaging and purposeful.

• Leading multidisciplinary teams and integrating scientific expertise with strategy, creative, digital, experience and technology capabilities.

• Providing clear scientific direction, feedback and quality oversight while enabling others to take ownership and develop.

• Managing competing priorities across complex programmes while maintaining attention to detail and the highest standards of scientific accuracy.

• Leading the scientific and strategic components of proposals, organic growth opportunities and new business pitches.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to facilitate discussions and present complex scientific ideas with clarity and confidence.

• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to connect scientific ambition with client objectives, programme scope and effective delivery.

Set yourself apart:

• You are intellectually curious and energised by science, continually seeking to understand not only what the evidence says, but why it matters and how it can create value for different audiences.

• You think beyond individual assets and see the wider scientific and content ecosystem, connecting evidence, strategy, audiences, channels and experiences into a coherent whole.

• You bring a clear point of view. You are comfortable challenging thinking constructively, asking difficult questions and helping clients and teams reach stronger strategic decisions.

• You combine scientific depth with the ability to tell a compelling story, making complex ideas understandable, meaningful and memorable without compromising accuracy.

• You are equally comfortable interrogating data, shaping a strategic narrative, guiding a creative team and presenting a recommendation to senior client stakeholders.

• You are excited by the potential for creativity, data and technology to improve how scientific content is developed, connected, personalised and experienced.

• You are generous with your expertise and actively make those around you better through coaching, thoughtful challenge and clear direction.

• You bring ambition and passion for the work

• You set high standards while creating the trust, clarity and collaborative environment that enables teams to achieve them.