Summary
As a people leader, the Scientific Writing Lead sets direction, prioritizes deliverables, allocates resources, and coaches writers to deliver against agreed timelines and quality expectations. The role establishes and reinforces standardized ways of working, templates, and quality controls across the end to end content lifecycle (intake, authoring, review, approval, distribution, and updates) and ensures content is developed in accordance with agreed frameworks and standards (e.g., IMEx and related medical content principles) to enable consistency, reuse, and effective field and stakeholder engagement.
Working closely with other Scientific Writing Leads and partners across IMACE, IMA, GMA, and cross functional teams, the Scientific Writing Lead contributes to continuous improvement of content strategy and governance, driving harmonization across and within TAs and markets and strengthening overall scientific writing excellence.
About the Role
Scientific Writing Lead - Oncology
Location – Hyderabad #LI Hybrid
Major Responsibilities:
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead, coach, and develop Scientific Writers across locations by ensuring robust onboarding, continuous capability growth, and performance support. Build and sustain a high‑performance culture grounded in scientific excellence, curiosity, ownership, accountability, and results orientation. Foster collaboration, psychological safety, trust, and customer‑centricity while driving innovation, agility, operational excellence, and continuous improvement across the team.
- Oversee project planning, resource coordination, prioritization, and timelines to ensure consistent, timely, high‑quality content delivery, while upholding content standards and enabling best‑practice sharing across the team.
- Manage recruitment, performance, and talent development to build critical capabilities and a strong, future‑ready talent pipeline. Coach and mentor team members on scientific rigor, strategic thinking, communication impact, and stakeholder engagement. Role‑model Novartis Leadership Expectations by inspiring high performance and transformation, demonstrating self‑awareness and a growth mindset, and promoting inclusivity, collaboration, and psychological safety.
Scientific Content Development
- Lead the creation of high‑quality scientific content (e.g., slide decks, symposia materials, Ad Board outputs, training content) aligned with TA strategy.
- Ensure scientific accuracy, messaging consistency, evidence‑based referencing, and clarity across all deliverables.
- Conduct scientific reviews, guide data interpretation, and translate complex scientific information into clear, audience‑appropriate communication.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration
- Partner with cross‑functional stakeholders to clarify scientific priorities, refine key messages, and ensure content meets strategic needs.
- Improve content formats, delivery approaches, and user experience across channels.
Quality, Standards & Compliance
- Oversee QC, proofreading, compliance with SOPs/GPP/industry standards, and ensure audit‑ready documentation and governance.
Minimum Requirements:
- Advanced degree in life sciences/healthcare (PhD, PharmD, MD or equivalent); additional training in Scientific Content is an advantage.
- 10+ years’ experience in pharma/healthcare/life sciences or medical communications, with strong scientific writing and content development expertise. Demonstrated people leadership or experience leading writers/project teams, including coaching, onboarding, and performance support. 2 years of therapeutic area experience in Oncology strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to develop diverse scientific materials (e.g., slide decks, symposia content, Ad Board materials, training documents, backgrounders).
- Strong track record reviewing/refining scientific content for accuracy, consistency, clarity, referencing, and alignment with standards (e.g., GPP, ICMJE).
- Experience managing structured review workflows, timelines, multiple priorities, stakeholder inputs, and maintaining version‑controlled, audit‑ready documentation.
- Ability to interpret and synthesize complex scientific data and translate it into clear, audience‑appropriate communications across channels.
Why Novartis: Our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives and our vision is to become the most valued and trusted medicines company in the world. How can we achieve this? With our people. It is our associates that drive us each day to reach our ambitions. Be a part of this mission and join us! Learn more here: https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
You’ll receive: You can find everything you need to know about our benefits and rewards in the Novartis Life Handbook. https://www.novartis.com/careers/benefits-rewards
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.
Join our Novartis Network: If this role is not suitable to your experience or career goals but you wish to stay connected to hear more about Novartis and our career opportunities, join the Novartis Network here: https://talentnetwork.novartis.com/network.
Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Ready to create a brighter future together? https://www.novartis.com/about/strategy/people-and-culture
Benefits and Rewards: Learn about all the ways we’ll help you thrive personally and professionally.
Read our handbook (PDF 30 MB)
VIDEO
Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.
Accessibility and accommodation
Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.
