Associate Director, Project Management

Job Description

Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) sits in the R&D organization at our Company. GPAM comprises several distinct groups, including Project Managers in Value & Implementation (which is this job), Development, and CMC; Discovery Portfolio Managers; Alliance Managers; Project Management Office (PMO); and Administrative Professionals.

Position Description/Summary:

The GPAM Associate Director, Value & Implementation Project Manager (VIPM), is a core member of Value & Implementation (V&I) Team, partnering with team leaders to develop strategies and execute our Company's drug and vaccine V&I efforts to progress the R&D pipeline and realize its full potential. The Associate Director is expected to provide project management leadership and drive cross-functional teams with sufficient influence and mastery of project management to take on challenging assignments with minimal guidance. Projects could span any therapeutic areas in which our Company is actively engaged. In addition to project work, the Associate Director is expected to contribute to ongoing business process improvement and talent development in GPAM.

This position may be based in either Rahway, NJ; Upper Gwynedd, PA; or Zurich, Switzerland.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Managing the Value and Implementation process, including projects of significant complexity; driving cross-functional teams and leading by influence to develop comprehensive strategies and ensure successful execution.

• Act as enterprise leaders by guiding teams through the creation, approval, and execution of integrated project plans appropriate to the project's phase of development and complexity. This includes integrating strategic and tactical input from diverse disciplines (e.g., Medical Affairs, Outcomes Research, Market Access, Biostatistics and Research Decision Sciences, Commercial, and other areas) as applicable to the project.

• Building and maintaining project plans and critical project information in enterprise project management systems and databases. Using these tools to integrate activities across key team members, proactively identify risks, and ensure clear and effective communication with key team, management, and cross-departmental stakeholders.

• Leveraging relationships and networks to improve and enhance team dynamics; proactively identifying and removing obstacles to drive business results.

• Navigating our Company process and organizational norms to enable teams to understand corporate business requirements, thereby enabling decision-making.

• Leading key team meetings including creating thoughtful agendas, ensuring appropriate participation, contributing project management insights, and following up to ensure the team continues to make progress while holding others accountable.

• Participating in GPAM departmental initiatives and workstreams aimed at improving the way that we work and the way that we interact with one another as well as other departments. Improving business processes to find new efficiencies and connect people to the information that they need.

• Providing mentoring, coaching, and oversight to Specialist and Senior Specialist project managers working on common projects. Sharing lessons learned and best practices to impact the GPAM community positively.

Required Education, Experience, and Skills:

• Bachelor's degree required; concentration in a scientific or applied discipline preferred

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in project management or a related role required; in a pharmaceutical/biotech industry preferred

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Advanced degree (e.g., MPH, MS, MBA, Ph.D., PharmD) preferred

• Experience and knowledge of different components of value and implementation strongly preferred; including how the various functional areas contribute to a comprehensive strategy

• Project management certification (PMP) and/or formal coursework/training in project management strongly preferred

Required Travel:

• Minimal

#eligibleforERP

#GPAMjobs

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Business Processes, Business Process Improvements, Change Management, Clinical Research, Cross-Functional Team Leadership, Data Analysis, Drug Development, Leadership, Medical Affairs, Mentorship, Multiple Therapeutic Areas, Peer Mentoring, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacotherapeutics, Process Optimization, Project Implementations, Project Management, Project Management Information Systems (PMIS), Project Planning, Publications Management, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Sourcing and Procurement {+ 5 more}

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as "remote".

The salary range for this role is

$139, $219,700.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at

You can apply for this role through (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

12/5/2025

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R375032

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