Business Development Manager - Medical Communications & Life Sciences

Socket.dev; Menlo Park (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel opportunities

Remote-friendly

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to expand our U.S. presence in medical communications for pharma/biotech clients. This California-based remote and field-oriented role requires building relationships with senior leaders in Medical Affairs and Medical Information and traveling within California and the broader U.S.

for in-person meetings, conferences, and events. You will lead BD strategies, identify target accounts, and convert opportunities into partnerships,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of BD or commercial growth experience in medical communications or life sciences agency.
• Proven success in acquiring pharmaceutical/biotech clients.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders in Medical Affairs/Medical Information.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute BD strategies to acquire new pharma/biotech clients.
• Identify target companies and senior decision-makers.
• Build relationships with Heads, VPs, Directors in Medical Affairs/Medical Information.
• Generate and develop qualified opportunities across life sciences organizations.
• Lead the BD cycle from prospecting to closing and negotiation.
• Collaborate with internal teams to understand client requirements and deliver solutions.
• Represent the organization at conferences and industry events.
• Maintain a robust BD pipeline and drive US market growth.

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to help expand the U.S. presence of a growing global medical communications and life sciences agency.

The organization partners with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medtech, and healthcare organizations to deliver specialized services across the medical and scientific communications landscape.

This is a true agency-side business development role. We are specifically looking for a commercially driven professional who has experience working within a medical communications, healthcare communications, medical affairs, medical information, scientific communications, or related agency environment and has personally been responsible for developing relationships and winning new business from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The successful candidate will understand how life sciences organizations evaluate external agency partners and will be comfortable engaging senior stakeholders, particularly Heads, Vice Presidents, and other senior leaders within Medical Affairs and Medical Information.

This individual will play an important role in expanding the organization's U.S. client base, with a particular focus on building relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including emerging and smaller organizations.

About the Role

This is a California-based remote and field-oriented business development position.

The successful candidate will work remotely from a professional home office while also developing relationships in the field through:

• In-person client meetings
• Industry conferences and congresses
• Pharma and biotech networking events
• Scientific meetings
• Other relevant industry events

Candidates must currently be based in California.

The role will involve business development across the broader U.S. and European life sciences markets, with a primary focus on identifying, engaging, and converting new pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients.

This position is particularly suited to someone who has already worked on the agency side of the medical communications or life sciences industry and understands how to identify opportunities, build relationships with senior client stakeholders, and position specialized agency services.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute business development strategies to acquire new pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients.
• Identify target companies and relevant senior decision-makers within prospective client organizations.
• Build relationships with Heads, Vice Presidents, Directors, and other senior stakeholders within Medical Affairs and Medical Information.
• Generate and develop qualified new business opportunities across pharmaceutical, biotech, medtech, and related life sciences organizations.
• Conduct targeted outreach to prospective clients and establish meaningful senior-level relationships.
• Leverage existing industry relationships and networks to identify new opportunities.
• Research target accounts, therapeutic areas, company priorities, and potential business needs.
• Lead the business development process from initial prospecting and qualification through exploratory meetings, proposals, negotiation, and closing.
• Understand prospective clients' medical, scientific, and communications needs and identify opportunities where the agency can provide value.
• Position the organization as a strategic partner rather than simply a transactional service provider.
• Develop account engagement strategies designed to establish long-term client relationships.
• Maintain a qualified and accurate business development pipeline.
• Represent the organization at relevant pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical communications, scientific, and industry conferences and events.
• Build relationships through both virtual engagement and face-to-face interaction.
• Collaborate with internal scientific, medical, and operational teams to understand client requirements and develop appropriate solutions.
• Monitor pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical communications, and therapeutic-area trends to identify emerging business opportunities.
• Contribute to the continued growth and expansion of the organization's U.S. market presence.

Remote Work & Technology Requirements

Although this is a remote position, candidates must have a professional home-office environment suitable for full-time business development work.

Candidates must have:

• A dedicated and professional workspace.
• A reliable computer suitable for business and video conferencing applications.
• Reliable high-speed internet.
• A professional webcam and headset/audio setup.
• A quiet environment suitable for confidential client conversations and virtual meetings.
• The ability to maintain reliable working connectivity during normal working hours.
• The ability to independently manage day-to-day work using the organization's technology and communication systems.

California & Field-Based Requirements

Candidates must currently reside in California.

Although this is a remote position, the successful candidate must be comfortable operating as a field-based business development professional.

This includes:

• Traveling to meet prospective and existing clients.
• Attending pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical communications, and scientific conferences.
• Attending networking events and relevant industry meetings.
• Building relationships with clients and prospects in person.
• Representing the organization professionally at industry events.
• Traveling within California and, when required, elsewhere in the U.S.

This position is not suitable for candidates seeking a fully remote role with no client travel or in-person business development activity.

Compensation & Incentive

The anticipated base salary range is $120,000-$160,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications.

The position also includes a performance-based incentive structure tied to business development results.

Requirements

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate will have:

• 5+ years of professional experience in business development, client acquisition, or commercial growth within a medical communications, healthcare communications, life sciences, or related agency environment.
• Proven experience developing new business with pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology companies.
• Demonstrated success personally managing the B2B business development cycle from prospecting through closing.
• Experience directly engaging senior stakeholders in Medical Affairs and/or Medical Information, ideally including Heads, Vice Presidents, or Directors.
• Strong understanding of how pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engage external agency partners.
• Experience selling or positioning professional services, medical communications, scientific communications, medical affairs, medical information, or related solutions.
• Experience identifying and developing relationships with new pharmaceutical and biotech accounts.
• Strong consultative selling and value-based communication skills.
• Experience working with small or mid-sized pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology companies is highly desirable.
• An established network within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is highly desirable.
• Confidence communicating with senior-level stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to understand complex scientific and medical services and communicate their value to prospective clients.
• Experience representing an organization at industry conferences, congresses, networking events, and scientific meetings.
• A proactive, commercially minded, and self-directed approach.
• Strong organizational skills and consistent follow-through.
• The ability to work independently in a remote environment while collaborating effectively with a global team.
• Willingness and ability to travel within California and elsewhere in the U.S. as required.

Education

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Life Sciences or a closely related field preferred.