Scientific Services Director

Lucid Group; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global healthcare communications agency is seeking a Scientific Services Director to oversee a team in Manchester. This role involves ensuring scientific excellence across various projects, collaborating with senior leaders and optimizing team operations. Candidates should have over 10 years of experience in scientific writing, strong leadership capabilities, and a proven ability to manage large teams. The agency values inclusivity and offers a range of employee benefits including a discretionary bonus scheme and comprehensive health coverage.

Benefits

Discretionary bonus scheme

Contributory pension

Cycle to work scheme

Flexible holiday buy and sell scheme

Private family health and dental cover

4x basic salary life assurance

Qualifications

• Over 10 years of senior scientific writing experience.
• Track record in scientific content generation in Medical Communications.
• Experience in managing large teams and recruitment.

Responsibilities

• Optimise synergies in Medical & Editorial management.
• Lead recruitment and onboarding of Medical & Editorial team members.
• Develop and maintain operational plans.

Skills

Senior scientific writing experience

Proven leadership skills

Excellent collaboration skills

Knowledge of financial management

Job description

ABOUT LUCID GROUP

We are a global healthcare communications agency with deep therapeutic expertise that traverses the asset lifecycle, delivering transformative outcomes for healthcare brands for over 20 years.

Our more than 500 highly trained professionals work with speed and agility to craft and execute breakthrough strategies that maximise performance and unlock a brand's full potential.

This position is aligned to one of our three divisions:

• Lucid Global works with global brand teams at big and mid‑tier pharmaceuticals and biotech clients to deliver powerful medical communications solutions across the asset lifecycle.
• Lucid Consulting brings depth of expertise in the research, development and commercialisation of solutions across therapeutic areas and modalities by streamlining product development, building operational capabilities, innovating, and supporting execution to create value for patients, clients and shareholders.
• US Marketing works with clients across the Rx, Medical Device, OTC and Consumer Device categories to deliver compelling communications and promotional solutions to Healthcare Professionals for in‑market assets.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Scientific Services Director (SSD) is a core member of the Medical & Editorial team. As an SSD, you will have a management role in a delivery vertical, active across business delivered by >20 writers and editors. SSDs ensure scientific excellence through provision of senior operational direction and leadership. They are responsible for the management and development of the Medical & Editorial team, and accountable for high‑quality content generation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Works with the Head of Medical & Editorial and other SSDs to optimise synergies and adopt a consistent approach to Medical & Editorial management and operations across the verticals in the division.
• Partners with the General Manager of a delivery vertical, representing Medical &Editorial operations in that vertical.
• Collaborates with senior counterparts in Client Services and central operations to develop and maintain the vertical’s and division’s operational plans, being responsible for Medical & Editorial staff alignment and resourcing.
• Leads recruitment of new Medical & Editorial team members and their subsequent onboarding and probation processes.
• Works with the Head of Medical & Editorial andLicense other SSDs to manage Medical & Editorial succession planning, promotions, retention rates and engagement scores.
• Works to understand the development needs of the Medical & Editorial team to ensure excellence and support growth, through appropriate training, mentoring and coaching.
• Supports Medical &Editorial line managers with driving infection appropriate objective setting, development plans, performance management and appropriate business metrics.
• Works closely with and develops the Scientific Directors to cascade strong leadership and consistency across Medical &Editorial.
• Contributes to the review of scientific content developed by Medical &Editorial with a focus on advancing the development of individual and team writing capabilities.
• Contributes, where required, to the delivery of high‑quality content for projects and proposals.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Successful candidates will have:

Essential Criteria

• Senior scientific writing experience (>10 years)
• A proven track record in scientific content generation within an omnichannel Medical Communications environment.
• Proven leadership skills and ability to manage large teams, including involvement in recruitment, resourcing, line management and team development.
• A willingness to constructively challenge colleagues, suppliers and clients.
• Excellent collaboration skills and comfort with working in a multi‑functional group.
• Knowledge of financial management and budgets for projects.

Desirable Criteria

• Exposure to a broad range of therapeutic areas and asset lifecycle stages.
• Experience contributing to new business development, pitches or strategic proposals.

If you look at this list and feel you don’t meet every single requirement, we still want to hear from you! We encourage you to apply, have a discussion with us about the role or others that we may have at Lucid Group either now or in the future, together we can build more inclusive workplaces.

BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH US

• Discretionary bonus scheme;
• Contributory pension with Lucid contribution up to 5% of basic salary (enrolment after 3 months of employment);
• Cycle to work scheme;
• 25 working days holiday, 1 Celebration Day of your choice, 4 Christmas closure days Sime 8 Bank Holidays per annum (pro‑rata for part‑time);
• Flexible holiday buy and sell scheme;
• Family friendly policies;
• Private family health and dental cover, including Employee Assistance Programme and a comprehensive employee rewards scheme;
• 4x basic salary life assurance cover;
• Medicash Healthcare Cash Plan (Level 1 company cover);
• Season Ticket Loans;
• Regular incentive schemes aligned to individual and team performance.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US TO BE LUCID?

At Lucid Group, we transform lives. Always. We believe in providing a culture of authenticity, where we can all be ourselves, make real connections, and enjoy the work that we do. Together. We empower our people to embark on a journey of growth and advancement by offering meaningful learning and development opportunities. haja'}

Central to our ethos is our commitment to cultivating an environment that embraces and respects people of all backgrounds and identities, underpinned by a culture of conscious inclusion and support.

The Lucid values are not just mere words; they are the culmination of our collective efforts. Co‑created by our people for our people, these values serve as our guiding principles, ensuring that every decision we make positively impacts the lives of the clients, patients, healthcare professionals, and colleagues we serve.

• Compassionately Human: We think about the human impact of our actions.
• Accountable Allies: We are the go‑to strategic partners for our clients.
• Invent with Intent: We create meaningful solutions to solve real problems.
• Courageously Curious: We challenge ourselves to think disruptively.

People are at the heart of who we are. Our aim is to transform the lives of those we touch without prejudice or discrimination. At Lucid, the magic we create relies on harnessing and celebrating the unique, diverse and individual talents of those we work with. To do this, we must empower each person to bring their whole self to work so we can be fully inclusive and collaborate with a full heart – fulfilling the potential of everything we do and everyone we work with. Equally.

We are Lucid Group – we let your whole self shine.

< Resist>We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, colour, sex, age, pregnancy, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression or disability.

As part of our commitment to recruiting and supporting colleagues with disabilities Lucid Group are a committed member of the UK Government’s Disability Scheme, supporting people with disabilities provides us with access to a wider talent pool and enables us to be a force for good in the world by creating fair and equitable access to employment opportunities. Aligned to this scheme we commit to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible by: 1) Offering a guaranteed interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for the role 2) Anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments 3) Support any existing employee who acquires a disability or long‑term health condition If you wish to apply under this scheme please indicate so when asked on our DEI page which will appear as part of our job application process.