Director, Scientific Affairs

POSITION SUMMARY:

This position is responsible for collaborating with the commercial team to identify revenue producing opportunities within MSD's customer base.  Also responsible for working directly with recognized thought leaders and decision makers to identify their unmet needs and suggest innovative solutions and preparing and presenting MSD capabilities to the field.  The incumbent will have an intimate understanding of the drug discovery process combined with strong scientific knowledge regarding utility of biomarker measurements.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Initiate frequent interactions with customers and collaborate with the sales and field application support teams on strategies to identify customer needs and provide guidance on how to maximize the use of MSD's product offering. 

• Collaborate with assay services sales team on strategies to expand the assay services business.  

• Identify and foster external collaborations with key opinion leaders and corporate partnerships in biotechnology, personalized medicine, the drug/pharmaceutical industry and diagnostics.

• Identify and foster relationships with key decision makers in academia, non-profits, consortia, and government. 

• Promote Company's reputation as a biomarker leader and enabler for the scientific community.  

• Act as MSD spokesperson at conferences to deliver key information about MSD products and services. Host internal and external seminars/webinars, as needed.

• Generate content to advertise Company's expertise, including presentations, web content, blogs, editorials, etc. Ensure content is current on literature, webinars, conferences, and pharma/clinical business news.

• Understand and communicate a narrative that the Company's products and services can impact customer research and drug development activities.  

• Keep abreast of scientific and competitor advancements in the marketplace. Share expertise and best practices with internal clients, peers, and others across the company as appropriate.

• Gather and compile information about the unmet needs for biomarker measurements and determine strategies for MSD to develop products/services to address them.

• Ensure all activities are logged in MSD's database of customer information.

• Specific duties may vary depending upon departmental requirements.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Advanced degree (PhD, MD, MD/PhD, Pharm. D.) in a biological sciences discipline 

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in pharma or biotech, leading drug development projects

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Comprehensive understanding of the pharma industry and its current and future needs. 

• Comprehensive understanding of one or multiple research areas including Immunology, Neuroscience, Metabolic, Infectious Disease, and Vaccines.

• Thorough understanding of the principles of biomolecule detection assays, their development and their applicability in different research fields. Superior competency in scientific fundamentals.

• Superior communication (written and verbal) skills with the ability to translate information into a meaningful, understandable context and message, regardless of the format (e.g., documents, public speaking situations, presentations, etc.)

• Strong business acumen, negotiation and mediation skills, as well as a demonstrated attention to detail and a focus on achieving quality outcomes. Ability to build/foster relationships.

• Demonstrated propensity to be creative, collaborative, proactive, and self-motivated in the execution and completion of assigned accountabilities.

• Attention to detail with a demonstrated commitment to excellence and performance improvement and the drive to deliver quality and value-added results and outcomes. 

• A professional presence and strong interpersonal skills for interacting in a courteous, timely, and diplomatic manner with all levels of employees as well as external parties. 

• Excellent organizational, planning, and time management skills. 

• Ability to travel with some overnight stays.

• Proficiency in MS Office Suite.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

While performing the duties of this job, the individual is frequently required to sit and stand for long periods. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

This position is performed in a remote/home office environment, when on travel the environment can vary.