Principal Medical Writer Edinburgh - UK; London - UK; Manchester - UK

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Our Principals play a fundamental role in shaping individual projects within an account with the support and direction of others. They co-lead the creation of outstanding medical content across various therapy areas and provide strategic insights to elevate client deliverables. This position is ideal for a proactive communicator who enjoys managing writing teams, ensuring quality and accuracy, and acting as a primary contact for clients. Our Principals have the opportunity to specialise in content development, team leadership, and/or strategic thinking.

• Co-lead development of high-quality medical content under senior direction across multiple therapy areas and initiatives to meet/exceed client expectations.
• Provide strategic input to aligned accounts.
• Demonstrate confidence and competence in questioning to probe and understand client briefs and distill for Real Chemistry teams.
• Adopt a questioning mindset to scientifically and strategically challenge and elevate outputs with clients and internal teams.
• Co-lead implementation of AI into new projects and initiatives under senior direction within an account.
• Act as day-to-day medical contact for clients.
• Manage and mentor junior individuals and teams to work competently, confidently, and efficiently to deliver high-quality work in high-pressure situations.
• Be responsible for guaranteeing the accuracy and quality of assets and that they are crafted and delivered in line with client objectives and expectations.
• Delegate work within account to ensure everyone is hitting billable targets and learning through new opportunities.
• Uphold and advocate for the highest standards in medical writing within accounts.
• Identify the most appropriate channel, style, and format for a project to achieve client objectives and maximise engagement.
• Lead development of knowledge training for junior members within account.
• Provide coaching and mentorship to JMWs/MWS/SMWs.
• Coordinate specialised mentorship programs for JMWs.
• Manage and prioritise competing workloads within the account, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the team's projects.
• Define and organise resource distribution within accounts to facilitate strategic succession planning and optimise the alignment of medical colleagues' skills and capacity with account requirements.
• Participate in general financial oversight of the account.
• Support definition/shape of strategy on new business proposals and pitches.
• Contribute to identification of opportunities for organic growth through participating in key engagements.
• Support the shaping and execution of strategy for projects in collaboration with medical writing and client service teams and key strategic contacts.
• Act as knowledge partner by confidently engaging with clients to exchange ideas, create options, etc., in conjunction with medical writing and accounts teams.
• Provide input on how a scientific evidence-base can shape a brand’s go-to market strategy, positioning, evidence generation, and medical communication strategy.
• Identify key actionable insights, recommendations, opportunities, threats, and critical success factors to inform product strategies.
• Shape and structure meetings/workshops to support decision-making.

• Previous experience of medical writing at an SMW level or above.
• Previous experience managing medical writers and interacting regularly with clients is essential.
• A profound understanding of healthcare, science, medicine, and the pharmaceutical industry is essential.
• A high level of academic achievement is expected.
• You’ll need to be personable, articulate, and capable of nurturing relationships.

Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks. We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vision plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning.

At Real Chemistry, we believe we're at our best when we're connected. Our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach is designed to foster collaboration, learning, innovation, and meaningful relationships while providing flexibility where appropriate. For employees located within a one-hour commute of a Real Chemistry office, we require in-person attendance two days per week. Employees in regions without a nearby office may work remotely and come together throughout the year for collaboration, culture-building, learning, and team connection opportunities.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry.