Principal Medical Writer

realchemistry

Edinburgh - UK; London - UK; Manchester - UK · London

Posted Aug 11, 2026

Other
Remote
EMEA Medical Education

Job description

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.

Principal Medical Writer

Our Principals play a fundamental role in shaping individual projects within an account with the support and direction of others. They co-lead the creation of outstanding medical content across various therapy areas and provide strategic insights to elevate client deliverables. This position is ideal for a proactive communicator who enjoys managing writing teams, ensuring quality and accuracy, and acting as a primary contact for clients. Our Principals have the opportunity to specialise in content development, team leadership, and/or strategic thinking.

Key Responsibilities

All Principals share the following core responsibilities

Therapy area and scientific expertise: Co-lead development of high-quality medical content under senior direction across multiple therapy areas and initiatives to meet/exceed client expectations
Strategic thinking:
- Provide strategic input to aligned accounts
- Demonstrate confidence and competent in questioning to probe and understand client briefs and distill for Real Chemistry teams
- Adopt a questioning mindset to scientifically and strategically challenge and elevate outputs with clients and internal teams
AI: Co-lead implementation of AI into new projects and initiatives under senior direction within an account
Client relationships: Act as day-to-day medical contact for clients
Managing and advising:
- Manage and mentor junior individuals and teams to work competently, confidently and efficiently to deliver high-quality work in high-pressure situations
- Be responsible for guaranteeing the accuracy and quality of assets and that they are crafted and delivered in line with client objectives and expectations
- Delegate work within account to ensure everyone is hitting billable targets and learning through new opportunitiesThe Principal, Medical Content additionally has the following responsibilities
Project expertise: Co-lead excellent medical content across a broad range of deliverables, demonstrating versatility
Content excellence:
- Uphold and advocate for the highest standards in medical writing within accounts
- Identify the most appropriate channel, style and format for a project to achieve client objectives and maximise engagement
Quality standards:
- Uphold the highest standards within accounts
- Advocate for best practices in project management and delivery to maintain the highest content quality within account
- Lead development of knowledge training for junior members within account

The Principal, Medical Team additionally has the following responsibilities

Coaching and mentoring:
- Provide coaching and mentorship to JMWs/MWS/SMWs
- Coordinate specialised mentorship programs for JMWs
Overarching planning to meet KPIs/timelines/budget:
- Manage and prioritise competing workloads within the account, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the team's projects
- Be responsible for guaranteeing that assets are crafted and delivered in line with KPIs, timelines, and budget constraints
Financial and resource management
- Define and organise resource distribution within accounts to facilitate strategic succession planning and to optimise the alignment of medical colleagues' skills and capacity with account requirements
- Participate in general financial oversight of the account

The Medical Strategist additionally has the following responsibilities

Business development:
- Support definition/shape of strategy on new business proposals and pitches
- Contribute to identification of opportunities for organic growth through participating in key engagements
Strategic leadership:
- Support the shaping and execution of strategy for projects in collaboration with medical writing and client service teams and key strategic contact
- Act as knowledge partner by confidently engaging with clients to exchange ideas, create options etc in conjunction with medical writing and accounts teams
- Provide input on how a scientific evidence-base can shape a brand’s go-to market strategy, positioning, evidence generation and medical communication strategy
Critical thinking:
- Identify key actionable insights, recommendations, opportunities, threats, and critical success factors to inform product strategies
- Shape and structure meetings/workshops to support decision-making

Qualifications and Skills

You should bring previous experience of medical writing at an SMW level or above
Previous experience managing medical writers and interacting regularly with clients is essential
A profound understanding of healthcare, science, medicine, and the pharmaceutical industry is essential
A high level of academic achievement is expected
You’ll need to be personable, articulate, and capable of nurturing relationships

What Real Chemistry offers

Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks. Learn more about our great benefits and perks at: http://www.realchemistry.com/

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile here.

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and support and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning. Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at: www.realchemistrybenefits.com.

At Real Chemistry, we believe we're at our best when we're connected. Our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach is designed to foster collaboration, learning, innovation, and meaningful relationships while providing flexibility where appropriate. Because our workforce spans multiple countries, regions, and client needs, work arrangements may vary by role and location. Some positions offer hybrid or remote flexibility, while others require regular in-office presence. For example, certain teams and regions, including some of our UK operations, have office-based requirements. Your recruiter will discuss the specific expectations for the role you're pursuing during the interview process and keep you informed throughout the hiring journey. For employees located within a one-hour commute of a Real Chemistry office, we require in-person attendance two days per week, either from a Real Chemistry office or when working onsite with clients. Employees in regions without a nearby office may work remotely and come together throughout the year for collaboration, culture-building, learning, and team connection opportunities. While these guidelines reflect our current workplace model, we understand that everyone’s circumstances are unique. If you require additional flexibility, we welcome an open conversation with your recruiter and our HR team to discuss your needs and determine what may be possible.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.

*Notice: Real Chemistry and its affiliates' names are being misused by scammers through messaging services, fake websites, and apps. Do not share personal or financial information or make payments to any unverified sources claiming to be connected to Real Chemistry. We are working to stop these unauthorized activities and protect our community. Read more here.