Senior Strategy Director - One Year Fixed-Term Contract in Manchester

Location: Our offices are in London, Macclesfield and Manchester. We are open to applications from all over the UK as we have remote and flexible hybrid working policies.

About Lucid Group: Lucid is a global healthcare communications partner built around a unique, integrated model: fusing scientific, behavioural, commercial and strategic expertise to unlock belief and drive confident action. We work across the asset lifecycle and around the world, with therapeutic depth that spans specialties and an integrated, agile way of working that brings clarity, cohesion and momentum to every moment that matters.

Divisions: This position is aligned to one of our four divisions:

• Lucid Global works with global brand teams at big and mid-tier pharmaceuticals and biotech clients to deliver powerful medical communications solutions for assets across the lifecycle.
• Lucid Consulting brings depth of expertise in the research, development and commercialisation of solutions across therapeutic areas and modalities by streamlining product development, building operational capabilities, innovating, and supporting execution to create value for patients, clients and shareholders.
• US MedComms works with both US and Global brand teams to create powerful medical communications solutions for early lifecycle assets.
• US Marketing works with clients across the Rx, Medical Device, OTC and Consumer Device categories to deliver compelling communications and promotional solutions to Healthcare Professionals for in-market assets.

About the role: Senior Strategy Directors at Lucid inspire the delivery of exceptional communications solutions. They lead colleagues across strategy and other functions to ensure strategic standards are maintained. They provide strategic oversight over account and business development growth initiatives, providing senior strategic counsel to clients and colleagues.

Responsibilities:

• Champions curious questioning and active listening, leading by example to uncover a broad range of client challenges and ensure Lucid has what it needs for effective tactical implementation.
• Effectively challenges and influences clients to build deeper understanding of the healthcare problem and potential solutions.
• Champions across teams the need for co‑creating programme briefs that articulate complex and multifactorial root cause client and healthcare problems that need to be solved.
• Generates and extracts meaningful insights from qualitative and quantitative data, and presents to client with clear recommendations for tactical and strategic solutions.
• Leads responses to high-value client briefs including RFPs, applying a strategic framework to pull through insights, strategy, tactics and metrics to provide clarity on complex asks.
• Responsibly aligns different specialists across the healthcare communications team across different client challenges, subject to size of opportunity.
• Champions the need to ensure the strategic vision is aligned and pulls through in proposals.
• Champions the drafting of clear programme objectives and metrics, ensuring the approach ladders up to Lucid’s vision of transforming lives and the visions of our client organisations.
• Troubleshoots client partnership challenges and opportunities, in partnership with delivery teams.
• Works with client services to build appropriate teams, including the full suite of functions required to meet the opportunity.
• Effectively briefs (with a clear strategic direction) and onboards team members across functions including strategy, client services, project management, medical and creative.
• Collaborates with GenAI to drive efficiencies and scope of outputs.
• Oversees the implementation of portfolios of multi‑/omnichannel programmes in line with strategic/tactical and measurement plans, ensuring they align to strategy.
• Maintains digital marketing best practices including design thinking, UX/UI design, SEO, content design, data‑led design.
• Plans effective use of channels such as meetings and events, email, social media, paid media, website and virtual meetings.
• Directs the structure of effective content design (including video, visual, written, meeting and workshop content) with the user and format in mind.
• Champions a culture of programme optimisation across all accounts. Identifies trends and insights in metrics collected, suggesting programme pivots where required.
• Is a champion for Lucid methodologies, enabling their adoption across teams and applying in appropriate situations and contributing to their development. Identifies the need for new methodologies.
• Champions innovative thinking to better address client and Lucid challenges, enabling the adoption of innovative best practices.
• Leads the advocacy of strategic healthcare communications across the team – see things that others don’t and ensuring our work goes beyond providing tactical deliverables, and meets higher outcome goals.
• Is a vertical leader and sits on business unit senior leadership teams, providing strategic counsel to General Manager and other business leaders.
• Splits time across clients, assessing where time is best spent subject to respective opportunity at any time.
• Potentially has line management responsibilities for others in the strategy function (Planners, Strategists, Strategy Directors).
• Coaches strategic thinking and consultative partnerships and teaches subject matter expertise.
• Advises and contributes to internal communications and Lucid marketing, such as via industry thought leadership.

Essential criteria:

• Extensive communications and/or pharmaceutical industry experience, including experience within healthcare communications, either working within an agency or in‑house.
• Able to integrate capabilities across healthcare communications in a bespoke way to create a seamless solution to address a client need.
• Able to think strategically and problem solve.
• Able to work independently and proactively.
• Able to understand and apply big‑ and small‑picture thinking where appropriate.
• Soft influence skills and ability to collaborate with wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Able to prioritise and multitask.
• Demonstrate gravitas and sell ideas and solutions through strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to facilitate meetings and workshops.
• Core computer skills – Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Desirable criteria:

• Digitally literate, understanding concepts and processes relevant to healthcare communications.
• Working understanding of the regulatory environment of the pharmaceutical industry including the ABPI Code of Practice.

Benefits of working with us:

• Discretionary bonus scheme;
• Contributory pension with Lucid contribution up to 5% of basic salary (enrolment after 3 months of employment);
• Cycle to work scheme;
• 25 working days holiday, 1 Celebration Day of your choice, 4 Christmas closure days plus 8 Bank Holidays per annum (pro‑rata for part‑time);
• Flexible holiday buy and sell scheme;
• Family friendly policies;
• Private family health and dental cover, including Employee Assistance Programme and a comprehensive employee rewards scheme;
• 4× basic salary life assurance cover;
• Medicash Healthcare Cash Plan (Level 1 company cover);
• Season Ticket Loans;
• Regular incentive schemes aligned to individual and team performance.

People: People are at the heart of who we are. Our aim is to transform the lives of those we touch without prejudice or discrimination. At Lucid, the magic we create relies on harnessing and celebrating the unique, diverse and individual talents of those we work with. To do this, we must empower each person to bring their whole self to work so we can be fully inclusive and collaborate with a full heart – fulfilling the potential of everything we do and everyone we work with.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, colour, sex, age, pregnancy, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression or disability.

Disability Scheme: As part of our commitment to recruiting and supporting colleagues with disabilities, Lucid Group are a committed member of the UK Government’s Disability Scheme, supporting people with disabilities provides us with access to a wider talent pool and enables us to be a force for good in the world by creating fair and equitable access to employment opportunities. Aligned to this scheme we commit to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible by:

• Offering a guaranteed interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for the role.
• Anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments.
• Support any existing employee who acquires a disability or long‑term health condition.

If you wish to apply under this scheme please indicate so when asked on our DEI page which will appear as part of our job application process.

Company Culture: We are Lucid Group – we let your whole self shine.