Publications Specialist; Medical Affairs

• Publications Lead (Medical Affairs)
• Remote Working (London + WFH)
• £575 to 600 per day
• 6-to-12-month contract (Inside IR35 / via Umbrella)

The Opportunity:

ISR Recruitment is currently supporting a global biopharmaceutical organisation with the appointment of an experienced Publications Lead for Medical Affairs on an initial 6-to-12-month contract opportunity.

This is a high-priority opportunity within a Cell Therapy portfolio, supporting the delivery of scientific publications across key programmes during an important period of activity.

The successful contractor will work alongside existing Publications Leads, providing additional leadership, executional support and flexibility across the portfolio.

This role would suit an experienced publications professional who can quickly embed themselves within an established team, independently taking ownership of key deliverables and managing competing priorities.

Skills and Experience:

We are looking for an experienced medical publications professional who can operate effectively in a fast-moving, compliance-driven pharmaceutical or biotechnology environment.

You will ideally have:

• An advanced degree such as PhD, PharmD, MD or MSc in Life Sciences or a related discipline.
• 5 to 7 years' experience in medical publications within pharma, biotech, medical communications or a closely related environment.
• Strong understanding of ICMJE and GPP publication guidelines.
• Proven experience managing scientific publications from planning through submission and post-publication.
• Experience across manuscripts, abstracts, posters and presentations.
• Experience working with medical writing agencies and external vendors.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple parallel work streams.
• Confidence stepping into partially developed or in-flight projects.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A pragmatic approach to working within a highly regulated and compliance-driven environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a strong quality mindset.

Role and Responsibilities:

You will provide flexible publication leadership across priority programmes, taking ownership of specific publications, work streams and assets as required.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Partnering with existing Publications Leads to support delivery of publication plans across priority programmes.
• Taking the lead on individual publications, work streams and assets where additional support is required.
• Providing additional bandwidth during peak periods, including congress timelines and key data readouts.
• Leading the end-to-end development and execution of manuscripts, abstracts, posters and presentations.
• Managing the publication lifecycle from initial planning through submission and post-publication activities.
• Tracking publication milestones, timelines and deliverables through publication trackers and calendars.
• Working closely with Medical Affairs, Clinical, Health Economics and Outreach Research (HEOR) and other cross-functional stakeholders.
• Liaising with authors, investigators and external experts.
• Supporting publication planning discussions and associated decision-making.
• Providing direction to medical writing agencies and reviewing deliverables for scientific quality.
• Managing timelines, risks, dependencies and competing priorities across multiple deliverables.
• Ensuring efficient collaboration between internal teams and external partners.
• Ensuring publications comply with relevant guidelines and internal policies, including ICMJE and GPP.
• Maintaining scientific rigour, accuracy and quality across all outputs.
• Supporting audit-ready documentation and adherence to publication processes.
• Flexing across therapeutic areas, assets and deliverables as business…