Senior Consultant: Strategic Scientific Communications

Arc Bio Communications is passionate about delivering global communications strategies for biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that add value and bring innovations to life. Our unique approach blends the strategic rigour of management consultancy, the scientific expertise of medical education, and the creativity and reach of communications.

In 2024, we joined forces with IQVIA, to expand our global capabilities and influence even further.

Required experience:

A highly experienced healthcare communications consultant with a minimum of 8 years’ experience in public relations, medical communications and/or scientific communications.

Candidates must have relevant experience in:

• Developing effective scientific communications strategies and solutions aligned to the client’s business objectives.
• Challenging and interrogating client briefs through structured questioning and an understanding of the client and external landscape.
• Producing strategically aligned high-quality scientific strategy, insights and content (e.g. medical communications strategy, advisory boards and consultations, narratives, scientific platforms, messaging (internal and external), senior leader presentations, thought leadership articles, social content).
• Effectively leading, motivating and inspiring teams to deliver communications programmes and projects of high strategic value.
• Champion for scientific excellence, provision of scientific counsel to teams and clients.
• Building and maintaining strong client relationships, effectively engaging with senior level pharmaceutical executives.
• Growing business both organically through existing client relationships or supporting with new business opportunities and proposals.
• Accurate financial planning, management, forecasting and team resourcing.

Role description

Client service:

• Leads, builds and maintains excellent relationships with clients and provides them ongoing consultation and counsel on a peer-to-peer basis.
• Develops strong and effective scientific and/ or corporate communications strategies and solutions in service of client objectives. Always regards the client’s challenges as unique, never generic, and a shared journey between them and Arc Bio. Unafraid of ambiguity and able to ask probing questions to get to the heart of a client brief.
• Produces client-ready work of the highest standard, always delivered with exceptional quality standards, in an efficient and timely manner.
• Develops high quality business proposals for both new and existing clients.
• Works consistently to grow existing accounts organically through high quality work and ongoing discussions with clients.
• Networks outside of Arc Bio to support new business development identifying business leads and representing Arc Bio at industry events.

Project Management:

• Sets up relevant systems and process to facilitate accurate programme/project planning and management. Able to effectively and quickly course correct if challenges arise.
• Produces accurate cost estimates and controls budgets efficiently and carefully whilst keeping clients and team fully informed of eventual or possible overspend, providing relevant solutions where necessary.

Leadership:

• Effectively leads client account teams setting the strategy (in partnership with Arc Bio Partners and clients), proactively reviews and evaluates progress, course correcting where necessary.
• Delegates and prioritises within client account teams, providing direction to ensure delivery whilst providing ownership.
• Drives communication between teams and the client and takes ownership of strategic client discussions vs day-to-day delivery.

Communication and impact:

• Demonstrates the ability to influence, negotiate and overcome objections from senior stakeholders.
• Adapts communication style to suit different audiences and to gain buy in.
• Thinks clearly and quickly, always has a professional point of view and provides ad hoc client counsel.

Technical ability and skills

Industry:

• Keeps up to date with factors influencing the pharma and biotech sectors.
• Understands the mechanics underpinning industry sector activities and has a competent knowledge of the basics of business e.g. factors influencing company valuations, fundamental financial definitions and mechanisms.
• Engages in industry “scanning” and maintains a strong current knowledge of industry opportunities and developments and our clients’ operating environment.

Scientific:

• Strong working knowledge of the science covering our clients’ areas of focus and demonstrates knowledge of client data and clear understanding of their strategic objectives.
• Maintains high levels of scientific excellence and accuracy on any given project, as a reviewer and hands-on contributor, crafting communications using multiple writing styles, adapting as needed, while adhering to regulatory requirements/industry codes of practice.
• Deep and expanding knowledge in modalities, modes of action, epidemiology, clinical trial design and anything else that may be relevant to strategic planning and advice, both from the point of view of the client and their competitor environment.
• Capable of constructively challenging client thinking on a peer-to-peer level, producing novel points of view to help clients view potential solutions from new angles where appropriate and useful.

Strategy, Marketing and Communications:

• Confidently discuss strategy in reference to client goals and objectives.
• Understands theoretical approaches and models used in strategy and communications consulting and applies these to client challenges.
• Keen student of the evolving strategic communications environment (including new tools and models, and their strengths and limitations). Takes an active role in strategic development and strategic workshop facilitation.
• Understands the fundamental principles of healthcare marketing and communications, with a strong capabilities in public relations, medical education and/or scientific communications.
• Understands means of evaluation and KPIs across communications channels.