
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
- HCP Strategy: Lead the HCP strategy across priority audiences and channels. Translate insights into clear strategic choices, quarterly and annual priorities, and measurable outcomes.
- HCP Activation: Lead global HCP activation strategies, ensuring strong integration across awareness, relevance, urgency, and conversion objectives. Enable markets to execute omnichannel activation effectively.
- L3 Champion: 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.
- Global HCP Campaign Leadership: Lead campaign evolution and delivery in partnership with key markets and regions, informed by customer and market insights.
- Global Alliance Support: 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.
- Global Headquarters Cross-Functional Team Leadership: 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.
- Adult & Adolescent Growth Initiatives: Build and scale global tools, playbooks, and accelerators that enable markets to execute with speed, consistency, and confidence.
- Learning & Development: 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
- 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
- Full compliance with local, national, and company policies, rules, and regulations
- MBA or MS/MA preferred
- Global, regional, and/or country-level marketing experience preferred
- Vaccine commercial experience, preferably in sales and marketing, preferred
- Knowledge of digital platforms for customer analytics and customer engagement preferred
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- 401(k) Matching
- Retirement Benefits
- Paid Holidays
- Vacation
- Compassionate & 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.