Senior Scientific Director, Medical Publications

Red Nucleus is hiring a Sr Director, Portfolio Lead (Publications) to join our global Medical Communications team! This role is remote based anywhere within the US or Canada. 

Our purpose is advancing knowledge to improve lives. We succeed by being the premier provider of strategic learning and development, scientific advisory services, and medical communications solutions for the life sciences industry. Our global team is composed of nearly 900 full-time employees whose commitment to creativity, quality, and on-time delivery is unrivaled in our space.

At Red Nucleus, we believe in providing a rich working environment that pushes us to innovate in ways that engages our employees to be their best selves. Our culture is about meaningful work, a true sense of community, and fun. We love to celebrate our people and we are proud to have been Internationally recognized as a “Great Place to Work".  

Position Overview:

The Portfolio Lead is accountable for full strategic ownership of one or more accounts. Portfolio Leads will lead scientific strategy, oversee content excellence at scale, and manage teams with autonomy. Compared with the AD, the Director owns end‑to‑end scientific strategy, leads larger and more complex accounts, manages multiple reports, and serves as the primary scientific voice to clients.

The Director sets scientific standards across accounts, leads publication and communication strategies, mentors a team of writers/ASDs, and drives continuous improvement across workflows. Integrates strategic medical leadership, rigorous scientific review, and senior‑level client relationship management.

Core Responsibilities

Scientific & Strategic Leadership

• Lead one or more large/high‑complexity accounts; define and drive integrated medical/scientific communication strategies (publication planning, communications tactics).
• Serve as principal scientific contact for client stakeholders and clinical leads; align scientific strategy to brand priorities.
• Establish quality standards and best practices across assigned teams.

Content Excellence & Review

• Oversee high‑quality content across manuscripts, congress materials, training content, digital assets, and MLR‑regulated materials.
• Conduct detailed scientific reviews for accuracy, alignment, and stylistic consistency (AMA, client style guides, journal/congress guidelines).
• Ensure compliance with relevant industry standards (e.g. Good Publication Practices, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors guidelines, PhRMA guidelines)
• Lead/defend submissions in MLR systems; resolve scientific issues independently.

Client Engagement & Growth

• Lead scientific discussions, workshops, speaker trainings, and advisory boards; represent the organization externally.
• Provide scientific leadership in pitches and proposals; partner with Client Services on resourcing, scoping, and forecasting.

People Leadership & Capability Development

• Manage 3-5 direct reports (ASDs and SDs); conduct performance evaluations, set goals, and guide career development.
• Identify training needs; create structured development plans to grow capability.

Operational & Quality Governance

• Contribute to scoping and resource planning for assigned projects; escalate risks proactively.
• Support recruitment efforts for on-team hires.
• Maintain strong version control, documentation discipline, and adherence to internal procedures.
• Optimize scientific workflows and processes to improve consistency and efficiency.
• Anticipate risks and complex issues; implement mitigation plans; share therapeutic/industry insights to elevate team knowledge.

Qualifications

Education

• Advanced degree in a scientific or healthcare‑related field preferred (eg, MSc, PhD, PharmD, MD)
• Candidates with a relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree plus extensive experience may be considered

Experience

• ~8+ years’ medical communications/medical writing experience, including multi‑asset or multi‑account leadership and scientific team oversight.
• ~3+ years’ people management and coaching experience.

Skills

• Excellence in scientific writing, editing, data interpretation; mastery of publications standards when applicable.
• Strategic thinking and client leadership; expert facilitation and presentation skills.
• Strong understanding of clinical research and regulatory landscape; comfortable guiding MLR submissions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, graphic and image generations software, and collaboration platforms.
• Strong organization/time‑management

Work Environment & Travel

• Remote/hybrid based on location; occasional overnight travel (up to ~20%).

Diversity, equity and inclusion are valued at Red Nucleus and we believe we have a shared responsibility to provide equal opportunity and foster an inclusive spirit.  We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, caste, sexual orientation, gender, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

To learn more about working at Red Nucleus, please visit Careers | Red Nucleus.

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