Medical Director

  • Full-time

Company Description

Walk the halls of SSW and you'll find a rather spirited and passionate group of people. It's a stimulating assembly of professionals—writers, managers, strategists, art directors, planners, analysts and developers.  

We believe the only way to move people to live healthier, happier lives is to create ideas that move them emotionally. Never powered by reason alone, people – whether they’re consumers, caregivers, doctors or payers – are motivated to take action by emotion. Only when people feel something will they be willing to do something.  

For decades, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness has provided consumer and professional marketing, strategic consulting and medical education to pharmaceutical and wellness brands. Today, we're dedicated to continuing that legacy by raising the bar and crafting award- winning work online, on-air, in print and in-office. Going beyond addressing simply the absence of illness, our vision is to inspire a healthier, happier world. Together, we strive to help brands thrive in today’s culture of wellbeing by leveraging the power of Wellness IntelligenceSM. 

Job Description

Are you someone who combines a deep understanding of science with an interest in the art of creative storytelling? Do you enjoy finding new and creative ways to look at, think about, simplify, visualize and communicate scientific information and concepts? Do you enjoy working in a collaborative, fast-paced environment, alongside people with a rich variety of skill sets and perspectives? Are you interested in flexing your scientific muscles to support marketing projects across the spectrum or health and wellness, to include anything from oncology to toothpaste? Are you interested in working as part of a different type of medical-scientific team to create, test and sell innovative products, services and capabilities? If so, then this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the medical team at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, as it seeks to evolve its capabilities and establish a reputation as a truly differentiated, world-class medical-scientific strategy offer. Unique among other healthcare agencies, at Saatchi Wellness, medical strategy falls within the ‘Strategic Innovation’ grouping of agency departments. 

To be successful in this role, you’ll need to be someone who can think big, but doesn’t mind rolling up their sleeves; someone who can work autonomously, but is also a natural collaborator; someone who can analyze complex details, but switch mental gears to consider problems from a variety of different angles.   

The individual will work closely with the Group Medical Director to evolve and extend the capabilities, products and practices that define the medical team’s contribution to the agency, whilst also functioning as an integral contributor and scientific-strategic expert on assigned client accounts. They will also perform the critical function of ensuring that the work our agency produces is scientifically and strategically sound, informed by a solid up-to-date understanding of the scientific, clinical, commercial and regulatory landscape in which our clients’ products are marketed. In this endeavor, the individual will collaborate closely a variety of agency departments (including account services, brand planning, creative, and engagement strategy & analytics) and perform a variety of different roles. This may include generation of content (across multiple formats from scientific speaker slides to content-light strategic client presentations), conducting interviews with thought leaders to generate new insights, participating in client meetings and interactions, monitoring industry trends and news, conducting a literature deep-dive, analyzing key competitors, and providing scientific briefings to colleagues.  

Where required, the individual may also contribute to oversight of freelance writers.

Responsibilities:       

  • Demonstrates in-depth understanding of assigned therapeutic area(s).
  • Functions as a key, integrated team member and source of medical-strategic expertise on assigned brands and projects
  • Maintains high levels of communication with colleagues across different SSW departments as well as the Group Medical Director
  • Participates in meetings and strategic discussions with clients and colleagues
  • Participates in the execution of established deliverables required for various programs and projects, including contributions to writing, editing, and reviewing content
  • Contributes to assurance of quality, scientific and medical accuracy, and strategic alignment, of assigned projects, whilst adhering to relevant project parameters and processes including deadlines, budget, content specifications and approval requirements
  • Where required, oversees the work of researchers, copyeditors and freelance writers/editors throughout the development process to help ensure on-time delivery
  • Proactively identifies new opportunities for the medical team to add value or demonstrate thought leadership to current clients and colleagues, based on an up to date understanding of key scientific and industry-wide trends 
  • Contributes to new business activities including literature searches and other forms of research, providing scientific/medical briefings for relevant therapy areas to colleagues, interviewing key opinion leaders and when required, presenting as part of the pitch team
  • Adheres to all SSW policies and procedures

Direct Reports: None

Qualifications

Education: Master’s degree or above is required; PharmD, PhD in Life Sciences, or MD is preferred.

Professional Skills/Experience:      

  • Minimum of two to five (5-7) years of clinical, writing, publishing and/or pharmaceutical experience
  • Experience in medical advertising and/or communications, marketing/strategic planning, and the journal publication process is preferred
  • A background in medical writing is desirable (but not required)
  • Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret scientific and medical data
  • Demonstrated organizational, analytical, and interpersonal communication skills.
  • Ability to manage projects with limited direction and work within tight deadlines are required
  • Superb and persuasive communications skills, both written and verbal
  • Adept at storytelling
  • Able to simplify and clarify complex concepts

Additional Information

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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