Art Director

Aurora is here to make profound change.

Doing everything we can to improve lives is what gets us up in the morning. That’s why since 2005, we’ve been running campaigns that reach, inspire and activate – patients, families, healthcare professionals and beyond. To further our reach, Aurora joined forces with Spectrum Science under the GHMC brand in 2022.

Role overview

As the Art Director at Aurora Healthcare Communications, you will play a lead role in shaping our creative vision and driving the expansion of our business through innovative and impactful health and medical communications. This is more than just an art director role - it's an opportunity to lead a creative revolution in how we bring complex scientific stories to life.

Our client base across the life sciences is a mixture of Pharmaceutical companies and small and mid-sized Biotechnology companies developing cutting edge science and medical innovation. The audiences we look to connect with are a mixture of science and academia, healthcare professionals, patients (and their loved ones) and the general public (the latter through non-promotional work).

You'll help set the vision and visual identity that brings our scientific strategy to life and, importantly, shape our expanding medical communications offer, influencing how we creatively execute for health and life sciences organisations and engage audiences through innovative storytelling. You will report into our London-based Creative and Innovation Director who will also bring the agency vision above to life and have support from our in-house Senior Graphic Designer. As Aurora is now part of Spectrum Science, headquartered in the U.S., there is a wider creative team of creative directors, art directors and copywriters to be connected with who are based across the U.S., who meet regularly to share learnings and inspiration.

Key Attributes

1. Visionary Leader: You’ll lead award-winning creative projects that inspire both our clients and the broader healthcare communications field, delivering solutions that merge science with creativity in a way that drives both understanding and engagement.
2. Full Colour Science: Your ability to transform science into visually stunning and creative artwork will help our clients communicate in innovative ways that resonate with health and medical professionals and the public alike.
3. Business Growth Architect: You will be central to developing our medical communications offering, ensuring Aurora is recognised as a leader in creative healthcare solutions.
4. Creative Mentor: You’ll help to mentor our Senior Designer and work closely with them to inspire creative talent at Aurora to deliver cutting-edge work that pushes the boundaries of health and medical communications.
5. Tech Enthusiast: You’ll be eager to help bring in new technology platforms and support the creative team in embracing new creative technologies such as Midjourney and Firefly.

Key Responsibilities

1. Creative and Strategic Leadership: Lead the creative and artistic vision for healthcare communications campaigns, ensuring that the wider team delivers world-class work that visually transforms complex science into clear and compelling stories.
2. Innovator in Science Communication: Help bring our clients’ scientific discoveries to life in a way that is engaging, innovative, and visually spectacular. Your creative direction will ensure medical communications never feel dry or inaccessible.
3. Autonomous Business Driver: Work closely with senior leadership to grow the medical communications business, pitching creative concepts that win new clients and elevate our reputation in the healthcare industry.

Reporting Line

You will report into the Creative and Innovation Director who sits on the Aurora Leadership Team. You will help mentor a Senior Designer who has been with Aurora for over 1 year.

Desired Skills and Qualifications

1. 8+ years in creative leadership, particularly within the healthcare or science communication sectors.
2. A track record of transforming complex scientific information into creative, engaging campaigns.
3. Natural leadership skills, with experience building and mentoring teams to foster creativity and growth.
4. Advanced knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Midjourney.
5. A desire to add value and augment creative intelligence with new tools and new technology platforms.
6. An understanding of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) code of practice is mandatory.
7. Personality: Creative, collaborative, self-motivated, energetic, problem-solver, enthusiastic, open-minded, flexible, curious, diplomatic.

Aurora culture and values:

1. Embrace the power of ideas: Think big and beyond convention.
2. Unlock our potential: Dedication to ourselves, our team and our clients.
3. Pursue good before glory: Do the right thing, for people and the planet.
4. Give a damn, go the extra mile.

The anticipated salary for this position will be £70,000. Salary is based on job-related factors such as: years of relevant experience, qualifications and/or certifications. Aurora reserves the right to modify this pay range at any given time.