Welcome to the Agency Advantage

My name is Sian Kneller, MSc, CMPP

I am a seasoned medical affairs professional with nearly two decades of experience in medical affairs and scientific communications. Throughout my career, I have honed my skills working both in-house in Pharma as well as in agency, from medcomms to advertising and PR.

My three main missions:

1) Raise the profile of medical affairs within pharma - the bigger the profile, the more we can deliver for patients

2) Help people with an agency background secure their dream job in-house in pharma

3) Support and raise awareness around neurodiversity, introverts and women in leadership

We’re a social enterprise on a mission to make career support accessible, real, and impactful: for everyone, especially those who’ve been historically overlooked.

We offer career coaching, resources, and strategic guidance with a focus on biotech, pharma, and health sectors. Whether you're navigating a pivot, dealing with burnout, or trying to break into a new field, we help you move forward with confidence and clarity.

As a neurodivergent myself (AuDHD), I get the unspoken rules of work, and we build safe, supportive spaces for women, neurodivergent folks, racialised communities, and anyone who’s been excluded from the status quo.

Our approach is straight-talking, strengths-based, and radically inclusive.

We believe career growth shouldn’t be gatekept, and we’re here to open the doors wide.

How can we help?

How I Work With Clients

If you’re ready to make a career move, whether that’s into pharma or biotech for the first time, or pivoting within the industry, you’re in the right place.

Most of my clients are career pivoters. They’re either:

Moving into pharma or biotech from adjacent fields like medcomms, consulting, CROs, policy, PR, or academia
Already in industry but looking to change functions, level up, or find a new role that actually fits
Or stepping out of academia and wondering, “Where do I even start?”

Wherever you’re starting from, I’ll help you get clear on your direction, build a strategy that actually works, and take action, fast.

Step 1: Free 15-Minute Discovery Call

We’ll start with a quick chat about your background, goals, and what’s been keeping you stuck.

After the call, I’ll send you a short summary report with insights and next steps you can take immediately.

No fluff. No pressure. Just clarity.

Step 2: 1-Hour Deep-Dive Consultation

This is where we dig in and get strategic.

In this one-hour session, we’ll:

Explore your experience, skills, and transferable strengths
Clarify your target roles (or brainstorm options if you’re not sure yet)
Identify what’s holding you back, whether that’s your CV, LinkedIn, confidence, or clarity
Build an actionable plan to move forward

Depending on your goals, we might:
✅ Review your CV or LinkedIn live
✅ Map out target companies or job functions
✅ Design your transition timeline step-by-step

Within 48 hours (often sooner), you’ll get a detailed follow-up report that includes:

Your personalized career roadmap
Recommended next steps and timeline
And a full Career Toolkit, including:
- 📄 How to write a standout CV
- 📝 How to craft a compelling cover letter
- 💻 How to optimise your LinkedIn profile (and boost SEO)
- 🎤 How to prepare confidently for interviews
- 🤝 How to do effective outreach + networking (without it feeling awkward)

These aren’t cookie-cutter templates, they’re practical, actionable tools built from years of experience helping professionals pivot successfully in and around pharma and biotech.

Step 3: Momentum + Next Steps

After your session, I’ll often start connecting you with key people via LinkedIn to help build momentum and confidence.

From there, you choose how we move forward:

Some clients take the plan and run with it independently.
Others continue working with me for ongoing coaching, application reviews, or interview prep.

Step 4: Ongoing Career Support

For clients who want continued support, I offer tailored sessions on:
✨ CV + application overhauls
✨ Cover letter strategy
✨ LinkedIn redesign + positioning
✨ Interview preparation and practice
✨ Personal branding + article strategy
✨ First 90 days coaching (once you land the role)
✨ Mentorship + career growth planning

I also work with established professionals who want to pivot within pharma or biotech, whether that’s stepping into a new function, going for promotion, or exploring external opportunities.

FAQ

Q: What happens during the free 15-minute discovery call?
It’s a quick chat to discuss your background, goals, and challenges. I’ll share initial insights and follow up with a short summary, no strings attached.

Q: What do I get after the 1-hour consultation?
A detailed written report with your personalized career roadmap, timeline, and my full Career Toolkit of how-to guides and templates.

Q: How soon will I get the report?
Within 48 hours, usually faster.

Q: Do I need multiple sessions?
Not necessarily. Some clients book one session and execute the plan independently. Others continue working with me for accountability, CV updates, or interview prep.

Q: Who do you typically work with?
Career pivoters in and around the pharma/biotech ecosystem, including professionals in medcomms, consulting, CROs, policy, PR, and academia. I also work with people already in industry looking to change functions or companies.

Q: Can you help if I’m outside pharma or biotech?
Yes! Many of my clients come from adjacent fields. My frameworks and strategies are transferable, I’ll help you position yourself effectively for the move.

Ready to take the next step?

Book your free 15-minute discovery call today.

You’ll walk away with clarity, and if we continue, you’ll get a customized action plan and toolkit to turn that clarity into real results.

Free trial career consultation
15 min
Book Now

The Pharma Leap Online Course

Want to figure things out on your own — but with real structure and insider guidance?

Check out Pharma Leap — my CPD-accredited online course designed for career pivoters looking to break into pharma or biotech.

You’ll learn:
✅ How to position your background for industry roles
✅ How to find and understand pharma job opportunities
✅ How to build a CV and LinkedIn that actually get noticed
✅ How to network effectively (even if you hate it)
✅ How to navigate the recruitment process with confidence

It’s the same knowledge I use in 1:1 coaching, just in a self-paced, affordable format.

Pharma Leap: Mastering The Transition From Agency To In-House Success
CHF 100.00 or Pivot into Biotech: Ultimate Package
View Details

Sian Kneller - Medical affairs professional

Skills:

Nearly two decades of experience working in scientific communications both in agency and in-house
Strategic approach to scientific communications and engagement activities, including assessment of reach and impact
Hands-on experience developing content (written and digital) for a wide variety of audiences including HCPs, internal, media/lay audiences, patients and care givers and government/policy makers
Expertise in scenario planning ahead of pivotal study readout
Successfully launched three therapeutics across rare disease, multiple sclerosis and lung cancer
Extensive experience managing projects, agencies and budgets
Expertise in publication planning and external goverance - I hold the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) certification: Certified Medical Publication Professional (CMPP)

Therapy area expertise:

Neuroscience - brain health and longevity, migraine, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Rare diseases - spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH)
Infectious diseases - HIV, Hepatitis B and Shingles
Autoimmune disorders - Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis
Metabolic diseases - diabetes and obesity
Women's health - perimenopause and menopause