Data Strategy & Innovation Associate Director

Job Description

Job Description: This role will reside within the DHH US DSPI team for Across Brand Data Strategy. This team operates as part of the US commercial team, providing strategic thought-partnership to US commercial stakeholders through understanding brand strategy and developing data strategy based on the business strategy.

The incumbent is responsible for supporting Human Health in having an industry-leading strategy and approach to sourcing & creating commercial data assets to inform business critical decisions and actions.  Under direction of the Data Strategy & Innovation Leader, the incumbent will be assigned to create & implement the Human Health data asset strategy & innovation agenda, as assigned, within Vaccine area.  Vaccine data includes but is not limited to custom claims, payer, reference and subnational sales data.

The individual in this role will be an independent contributor as well as lead a team, supporting all commercial Data Strategy needs for US marketing teams.

The preferred candidate will have an entrepreneurial spirit, understanding of healthcare / pharma space (particularly vaccines) & technology (AI, agentic etc.  The candidate will need to comprehend the nuances of different product lines and be versed in the Life Science commercial space.  They will have demonstrated consistently strong leadership skills, an ability to work objectively and deal well with ambiguity and strong partnership skills. They will empower a growth mindset and inspire a culture of continual learning. This role will require interfacing and collaborating with many teams requiring strong communication skills.

Key Responsibilities:

·       Actively maintains an understanding of the Human Health commercial data landscape, including assigned 1st, 2nd and 3rd party data assets, spanning HCP, consumer, payer, patient, account, etc.  Maintains a working knowledge of the use cases and value associated with each data asset.

·       Able to partner with various stakeholders and vendors to successfully onboard and enable data.

·       Continually scans the external environment for new valuable data assets and potential data partnerships in the assigned area. 

·       Conducts data needs assessments in assigned areas using input from key analytics and business stakeholders, identifies gaps in current data strategy versus ideal state & prioritizes identified gaps.

·       For assigned areas, builds and executes plans to fill prioritized data gaps, including acquisition of new assets from external sources, or identifying partners to create needed assets, or enacting internal initiatives such as gathering new 1st party assets.  

·       Partners with internal team to ingest/review external data sources for use by the analytic teams.

·       Conducts assigned data innovation analytics including data quality assessments, fit-for-purpose analyses, and proof-of-concept use case tests.

·       Works in close collaboration with the analytics, master data management teams to ensure appropriate data implementation, use and value realization.

·       Responsible for forming and maintaining productive working partnerships with assigned data providers. 

·       Creates an environment of high-performance collaboration by building strong cross-functional teams.

Education Requirements:

• BS (or equivalent) in Data Science, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Statistics, Decision Science, Marketing, Engineering, or Public Health is required.

• MBA, MS or PhD degree is a plus.

Required Experience and Skills:

·       Strong business acumen with a keen ability to understand how data (HCP, consumer, payer, patient, account, engagement, etc.) can be leveraged to inform critical commercial decisions and actions.

·       Proven ability to analyze and assess the commercial value of data assets.  

·       Strong business acumen necessary to understand business stakeholders (marketing, sales, account management, operations, etc..) needs.

·       Proven potential to effectively collaborate with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.

·       Intellectual curiosity and ability to identify innovative approaches to addressing data needs.

·       Excellent presentation, analytics and communication skills, both written and oral, are required to synthesize key issues and communicate/persuade constituencies towards specific actions and initiatives.

·       Ability to attain “trusted advisor” status with key stakeholders and business clients.  

·       Ability to operate in dynamic, transforming environment.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Preferred: Prior hands-on experience working with healthcare data and knowledge of vaccine therapeutic area.

Required Skills:

Account Management, Brand Strategy, Business Acumen, Business Analysis, Business Decisions, Business Strategies, Data Quality Assessments, Data Science, Demand Management, Digital Analytics, Innovation, Market Access, Master Data Management (MDM), Public Health, Requirements Management, Sourcing and Procurement, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, US Marketing

Preferred Skills:

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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

$156,900.00 - $247,000.00

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:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

07/8/2026

*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.