
2027 Future Talent Program - Marketing Strategy & Project Management Co-op
Merck
Summary
The Future Talent Program features Cooperative (Co-op) education that lasts 4-6 months and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Animal Health Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals.
Job description
Our Animal Health is a global leader dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being, and performance of animals. This Co-op position will report to Director, Enterprise Strategy and offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of commercial marketing strategy and cross-functional project management. As a Co-op, you will not just observe—you will actively lead key initiatives that directly impact our companion animal or livestock portfolios. You will collaborate with marketing directors to complete a variety of departmental tasks.
Key Skills & Qualifications
- Project Management Proficiency: Strong organizational skills to handle multiple moving parts.
- Analytical Capabilities: Strong working knowledge of Excel (data manipulation, basic pivot tables) and PowerPoint for drafting high-level strategic decks.
- Collaborative Mindset: Ability to operate effectively within complex matrix organizations, communicate across levels of leadership.
- Industry Interest: A genuine interest in veterinary medicine, companion animal health, livestock production, or overall animal well-being is highly valued.
Key Tasks & Responsibilities
Marketing Strategy & Execution
- Campaign Operational Support: Assist in the end-to-end execution of product launch strategies, seasonal promotional campaigns, and brand awareness programs.
- Market Intelligence & Competitive Research: Gather and synthesize competitor commercial data, pricing models, and market trend reports to identify strategic whitespace for our products. Support market research and outcomes research projects.
- Customer Insights: Support customer segmentation analysis and survey management to gather feedback from veterinarians, pet owners, or producers. Create or enhance legacy data models to drive strategic decision making.
Cross-Functional Project Management
- Project Tracking & Timeline Management: Serve as the central PM lead for marketing workstreams; maintain detailed project plans, tracking sheets, milestones, and deliverables. Develop and launch new project management tools, templates, and support in-flight projects with tracking and reporting.
- Meeting Facilitation: Help coordinate, schedule, and document multi-departmental alignment syncs; distribute clear action items to project team members.
- Vendor & Agency Management: Assist in managing deliverables and timelines with external creative and production agencies.
Preferred Education Requirements
- Undergraduate (Junior or Senior) or Graduate Student (MBA, MS, or Master's in a related field).
- Core Disciplines: Marketing, Business Administration, Project Management, Communications, Animal Science, or Biomedical/Agribusiness fields.
Requirements
- Undergraduate (Junior or Senior) or Graduate Student (MBA, MS, or Master's in a related field)
- Core Disciplines: Marketing, Business Administration, Project Management, Communications, Animal Science, or Biomedical/Agribusiness fields
- Project Management Proficiency: Strong organizational skills to handle multiple moving parts
- Analytical Capabilities: Strong working knowledge of Excel (data manipulation, basic pivot tables) and PowerPoint for drafting high-level strategic decks
- Collaborative Mindset: Ability to operate effectively within complex matrix organizations, communicate across levels of leadership
- Industry Interest: A genuine interest in veterinary medicine, companion animal health, livestock production, or overall animal well-being is highly valued
Company overview
Merck & Co., Inc., known as Merck in the United States and Canada and MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) internationally, is a premier American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey. Founded in 1891 as the U.S. subsidiary of the German Merck Group, the company became independent following World War I and has since grown into one of the world's largest biomedical companies, ranking fourth globally by revenue. Merck operates across three core business segments: pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and animal health products. The company is renowned for its groundbreaking research and development, having brought numerous life-saving medicines to market including Keytruda (pembrolizumab), a leading immunotherapy for cancer treatment that generated $29.5 billion in 2024 revenue, and Gardasil, a revolutionary HPV vaccine. With approximately 75,000 employees worldwide, Merck maintains a robust pipeline of innovative therapies focused on oncology, vaccines, hospital acute care, cardiology, neuroscience, virology, immunology, and diabetes. The company invests heavily in R&D, spending $17.9 billion in 2024 alone, demonstrating its commitment to advancing scientific discovery. Merck's legacy spans over 130 years of bringing hope to humanity through important medicines and vaccines, operating with a purpose to use leading-edge science to save and improve lives globally while fostering an inclusive workforce and responsible business practices.