Principal, Life Sciences Commercial Strategy - London or Dublin

As our Life Sciences team continues to grow, we are looking to appoint an experienced Principal Consultant specializing in Commercial Strategy and Transformation to lead high-impact engagements, grow strategic accounts, and help shape the future of the practice.

The opportunity:

• Operate as a senior leader across client delivery, business development and practice growth.
• Lead end-to-end commercial strategy engagements - spanning brand strategy, omnichannel design, launch planning and in-market activation - while ensuring that strategies translate into practical, high-impact execution.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, helping clients navigate complex commercial challenges, align functions, and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Play a central role in growing key accounts, shaping new opportunities, and strengthening Gate One’s position within the Life Sciences sector.
• Contribute to capability development, thought leadership and the continued growth of the practice.

You will:

• Lead complex commercial strategy and transformation engagements.
• Lead large, high-value Life Sciences engagements, taking accountability for delivery, quality and client outcomes.
• Design and deliver end-to-end commercial strategies, including brand positioning, omnichannel engagement, launch planning and activation roadmaps.
• Translate complex and ambiguous challenges into structured, insight-led recommendations that drive measurable impact.
• Act as a senior advisor to client stakeholders, bringing clarity, challenge and commercial insight.
• Oversee delivery across multiple engagements, ensuring strategic coherence, pace and high-quality outputs.
• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, acting as a credible and dependable strategic partner.
• Lead delivery across complex, cross-functional environments, including collaboration across the Havas ecosystem and other partners.
• Align diverse teams around clear priorities, ensuring consistency of approach and delivery excellence.
• Create a culture of partnership, transparency and shared ownership across internal and client teams.
• Own and grow strategic Life Sciences accounts, expanding existing relationships through high-quality delivery and trusted partnerships.
• Lead senior client conversations, shaping and converting new opportunities.
• Identify unmet client needs and translate them into clear, compelling propositions.
• Lead or play a central role in major bids and proposals, ensuring strong strategic positioning.
• Contribute directly to revenue growth through a combination of account expansion and selective origination activity.
• Take a leadership role in developing Gate One’s Life Sciences Commercial Strategy capability, including propositions and go-to-market activity.
• Contribute to thought leadership that strengthens Gate One’s positioning in Life Sciences.
• Lead, coach and mentor consultants, building high-performing teams and supporting career development.
• Play a key role in recruitment and internal initiatives aligned to Gate One’s strategic priorities.

About you:

You will be an experienced consultant already operating at Senior Manager or Principal level, with a strong track record of leading complex engagements within Life Sciences. You will also bring:

• Around 10+ years of consulting experience, primarily within recognised consulting or transformation environments.
• Deep expertise in Life Sciences, with strong experience in commercial strategy, brand planning, launch excellence and in-market optimisation.
• Strong understanding of how pharmaceutical organisations operate, including the interaction between commercial, medical, market access and cross-functional teams.
• A proven ability to design and deliver end-to-end commercial strategies that translate into practical execution.
• Strong consulting toolkit, with a structured, hypothesis-led approach to problem solving.
• Excellent storytelling and communication skills, with the ability to create clear, executive-ready narratives.
• A strong track record in business development, including shaping opportunities and contributing to account growth.
• Experience leading and developing teams, with a collaborative and inclusive leadership style.
• High levels of commercial awareness, ownership and accountability.
• A values-led approach aligned to Gate One’s culture of empathy, grit, candour, humility, entrepreneurship and aspiration.