Associate Medical Director

About ApotheCom

ApotheCom is an exciting leader in the field of medical communications. Drawn together from several backgrounds including the pharmaceutical industry, research, marketing, medical and regulatory writing, sales, publishing, digital media and design, we have the experience and all-round ability to conceive and deliver the best quality medical communications programs.

About the role

The Associate Medical Director is a scientific and strategic lead responsible for the quality, accuracy and strategic direction of assigned medical communications workstreams and accounts.

In this role, you will be accountable for ensuring that scientific content is clinically accurate, strategically aligned, insight-driven and relevant to client medical strategy and agency objectives. You will partner closely with client services, editorial, creative, digital, medical writing and senior scientific leadership to ensure that deliverables meet client expectations, reflect current scientific evidence and support broader communication goals.

The Associate Medical Director serves as a key scientific contact for clients, faculty and external experts, bringing subject matter expertise, sound judgment and a proactive consultative approach to assigned projects. You will lead and contribute to content development plans, elevate the scientific and strategic quality of deliverables, support new business activity and help guide junior scientific team members.

To be considered for this role, candidates should have successfully demonstrated Senior Medical Writer-level capabilities and typically bring at least 5 years of experience in medical communications, publications, medical education or a related scientific communications environment.

The Associate Medical Director will report to a Medical Director, Senior Medical Director or senior Scientific Services leader.

Key responsibilities

Strategic thinking and scientific insight

• Accountable for the scientific strategy and quality of assigned accounts, workstreams and deliverables, ensuring alignment with client medical strategy and agency objectives.
• Leads and contributes to content development plans, ensuring deliverables are grounded in evidence and aligned with strategic imperatives.
• Interprets and synthesizes complex clinical data, including clinical trial results, congress updates, treatment guidelines, publications and competitive information.
• Translates complex scientific and clinical information into clear, compelling and strategically relevant medical communications.
• Provides proactive scientific input into publication plans, medical education programs, communication platforms and other client deliverables.
• Identifies key scientific insights, evidence gaps and communication opportunities that can strengthen client strategy.
• Participates in new business pitches, proposals and client onboarding by providing scientific insight and therapeutic area expertise.

Client partnership and excellence in delivery

• Serves as a key scientific contact for clients, faculty, authors, investigators and external experts, building relationships based on scientific credibility, responsiveness and delivery excellence.
• Partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients to understand goals, communication objectives, scientific priorities and success measures.
• Reviews and elevates scientific content to ensure not only accuracy, but also strategic alignment with client objectives.
• Ensures assigned medical communications are clinically relevant, current and reflective of recent advances in the therapeutic area.
• Liaises with clients and external experts to support streamlined, efficient development of high-quality deliverables.
• Supports the planning and execution of advisory boards, investigator meetings, faculty meetings, congress activities and scientific workshops.
• Anticipates client needs, flags risks early and recommends solutions to protect scientific quality, timelines and budget expectations.

Teamwork, collaboration and leadership

• Partners with Client Services and cross-functional colleagues across creative, digital, editorial, account and specialized services to ensure deliverables meet client expectations.
• Provides day-to-day scientific direction to medical writers, freelancers and junior scientific team members.
• Offers formal and informal mentorship, coaching and performance feedback to junior team members, supporting their scientific growth and delivery quality.
• Demonstrates increasing autonomy in account decision-making while knowing when to escalate scientific, client, budget or delivery risks.
• Proactively drives team growth and efficiency, including suggestions for process improvement within the team, cluster or squad.
• Contributes to key strategic priorities, including recruitment, resourcing, business development and operational excellence.
• Collaborates with project and account teams to ensure timelines are realistic, scope is understood and scientific requirements are appropriately planned.

Content development and quality oversight

• Leads or oversees development of scientific content across manuscripts, abstracts, posters, slide decks, advisory board materials, white papers, monographs, congress materials and medical education content.
• Reviews and refines medical writing to ensure scientific accuracy, strategic relevance, logical flow, appropriate tone and audience fit.
• Conducts targeted literature reviews and evidence assessments to ensure content reflects current clinical practice and therapeutic developments.
• Maintains awareness of good publication practices and appropriate standards for publications, medical education and professional communications.
• Provides quality control for scientific content developed by internal writers, freelancers and external partners.
• Ensures reference support, data interpretation, claims and scientific messaging are accurate, balanced and appropriately substantiated.

Financial and operational awareness

• Understands the financial side of assigned accounts and works with team members to help projects remain in scope.
• Provides senior scientific input into scopes of work, budgets, timelines and resource planning.
• Identifies potential changes in project focus, scientific complexity or scope and escalates appropriately.
• Supports efficient delivery by balancing scientific excellence with timeline, budget and client-service expectations.

About you:

You are an experienced medical communications professional with strong scientific judgment, strategic curiosity and the confidence to advise clients and guide internal teams. You can move fluidly between detailed content review and broader strategic discussion, and you are comfortable taking ownership of complex scientific deliverables.

Experience and capabilities

• Advanced degree in life sciences, medicine, pharmacy, pharmacology or a related scientific discipline; doctorate-level training preferred.
• Typically 5+ years of experience in medical communications, publications, medical education, scientific strategy or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to operate at or above Senior Medical Writer level, including strong content development, data interpretation and client-facing skills.
• Strong understanding of clinical data interpret