Head of Scientific Copy

The Head of Scientific & Medical Copy will be responsible for leading a team of scientific and medical copywriters, creating accurate and engaging copy and ensuring all scientific copy is to the highest standard. Liaising closely with the Director of Scientific Strategy and with internal client services across all business units and new business teams, they will take overall responsibility for the scientific output from the copy team – setting the high standard and ensuring that all in the team keep to them. They will lead the mentorship and development of scientific & medical copywriters, with input into the mentorship and development of conceptual copywriters. The Head of Scientific Copy will oversee every aspect of scientific copy from briefings to sign-off.

They are the lead scientific expert within the Creative Department, using this expertise in developing relationships with clients and presenting/defending work clearly and effectively. They will participate in meetings and advise in client meetings when necessary, as well as educate on best practice both internally and externally.

Key Responsibilities and Requirements

Scientific Copywriting Competencies

• Work closely with strategists, conceptual creatives and the broader creative department disciplines to create narratives, concepts and ideas that are scientifically solid and creatively robust.
• Ensure the scientific copywriting team produces accurate and engaging copy in support of client projects.
• Produce high-level work on time, to budget, and in line with the brief.
• Present work to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Quickly acclimatise to new and diverse therapy areas at short notice.
• Understand brands and product types within the pharmaceutical industry across a broad range of therapeutic areas.
• Communicate issues to relevant colleagues in a timely and accurate fashion.
• Collaborate positively with colleagues and clients.
• Support other members of the team.

Leadership and Professional Competencies

• Manage and support a team of scientific & medical copywriters.
• Provide examples for scientific & medical copywriters through developing copy frameworks, templates, and ways of working while championing these processes.
• Review and sign off work, providing guidance to team members.
• Collaborate proactively with leaders in Advertising, Public Relations, Medical Communications and Growth to contribute to new business growth and foster dynamic relationships across the business.
• Demonstrated success in an advertising or communications agency with strong leadership and business development skills.
• Proactive with strategic thinking, generating impactful ideas.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to put forward opinions on scientific narrative.
• Strong time management skills and collaborative, solution-focused behaviour.
• Support line-reports to fulfil personal ambitions through ongoing line and performance management.

Innovation and Craft

• Challenge self and others in the Creative Department and the wider Syneos Agency to push for world-class levels of craft, detail and resonance in every piece of work.
• Keep up to date with industry trends relevant to the role and communicate with the department.
• Own or delegate the ownership of AI in scientific copy within the team and communicate changes and innovation to the rest of the department.
• Act as an early adopter of digital technologies, leveraging them to drive innovation and efficiency in Creative.

Qualifications / Experience

• Six+ years of copywriting experience, ideally within the healthcare communications industry or similar fast-paced agency environment.
• Experience as a principal medical copywriter/lead scientific copywriter in the healthcare communications industry, with a demonstrable process of getting to great copy.
• Strong scientific knowledge.
• Experience in reviewing and/or signing off others’ scientific & medical copy work.
• Undergraduate degree (Masters or PhD preferred) within life sciences.
• Proven experience in line managing and/or leading and developing teams to help shape the scientific copy strategy and vision for the agency and ensure high standards of scientific copy output.
• Experience working within a fast-paced agency setting.
• Ability to develop, craft, and present work effectively to clients with confidence, clarity, and flair.
• Ability to work effectively with clients’ medical/regulatory departments, supporting your own scientific/medical rationale.
• Considerable experience of European and Global projects.
• High levels of attention to detail, resilience, and flexibility.
• Solid experience in writing scientific or medical copy across a range of projects, campaigns, and brands.
• Strong scientific strategic point of view with an understanding of business objectives.
• Excellent verbal, visual, and written communication skills.
• Detail-oriented and well organized with the ability to multitask and meet tight deadlines.
• Skilled in producing high-quality copy in response to briefs.
• Experience fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning within a copy team.
• Ability to establish and promote best practices in scientific copy processes, tools, and frameworks.
• Passion, enthusiasm, and integrity for producing outstanding work.

At Syneos Health, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. At times, we will consider transferable skills from previous roles. We also encourage you to join our Talent Network to stay connected to additional career opportunities.

Syneos Health Communications is powered by Syneos Health, a global professional services organisation designed to help the biopharmaceutical industry shorten the distance from lab to life®. We have a proven pedigree in health, with industry titans in every facet of healthcare. This eliminates guesswork and fuels our passion for total, life-changing solutions. At the heart of health, we're uniquely poised to predict what's next and respond to the market's demand for smarter and faster answers. We are able to help our customers make important decisions within their business due to our unique understanding of the complexities that come along with working in the healthcare industry. Syneos Health Communications is able to make the complex, simple.

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