Scientific Director (Medical Publications)
Position Overview
The Director, Scientific Services is a scientific leader accountable for full strategic ownership of one or more accounts. Directors lead scientific strategy, oversee content excellence at scale, and manage teams with autonomy.
Core Responsibilities
Scientific & Strategic Leadership: Lead one or more large/high-complexity accounts; define and drive integrated medical/scientific communication strategies (publication planning, communications tactics). Serve as principal scientific contact for client stakeholders and clinical leads; align scientific strategy to brand priorities. Establish quality standards and best practices across assigned teams.
Content Excellence & Review: Oversee high-quality content across manuscripts, congress materials, training content, digital assets, and MLR-regulated materials. Conduct detailed scientific reviews for accuracy, alignment, and stylistic consistency (AMA, client style guides, journal/congress guidelines). Ensure compliance with relevant industry standards (e.g. Good Publication Practices, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors guidelines, PhRMA guidelines). Lead/defend submissions in MLR systems; resolve scientific issues independently.
Client Engagement & Growth: Lead scientific discussions, workshops, speaker trainings, and advisory boards; represent the organization externally. Provide scientific leadership in pitches and proposals; partner with Client Services on resourcing, scoping, and forecasting.
People Leadership & Capability Development: Manage 3–5 direct reports (writers/ASDs); conduct performance evaluations, set goals, and guide career development. Identify training needs; create structured development plans to grow capability.
Operational & Quality Governance: Contribute to scoping and resource planning for assigned projects; escalate risks proactively. Support recruitment efforts for on-team hires. Maintain strong version control, documentation discipline, and adherence to internal procedures. Optimize scientific workflows and processes to improve consistency and efficiency. Anticipate risks and complex issues; implement mitigation plans; share therapeutic/industry insights to elevate team knowledge.
Qualifications
Education: Advanced degree in a scientific or healthcare-related field preferred (eg, MSc, PhD, PharmD, MD). Candidates with a relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree plus extensive experience may be considered.
Experience: ~6+ years’ medical communications/medical writing experience, including multi-asset or multi-account leadership and scientific team oversight. ~2+ years’ people management and coaching experience.
Skills: Excellence in scientific writing, editing, data interpretation; mastery of publications standards when applicable. Strategic thinking and client leadership; expert facilitation and presentation skills. Strong understanding of clinical research and regulatory landscape; comfortable guiding MLR submissions. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, graphic and image generation software, and collaboration platforms. Strong organization/time-management.