Principal Medical Writer - Publications

Word Monster's medical communications team is growing fast, on the back of organic growth across dermatology (including aesthetics dermatology) and rare disease, plus exciting new client accounts. As Principal Medical Writer, you'll take on our most complex, highest-visibility publications work while helping shape what “excellent” looks like for the team as it scales. That means real influence over culture, process and ways of working, the kind that's rare to find once an agency's accounts and systems are already locked in.

Who we are

Word Monster is an agency with a difference — one on a mission to transform healthcare communications worldwide, built on a core of scientific excellence and an award-winning, life-first culture. Our proprietary frameworks and our Friction in Pharma® philosophy underpin a genuinely different approach to medcomms: evidence-based, sharp, and built around what our pharma, research, tech and charity clients actually need.

We're remote-first, which means you work from anywhere, design your own setup and manage your own schedule — staying connected through our virtual 2D office, regular socials, and in-person get-togethers like our annual Monster Mash retreat.

We call it writing with bite. You'll see why.

The role

You'll report to our Associate Scientific Director, taking ownership of the most complex and highest-profile publications on our books while establishing credibility with senior stakeholders and KOLs. A broad therapy area background is genuinely useful alongside our core dermatology and rare disease focus, and where the publications pipeline is lighter, you'll flex into wider medical affairs and med ed work.

Day to day, the vast majority of your time is split across client calls, writing and review, working with a variety of client types. Alongside your own delivery, you'll help build the publications function itself, mentoring other writers and shaping team structure and ways of working from the ground up.

This is a full-time, permanent, remote role (37.5 hours per week) with flexibility built in.

What you'll be doing

• Independently managing our most complex, highest-visibility publications, modelling transparent, collaborative ways of working for the wider team

• Establishing credibility with senior stakeholders and KOLs

• Assessing publication processes and flagging improvements that benefit the whole function, not just your own projects

• Leading strategy across multiple assets or an indication, coordinating openly with other leads to avoid duplication or siloed decisions

• Actively mentoring and upskilling other writers

• Representing the publications function in cross-functional discussions, bringing team input rather than just personal views

• Driving portfolio-level publication strategy, built collaboratively with the team rather than unilaterally

• Contributing to team capability-building, including training, SOPs and best practice, as a deliberate priority

• Keeping everything squarely within ABPI and local codes of practice, flagging concerns early and proposing solutions

What good looks like

We've thought about this, so you're not walking in blind:

• At 3 months — you're independently managing the most complex and highest-visibility publications while modelling transparent, collaborative ways of working, establishing credibility with senior stakeholders and KOLs, and starting to flag process improvements that benefit the whole function

• At 6 months — you're leading strategy across multiple assets or an indication, coordinating openly with other leads to avoid duplication, actively mentoring and upskilling other writers, and representing the publications function in cross-functional discussions

• At 12 months — you're driving portfolio-level publication strategy built collaboratively with the team, contributing to team capability-building, and seen as a thought leader who elevates the whole team's reputation, internally and externally

What you'll bring

Essential:

• Proven medical communications agency writing experience – you’ll be an experienced Senior or Principal Medical Writer ready for the next big step in their career

• Extensive publications experience

• A life sciences PhD

• Demonstrated ability to lead publication strategy and mentor other writers

• Genuine comfort with complex data and analyses, understanding the science inside out, not just how to summarise it

Nice to have:

• CMPP accreditation

• Breadth across a wide range of therapy areas

• Experience helping shape team structure, process or ways of working from the ground up

The honest bit

Because Publications is a growing function, you'll be helping build the team and its ways of working at the same time as carrying our most complex client work, rather than stepping into an established system with the guardrails already in place. That means real ambiguity early on, and a workload that can ebb and flow as pipelines convert.

We're upfront about that because we'd rather find someone energised by shaping something new than someone who wants it all pre-built. You'll have lots of direct, hands-on support from our Publications Lead, regular check-ins, especially in the first three months, and the backing of our CEO and the wider team as you help set the direction.

What's in it for you

• Salary of £55,000–£65,000 per annum

• Annual company performance bonus (one pot, shared equally across the whole team)

• Share options — we're all in this together

• Company-paid private health insurance with Vitality (fully covered by us)

• Pension (we contribute 3% if you join the scheme; you contribute 5%)

• Individual and team training / self-development budget

• Enhanced parental leave (full pay — 12 weeks maternity / 4 weeks paternity)

• 25 days' holiday (3 saved for the Christmas–New Year shutdown), plus UK bank holidays

• Your birthday off — so that's 26 (day in lieu if it lands on a weekend)

• An extra day's holiday after 2+ years, building up to 5 additional days over time

• Buy up to 5 more holiday days if you want them

• Optional UK “working together” days, with a contribution to travel

• A quarterly wellbeing perk, because you've earned it

• Financial coaching with Octopus MoneyCoach

• Your own personalised monster character (naturally)

The process

There's a take-home medical writing/editing exercise as part of the process — your chance to show us how you think and write.

We can accommodate notice periods of up to three months, so don't let your current notice put you off applying.

Sound like you? We'd love to hear from you. Apply with your CV and a quick note on why this one caught your eye — and help us keep writing with bite.

Word Monster is an inclusive employer. We lead with fairness, kindness and respect, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

At Word Monster, we use AI to improve recruitment workflows and support content generation of job adverts, in line with a detailed brief about the role. Please be assured that all job applications are manually reviewed by our hiring team of very real monsters.