Director, HPV Global Vaccines, HCP Strategy & Activation
Merck
Summary
The Director, Global HCP Strategy & Activation is a global marketing role accountable for healthcare professional (HCP) strategy across adolescent and adult customer segments. This is a high-visibility leadership role reporting to the Executive Director, Global Brand Lead, working in close collaboration with a broad group of global, regional, and local teams across divisions and functions, as well as key external agency partners.
Job description
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the HCP strategy across priority audiences and channels; translate insights into clear strategic choices, quarterly and annual priorities, and measurable outcomes.
- Lead global HCP activation strategies, ensuring strong integration across awareness, relevance, urgency, and conversion objectives; enable markets to execute omnichannel activation effectively.
- Leverage the marketing framework to ensure strategic direction and consistency on segmentation and personas, content and channel strategy, and alignment of resources and tactics to the customer experience plan.
- Lead campaign evolution and delivery in partnership with key markets and regions, informed by customer and market insights.
- Support expansion of vaccination initiatives in eligible countries, prioritizing new national immunization program introductions and cohort expansions; partner closely with Global Policy and Manufacturing Division on near-term business planning activities.
- Convene and partner closely with cross-functional teams, including Policy, Market Access, Medical, Outcomes Research, and Communications, to support aligned prioritization and a consistent customer experience.
- Build and scale global tools, playbooks, and accelerators that enable markets to execute with speed, consistency, and confidence.
- Identify capability gaps and lead learning plans for cross-functional teams and field stakeholders; ensure tools and playbooks support consistent execution and capability building.
Qualifications
Education: Required BA/BS; Preferred MBA or MS/MA.
Required Experience and Skills: Minimum of seven (7) years of brand marketing experience. Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, or related healthcare industries. Strong leadership and collaboration skills, including influencing with and without authority and working across cross-functional teams. Demonstrated success in global marketing or commercial strategy roles. Strategic and innovative thinker with a continuous learning orientation and commitment to excellence. Exceptional verbal, written, and presentation communication skills. Ability to navigate ambiguity and overcome complex business challenges. Ability to process, integrate, and communicate large amounts of information, including utilizing analytics to support data-driven decisions. Demonstrated expertise in customer-centric brand development, agency management, and global campaign development, delivery, and localization. Ability to work effectively in a hybrid environment with colleagues located across multiple geographies and time zones. Must work in full compliance with all local, national, and company policies, rules, and regulations.
Preferred Experience and Skills: Global, regional, and/or country-level marketing experience. Vaccine commercial experience, preferably in sales and marketing. Demonstrated success competing in multiple geographic markets and developing new markets and channels. Knowledge of digital platforms used for customer analytics and customer engagement. Experience providing commercial input into business readiness reviews, market research initiatives, and agency partner management.
Location / Travel: Rahway, NJ or Upper Gwynedd, PA. Up to 20% travel, including travel to Rahway and Upper Gwynedd locations.
Requirements
- BA/BS required
- MBA or MS/MA preferred
- Minimum of 7 years of brand marketing experience
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, or related healthcare industries
- Strong leadership and collaboration skills, including influencing with and without authority
- Demonstrated success in global marketing or commercial strategy roles
- Strategic and innovative thinker with continuous learning orientation
- Exceptional verbal, written, and presentation communication skills
- Ability to navigate ambiguity and overcome complex business challenges
- Ability to process, integrate, and communicate large amounts of information, including utilizing analytics for data-driven decisions
- Demonstrated expertise in customer-centric brand development, agency management, and global campaign development, delivery, and localization
- Ability to work effectively in a hybrid environment across multiple geographies and time zones
- Must work in full compliance with all local, national, and company policies, rules, and regulations
- Global, regional, and/or country-level marketing experience preferred
- Vaccine commercial experience, preferably in sales and marketing, preferred
- Demonstrated success competing in multiple geographic markets and developing new markets and channels preferred
- Knowledge of digital platforms used for customer analytics and customer engagement preferred
- Experience providing commercial input into business readiness reviews, market research initiatives, and agency partner management preferred
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- Retirement Benefits
- 401(k)
- Paid Holidays
- Vacation
- Compassionate Leave
- Sick Days
- Annual Bonus
- Long-Term Incentive
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.