Director Strategic Planning

Job Description
The Enterprise Strategy Office (ESO) develops, implements, and drives enterprise strategy in support of our company, its customers, and shareholders. The scope of this group includes ​​strategic program management, enterprise strategic planning, risk management, as well as strategic venture investments in healthcare as part of our Global Health Innovation fund. Together, we identify business critical challenges, create, and evaluate options, and ensure effective implementation and cross-functional engagement.
Position Description:
The Director of Commercial Strategy Development will lead and support strategy development for enterprise-critical commercial initiatives, assessing and designing priorities that are complex questions with significant upside for the company, but high ambiguity. This includes ongoing initiatives across our Company as well as the establishment of new strategies and capabilities. This role will work cross-functionally with senior leaders (e.g., Executive Team, ET-1, ET-2) to socialize and refine initiatives, building a coalition of support that is needed to drive the creation of value and adoption of change.
The ideal candidate will possess innovation, insight, commercial acumen, and broad market perspectives to provide commercial strategy expertise for our company. Compelling candidates will have strategic consulting experience, well-rounded capabilities as well as pharmaceutical industry experience. Commercial, marketing, market access and/or analytics experience are particularly valuable for this role.
Reporting to the Executive Director, Commercial Strategy, Enterprise Strategy Office. Located in Rahway, NJ preferred. Candidates from Upper Gwynedd, PA will be considered
Primary Responsibilities:
Lead and support the development of enterprise critical commercial initiatives. Identifying opportunities, creating evaluations, and recommendations, in collaboration with commercial executive leaders.
Partner in the implementation of critical commercial priorities that require substantial cross-divisional collaboration, strategic thought-partnership, and negotiation to deliver the best solution and impact for the business.
Use existing or develop novel strategic frameworks to lay out potential options, evaluate implications and conduct ‘what you need to believe’ or similar analytical analyses to drive to a final recommendation.
Bring outside-in perspectives, contributing new ideas and priorities to commercial leadership, leveraging experience and depth of understanding of evolving industry trends.
Collaborate with commercial leaders on prioritized business unit needs and launch planning and excellence providing strategic thought-partnership.
Partner with commercial and cross-divisional leaders to bring in market and competitive perspectives that inform therapeutic area portfolio strategy (e.g., outside-in commercial assessment for opportunity sizing, target product profile development).
Manage directly and indirectly internal and external associates dedicated to our programs.
Create thriving and psychologically safe engagements, leading without authority to provide new and novel strategic perspectives.
Minimum Required Skills:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent required, Master’s in Business Administration or PhD preferred
4+ years of strategy management consulting experience from a top-tier firm (e.g., BCG, McKinsey, L.E.K., ZS, Kearney)
Minimum of 5+ years of biopharmaceutical experience across diverse roles of increasing responsibility, including commercial experience in US/Global marketing and asset launches required.
Use existing or develop novel strategic frameworks to lay out potential options, evaluate implications and conduct ‘what you need to believe’ or similar analytical analyses to drive to a final recommendation.
High business acumen distilling complex commercial problems, create structured framing, assessments, and actionable recommendations in collaboration with commercial colleagues.
Analytical expertise and external landscape knowledge to build data-driven insights to inform recommendations including experience with, or awareness of, developing commercial market assessments on therapeutic / disease area strategy to inform development of TPP.
Strong ability to influence decision-making in a highly matrixed organization, demonstrating empathy, collaboration, and high Emotional Intelligence.
Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguity, exceling in bringing cross-functional colleagues together leading high-priority initiatives .
Ability to prioritize time and problem solve to focus on most impactful initiatives.
Strong communicator with excellent verbal and written skills; ability to communicate effectively with senior management and across all levels of the business
Driven, curious, and collaborative professional with a growth mindset, strong organizational skills, and a willingness to learn.
Required Skills:
Adaptability, Adaptability, Analytical Tools, Budget Management, Business Acumen, Business Analysis, Business Decisions, Business Operations, Business Opportunity Identification, Business Planning, Data-Driven Decision Making, Decision Making, Developing Proposals, Enterprise Leadership, Executive Presence, Industry Trend Analysis, Influencing Skills, Management Consulting, Managing Ambiguity, Market Access, Market Research, Oncology Marketing, Organizational Leadership, Pharmaceutical Industry, Results-Oriented {+ 7 more}
Preferred Skills:
Collaboration, Commercial Awareness
Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:
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The primary location for this posting is:
USA - New Jersey - Rahway
Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.
The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$173,200.00 - $272,600.00
This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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.
Additional location(s): Please note the s