Scientific Team Lead
UK remote | Medical Communications
Our client is a specialist medical communications agency with a strong science-led approach to client strategy and communications. They are looking for an experienced Scientific Team Lead to join their senior Medical & Scientific function.
This is a senior leadership opportunity for an established medical communications professional who has progressed beyond project and account-level scientific leadership and is ready to take responsibility for leading a team, shaping scientific strategy, developing client relationships and contributing to the wider growth of the business.
The Opportunity
The Scientific Team Lead will provide senior scientific leadership across a portfolio of client accounts, while taking responsibility for the performance, development and capability of the scientific team within their remit.
You will work closely with Client Services and other agency disciplines to ensure scientific expertise is fully integrated into account strategy and delivery. You will act as a senior scientific adviser to clients and faculty, helping to shape communications strategy and ensuring programmes are underpinned by robust scientific thinking.
A key part of the role will be developing people. You will coach and support senior scientific colleagues, establish high standards of scientific and editorial excellence, and help build a high-performing, collaborative Medical & Scientific function.
This is not a purely editorial role. It is an opportunity to combine scientific expertise with team leadership, client partnership, commercial responsibility and strategic influence.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide senior scientific leadership across a portfolio of accounts and programmes.
- Shape scientific strategy and narrative rather than simply overseeing content delivery.
- Translate complex clinical and scientific data into clear, compelling and strategically relevant communications.
- Set and maintain a high standard of scientific and editorial excellence across the team.
- Provide expert review and constructive feedback on work produced by scientific team members.
- Maintain a strong understanding of relevant industry codes and regulatory requirements, including ABPI, EFPIA and GPP.
- Lead, coach and develop members of the Medical & Scientific team.
- Line manage senior scientific team members where appropriate, including regular 1:1s, objective setting and career development.
- Act as a senior scientific point of contact for key clients and accounts.
- Lead client meetings, strategic discussions, advisory boards and other scientific engagements with confidence and authority.
- Oversee budgets, timelines and resource requirements across relevant projects and accounts..
- Identify opportunities to expand existing programmes and add value to client relationships.
- Contribute to pitches, proposals and business development activity, bringing strong scientific and strategic input.
- Share emerging best practice and scientific knowledge across the team.
You will bring:
- Significant experience within a medical communications agency environment.
- A strong scientific background, ideally with a degree in medicine or biomedical science and preferably a PhD or MD.
- A proven track record of leading high-quality scientific and medical communications programmes.
- Exceptional scientific writing, editorial judgement and critical appraisal skills.
- Experience developing and shaping scientific strategy and narratives.
- Strong client-facing experience, including leading meetings, strategic discussions and advisory boards.
- Experience managing or mentoring medical writers and developing scientific talent.
- Strong project management skills, including experience with budgets, timelines and cross-functional teams.
- Excellent understanding of the pharmaceutical and medical communications landscape.
- Thorough knowledge of relevant industry codes and regulatory requirements, including ABPI, EFPIA and GPP.
- Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of how scientific excellence contributes to account growth.
- Extensive experience in medical affairs is essential
- Experience across digital and interactive formats is desirable
Why This Role?
This is an opportunity to move beyond individual project or account leadership and take on genuine responsibility for people, scientific quality, client relationships and strategic direction.
You will have the opportunity to influence how a specialist medical communications agency develops its scientific offering, while remaining close to clients, scientific strategy and high-quality medical communications.
Apply
If you are an experienced medical communications professional with the scientific credibility, leadership capability and strategic ambition to step into a Scientific Team Lead position, we would be keen to hear from you.
Apply now for a confidential conversation