Job Description

Associate Director, Launch Excellence and Operations, Global Specialty Franchise

At our company we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. Today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a varied and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable, and healthy future for all people and communities. 

 

Associate Director, Launch Excellence and Operations, Global Specialty Franchise

The Global Specialty pipeline offers great promise across a broad range of areas with high unmet medical need, including immunology, ophthalmology, and PAH/rare disease. With late-stage development programs and anticipated launches, Global Specialty is positioned to be a key driver of future growth and patient impact. This is an opportunity to join an organization with a talented team of colleagues who bring high energy, passion, and patient-driven purpose.

 

Role Description and Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Executive Director, Launch Excellence & Business Operations, the Associate Director, Launch Excellence and Operations will play a critical role in enabling successful global launch planning and operational execution across key Global Specialty therapeutic areas. This leader will partner closely with Global Brand Teams and cross-functional stakeholders to drive launch readiness and operational excellence.

With multiple launches occurring across the Long-Range Operating Plan period, this role will be essential in ensuring consistency, coordination, and efficiency in launch planning activities across Global Specialty and the broader organization.

Primary Responsibilities

Launch Excellence & Readiness.

• Partner with Global Brand Teams and cross-functional stakeholders to support launch planning activities across the Global Specialty portfolio.
• Drive consistency in launch planning methodologies, tools, and processes, ensuring effective utilization of established launch excellence frameworks.
• Monitoring launch readiness milestones across regions and markets and facilitating issue identification and resolution.

Launch Standards and Best Practices.

• Leverage digital planning tools and dashboards to track launch preparedness, interdependencies, communicate progress, and flag risks quickly identifying opportunities for optimization.
• Facilitate incorporation of regional and market perspectives into global launch plans.

• Capture and disseminate launch best practices, learnings, and insights across franchises and functions.
• Provide input into the development of global standards for launch planning, processes, and tools to drive excellence.

Strategic & Business Operations.

• Provide teams with operational support across a range of topics supporting the launch planning process, including but not limited to launch readiness reviews, global launch events, Launch Readiness Reviews, and Asset Commercialization Team meetings.
• Lead or contribute to cross-functional projects that support operational excellence, business priorities, and organizational effectiveness.
• Support the Executive Director, Launch Excellence & Business Operations as needed on operational initiatives.

 

Education

• Required: Bachelor's degree
• Preferred: MBA

Required Experience and Skills.

• Minimum of 5 years pharmaceutical experience.
• Strong commercial and business acumen.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders simultaneously. 
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, adapt quickly, and drive results in a fast-paced environment. 
• Inclusive leadership style with strong collaboration skills and ability to build trust and credibility across varied and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to lead and influence without authority.
• Strategic mindset combined with strong operational execution capabilities. 
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems and identify solutions.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills. 

 

Preferred Experience and Skills.

• Previous commercial experience with a focus in marketing.
• Previous launch planning experience.
• Understanding of pharmaceutical commercialization landscape and trends.

The position can be based in Rahway, NJ or Upper Gwynedd, PA, and requires international travel as needed (20%).

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Business Agility, Business Decisions, Collaborative Leadership, Communication Strategy Development, Competency Management, Creativity, Data Analysis, Global Marketing Strategy, Inclusive Leadership, Influencing Without Authority, Lateral Thinking, Learning Agility, Managing Ambiguity, Marketing Analytics, Market Research, Planning, Presentation Delivery, Problem Identification, Product Management, Progress Monitoring, Strategic Objectives, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking

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:

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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

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

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 https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (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:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

10/9/2026

*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.