Business Unit Leader Medical Communications

extra holidays - extra parental leave
Work set-up: 
Full Remote
Contract: 
Experience: 
Senior (5-10 years)
Work from: 

Offer summary

Qualifications:

Bachelor's or advanced degree in life sciences (PhD, PharmD, MSc preferred)., Minimum of 10 years of experience in medical communications, with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles., Deep scientific literacy in high science areas such as oncology, immunology, or neurology., Strong client relationship, strategic planning, and team management skills..

Key responsibilities:

  • Provide strategic oversight and ensure delivery excellence across healthcare accounts.
  • Build and maintain trusted relationships with pharmaceutical and biotech clients.
  • Lead scientific and strategic planning for medical communication programs.
  • Manage and mentor a team of account directors, fostering collaboration and professional growth.

Avalere Health logo
Avalere Health Large http://www.avalerehealth.com/
1001 - 5000 Employees
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Job description

About Avalere Health

At Avalere Health, we are powered by a single, unifying mission to make EVERY PATIENT POSSIBLE. Our three capabilities – Advisory, Medical, and Marketing – move as one, seamlessly collaborating to ensure every patient is identified, supported, treated, and cared for, equally.

Achieving our mission starts with providing enriching, purposedriven careers for our team that empower them to make a tangible impact on patient lives. We are committed to creating a culture where our employees are empowered to bring their whole selves to work and tap into the power of diverse backgrounds and skillsets to play a part in making a difference for every patient, everywhere.

Our flexible approach to working allows our global teams to decide where they want to work, whether inoffice or at home based on team and client need. Major city hubs in London, Manchester, Washington, D.C., and New York, and smaller offices globally, serve as collaboration hubs allowing our teams to come together when it matters. Homeworkers are equally supported, with dedicated social opportunities and resources.

Our inclusive culture is at the heart of everything we do. We proudly support our employees in bringing their whole selves to work with our six Employee Network Groups – Diverse Ability, Family, Gender, LGBTQ+, Mental Health, and RaceEthnicity. These groups provide opportunities to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion and to connect, learn, and socialise through regular meetings and programs of activity. We are an accredited Fertility Friendly employer with our Fertility Policy, enhanced parental leave, and culture of flexibility ensuring every employee feels supported across their family planning journey and can work in a way that suits their family’s needs.

We are deeply invested in supporting professional growth for our employees through daytoday career experiences, access to thousands of ondemand training sessions, regular career conversations, and the opportunity for global, crosscapability career moves.

We take pride in being part of the Disability Confident Scheme. This helps make sure you can be interviewed fairly if you have a disability, long term health condition, or are neurodiverse. If youd like to apply and need adjustments made, you can let us know in your application.

About The Role

As a Business Unit Leader at Avalere Health, you will play a pivotal role in a high science medical communications capability. You will be responsible for strategic oversight and delivery excellence across multiple complex healthcare accounts. This role demands deep scientific literacy, strong commercial acumen, and exceptional client service capabilities. You will partner with pharmaceutical and biotech clients to develop and implement scientific communication programs that support product development, launch, and lifecycle management—all while ensuring regulatory compliance and upholding scientific integrity.

This position will ideally be based on the East Coast of the United States; however, candidates from other locations in the United States such as Central may be considered based on qualifications and experience.

What youll do

Client Leadership

Serve as the senior strategic partner to global and regional clients across therapy areas such as and including oncology, immunology, neurology, or rare diseases.
Understand complex scientific data, clinical development stages, and medical education objectives to guide the development of content and strategy.
Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with clients.

Strategic and Scientific Oversight

Lead strategic planning for accounts, including publication planning, congress activities, advisory boards, internal training, and medical education initiatives.
Partner closely with scientific teams to ensure content accuracy, compliance with regulatory requirements (e.g., GPP3, ICMJE, ABPI), and alignment with client goals.
Stay informed on therapeutic landscapes, competitor activity, and emerging science to advise clients proactively.

Team Leadership & Development

Manage and mentor a team of account directors, managers, and executives, fostering a culture of scientific curiosity, excellence, and collaboration.
Ensure seamless crossfunctional integration with scientific services, editorial, creative, and digital teams.
Support recruitment, performance management, and professional development initiatives.

Business Growth & Commercial Management

Drive organic growth by identifying new opportunities within existing accounts (e.g., new indications, geographies, or services).
Collaborate with business development on new business pitches, contributing to strategy, capabilities presentation, and proposal development.
Lead budgeting, forecasting, and financial management across accounts, ensuring profitability and resource efficiency.

Project Oversight & Delivery Excellence

Manage upwards of approximately 13M in business.
Oversee timelines, scopes of work, and deliverables across multiple projects, ensuring quality and consistency.
Anticipate and mitigate risks related to delivery, compliance, or client satisfaction.
Champion quality assurance processes and uphold scientific and editorial standards.

About you

10+ years of experience in medical communications, with at least 5 years in a senior account leadership or senior scientific leadership role.
Demonstrated success managing large global accounts in high science areas (e.g., oncology, immunotherapy, CNS).
Indepth understanding of the pharmaceutical product lifecycle and regulatory environment.
Proven track record of managing publication planning, scientific symposia, advisory boards, and digital scientific engagement initiatives.
Exceptional client relationship skills and strategic thinking.
Strong financial management and team leadership skills.
Excellent business development and growth skills.

Preferred qualifications

Bachelors or advanced degree in life sciences (PhD, PharmD, or MSc preferred).
Familiarity with guidelines such as GPP, ICMJE, ABPI, and industry codes of conduct.
Experience working with global crossfunctional teams and clients.
Comfortable navigating scientific discussions and collaborating closely with medical writers and scientific strategists.
What we can offer

You will receive a 401K plan with an employer match contribution up to 4% (immediately vested), as well as life insurance, disability coverage, and medical, dental, and vision plans for peace of mind. Enjoy flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and remote work, along with the option to work from anywhere across the globe two weeks each year. We provide 20 vacation days plus one personal wellbeing day, recognise 9 public holidays, along with gifted endofyear holidays and an early Summer Friday finish in June, July, and August.

Access free counselling through our employee assistance program and personalized health support. Our enhanced maternity, paternity, family leave, and fertility policies provide support across every stage of your familyplanning journey. You can also benefit from continuous opportunities to professionally develop with ondemand training, support, and global mobility opportunities across the business.

We encourage all applicants to read our candidate privacy notice before applying to Avalere Health.

Required profile

Experience

Level of experience: Senior (5-10 years)
Spoken language(s):
English
Check out the description to know which languages are mandatory.

Other Skills

  • Business Acumen
  • Relationship Building
  • Team Leadership
  • Problem Solving

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