Senior Medical Writer (Maternity Cover)

Job description: Senior Medical Writer (Maternity Cover)

Reports into: ASD / PMW / STL / SD

Core responsibilities

• Ownership and responsibility for developing and delivering scientifically accurate content aligned with client objectives, meeting specifications, budget, and schedule.


• Develop and maintain knowledge of relevant therapy areas, including product/competitor awareness, key trial data, messaging, and terminology.


• Participate in, and when necessary lead, client meetings on scientific and editorial project aspects.


• Liaise with and brief KOLs as required; act as the point of contact for clients and KOLs on specified projects.


• Coach, mentor, or line manage writers as appropriate, providing opportunities to learn and apply skills to future work.

Main duties

• Research, write, and review med ed and communications materials to the highest scientific and grammatical standards, including manuscripts, abstracts, posters, presentations, print items, and multimedia.


• Ensure accurate interpretation and incorporation of amendments from NexGen staff, clients, KOLs, and other stakeholders.


• Maintain in-depth knowledge of therapy areas, markets, audiences, and key messages; contribute to strategic communication plans and monitor relevant media/pharma developments.


• Assist managers by forecasting workload/resources, and brief/review freelance writers to ensure smooth workflow and timely delivery.


• Ensure adherence to agency processes, regulatory, and compliance guidelines; coach junior staff accordingly.


• Attend congresses or client meetings as team lead or independently; provide medical writing or client support and debrief teams afterward.


• Collaborate with client services to maximise organic growth within existing accounts.


• Contribute creative med ed and communication concepts for business development and ongoing programmes.


• Support new business activities, including pitch presentations showcasing agency expertise.


• Act as senior scientific services contact for specified accounts; liaise with clients, healthcare professionals, and external bodies, leading client & KOL meetings to develop scientific content.


• Assist PMW and STLs to ensure timely project delivery.


• Check and sign off final materials for print/production.


• Provide guidance on scientific direction and creative design input.


• Advise on budget and schedule development, maintaining awareness of required writing hours and overall budget.


• Coach and develop junior writers; review and QC projects to ensure consistent quality.


• Support recruitment of scientific services staff, including CV screening, writing tests, interviews, and decision-making.

Key result areas

• Delivery of high-quality med ed and communication projects that meet specifications, deadlines, and budgets.


• Drive clear, proactive communication across teams to ensure timely action on projects, opportunities, and ideas.


• Ensure adherence to healthcare compliance laws, guidelines, and agency/client SOPs.


• Quality assurance of content produced by scientific services staff.


• Coaching, ongoing development, and line management of junior staff.

Skills and knowledge required

• Degree or higher in biomedical science.


• Several years’ med comms agency experience with strong teamwork.


• Desirable: Previous managerial experience.


• Excellent attention to detail, grammar, and syntax.


• Strong project management, organisational skills, and commercial awareness.


• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; able to work under pressure.


• Proficient in MS PowerPoint and Word.


• Solid understanding of drug development processes and US/EU regulations.


• High-quality scientific writing; able to adapt content for different audiences.


• Ability to coach junior writers, review content, and provide constructive feedback.


• Willingness to travel (UK/international) for NexGen or client meetings.