Medical Director (Publications)

About this role

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Real Chemistry is looking for a Medical Director, Publications to join our growing team!    

The Medical Director leads scientific strategy and content delivery across assigned accounts or programs, bringing deep publication expertise and the versatility to support broader medical affairs deliverables. This role serves as a senior scientific partner to clients and internal teams, helping translate evidence into credible, compliant, and strategically aligned communications across publication and non-publication channels.

The role leads publication strategy and execution while contributing to broader medical affairs content and evidence dissemination across key scientific communication channels. This position connects publication planning with broader medical affairs priorities, stakeholder needs, and integrated scientific communication programs.

This is a hybrid role, based in any of our US offices—New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Carmel (IN), or Lambertville (NJ)—or remotely within the US, depending on team and business needs. We are also open to remote applicants in Canada. This role requires working eastern US hours .

What you’ll do:  

Publication Strategy & Planning

• Develop and execute publication strategies aligned with client objectives, evidence priorities, and broader medical affairs goals

• Lead strategy for manuscripts, abstracts, posters, congress activity, plain language summaries, and other dissemination formats

• Guide evidence gaps, sequencing, target journals/congresses, author engagement, and publication impact measurement

Broader Medical Affairs Strategy & Deliverables

• Provide scientific direction for selected medical affairs deliverables, including platforms, core decks, advisory board materials, medical education content, field medical tools, and congress resources

• Translate clinical, HEOR, real-world evidence, and published data into clear narratives for publication and medical affairs channels

• Connect publication outputs with broader evidence dissemination, omnichannel engagement, and medical education needs

Scientific Communication

• Provide senior scientific oversight to ensure accuracy, clarity, balance, and strategic alignment across deliverables

• Lead or direct writing, review, and refinement of manuscripts, congress materials, scientific platforms, core narratives, and related content

• Maintain consistent scientific messaging across publication plans, medical affairs materials, congress activity, and account deliverables

Client Leadership

• Serve as a senior scientific and strategic contact for clients across publication and medical affairs workstreams

• Build trusted relationships and guide content priorities, data interpretation, audience needs, and dissemination formats

• Lead author, KOL, advisory board, steering committee, medical affairs, and cross-functional discussions where appropriate

Operational Excellence

• Ensure deliverables meet applicable quality, publication ethics, journal/congress, ICMJE, GPP, client, and internal standards

• Oversee progress, risks, review cycles, workflows, timelines, scope, resources, budgets, and client expectations

• Identify issues related to scientific accuracy, evidence interpretation, review complexity, timelines, and stakeholder alignment, and recommend solutions early

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with medical affairs, publications operations, account, clinical, regulatory, analytics, editorial, design, strategy, and project management teams

• Share publication and medical affairs best practices to strengthen consistency, quality, and strategic alignment

People Leadership

• Provide leadership, mentorship, and feedback to writers, content leads, and cross-functional contributors

• Build team capability in publication strategy, medical affairs content, data interpretation, scientific storytelling, and quality standards

Business Development

• Support proposals, pitches, publication strategy recommendations, medical affairs content strategy, and organic growth opportunities

• Help shape scopes that reflect scientific complexity, stakeholder review needs, and delivery requirements

This position is a perfect fit for you if:  

• Our Company values –   Best Together, Impact-Obsessed, Excellence Expected, Evolve Always   and   Accountability with an “I”   – really speak to you

• You are adaptable, resilient, proactive, resourceful, highly organized, and comfortable adjusting priorities as client and business needs evolve

• You bring scientific curiosity, collaborative instincts, strong prioritization skills, and a commitment to high-quality client service

What you should have:   

• Degree in life sciences, medicine, pharmacy, public health, or related discipline required ; advanced degree such as PhD, PharmD, MD, MPH, MSc, or equivalent experience preferred

• 6+ years of publications, medical affairs, or medical communications experience within an agency, pharmaceutical, biotech, academic, or related environment

• Advanced publication strategy

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