Associate Director, Strategy & Operations, Content Accelerator
Job Description
This role represents a unique opportunity for professional growth and strategic impact. As a key leadership position, this role will ensure the Content Accelerator team operates effectively and efficiently, driving alignment, orchestration, and execution across a complex global stakeholder ecosystem. The role is responsible for streamlining communication, managing executive-level agendas, and ensuring the VP is fully equipped for high-stakes engagements and strategic decision-making forums. Working closely with peer Strategy & Operations leaders across GHQ, US, DHH and critical HHI markets, this role will coordinate on strategic planning cycles, align on shared priorities, and ensure consistent communication of strategic imperatives to the VP. Acting as the connective tissue between strategy and execution, this role enables the VP to anticipate shifts, identify risks and opportunities early, and co-shape strategic course corrections when necessary. The primary objective is to deliver outcomes that advance the Content Accelerator's goals while ensuring strategic coherence across GHQ, markets and other functions priorities. This role also leads the ongoing tactical operations of the Content Accelerator team, including the organization and facilitation of key meetings, oversight and strategic pull-through of major projects, programs, and communications.
Responsibilities:
- Ensure the VP is adequately prepared for all engagements by coordinating with relevant subject matter experts within the organization and prepare appropriate, supportive documents that highlight critical strategic context.
- Identify emerging trends, tensions, or misalignments and partner with the VP to shape strategic pivots or adjustments as needed.
- Represent Content Accelerate goals and support the process to incorporate them into priorities. Facilitate integrated objective setting and quarterly business reviews in partnership with the Content Accelerate workstream leads and HHOC PMO & Change Management team.
- Provide operational insights and support to the executive team, assisting in implementing critical decisions that drive desired outcomes and positively impact the organization
- Support in managing the Content Accelerator's operating budget, ensuring alignment of financial planning and resource allocation with strategic priorities.
- Manage team priorities by ensuring realization of defined goals, cross- hub integration, and on-going tactical operations with critical stakeholders from DHH, Global Franchises, HR, Finance, HHI, and HH US
- Oversee large and often cross-functional organization wide projects or initiatives in support of strategic priorities
- Manage a high level of confidential and sensitive information and data, ensuring discretion and appropriate handling of all materials in the fulfillment of duties
- Develop appropriate content for meetings e.g. Content Accelerator Get Togethers, Engagements with Global Franchises, HHI and markets and other activities of similar scope
- Assist in the implementation of initiatives and strategies that incrementally build and strengthen the culture within Content Accelerator team, including initiatives targeting leadership and the broader organization (e.g., team-building activities, Volunteer Days, etc.)
- Collaborate with change and communications teams to ensure that messages reflect the current thinking of the Content Accelerator organization and are tailored for the intended audience.
Qualifications & Skills:
Required
- Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, operations management or related field
- At least 5 years of professional experience in roles requiring cross-functional coordination with a comprehensive understanding of marketing, digital and data analytics within a pharmaceutical or biotech company with a global footprint
- Exceptional interpersonal and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to work effectively with teams and stakeholders at all levels of the organization. Including mandating accountability to senior stakeholders and completion pull through.
- Exceptional program management skills with ability to handle multiple outcome-focused initiatives simultaneously
- Ability to organize and convey information and messages clearly and effectively across the enterprise, including senior leadership
- Excellent written / verbal communication and presentation capabilities
- Strong strategic analysis skills with ability to translate into realization proposal
Preferred
- MBA / Master's degree
- Strong business acumen and ability to drive initiative forward: proven track record of "getting things done"
- Proven track record in strategy consolidation and problem solving
- Excellent project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple outcome-focused initiatives simultaneously
- Ability to work through white space, with learning agility Strategic thinker with innovative mindset and ability to make critical decisions and recommendations among a range of strategic choices
- Strong written / verbal communication skills, including presentation skills and ability to craft clear and concise materials for diverse audiences
- Skilled in organizational alignment and stakeholder management, adept at building consensus and driving collaboration across diverse teams and leadership levels to support enterprise-wide goals
Required Skills:
Adaptability, Adaptability, Agile Project Management, Business Administration, Business Decisions, Business Management, Business Reviews, Business Strategies, Communication, Data-Driven Decision Making, Developing Proposals, Digital Analytics, Emerging Trends, Employee Performance Evaluations, Environmental Scanning, Executive Communications, Feasibility Studies, Financial Management, Leadership, Market Research, Operations Management, Oral Communications, Organizational Alignment, Pharmaceutical Market, Portfolio Management {+ 5 more}
Preferred Skills:
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Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
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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
$139,600.00 - $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 [click to reveal website link].
You can apply for this role through [click to reveal website link] (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
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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:
1st - Day
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
none
Job Posting End Date:
11/18/2025
*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:R372881