Dir , Patient Strategy & Innovation lead

Our Digital Human Health (DHH) team is transforming how we engage with and support patients throughout their healthcare journey. We are at the forefront of building a more connected, personalized, and seamless patient experience, which will be critical to helping patients to benefit from our upcoming launch products. Working cross-functionally, we are inventing new ways of leveraging digital, data, and analytics to improve health outcomes and deliver on our “patient-first” mission.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Digital Patient Experience, the Director, Patient Strategy & Innovation Lead will be instrumental in executing our patient-centric vision. This new role will lead the strategy, engagement, and program management for patient-focused initiatives, working in tight partnership with the Patient CoE in the US Commercial Excellence & Innovation (CEI) team and US marketing brand teams.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership & Execution: Lead the strategic development and execution of patient engagement programs, ensuring alignment with broader DHH and Human Health objectives.
• Partnership & Ecosystem Development: Identify, cultivate, and manage innovative external partnerships that enhance our patient support offerings and accelerate our digital patient capabilities.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the primary liaison between the DHH Patient Capabilities team, the US CEI Patient CoE, and US marketing brand teams to ensure seamless integration and deployment of patient initiatives.
• Program Management: Oversee the end-to-end program management of key patient experience projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and achieve defined success metrics.
• Future Patient Strategy: Act as a champion for patient-centric innovation, gathering internal and external best practices to continuously evolve how our company’s supports patients throughout their treatment journey. Drive visioning for continued evolution of our patient strategy and the digital, data, and analytics capabilities needed to enable this.

Leadership Management Innovation Compassion Procurement Data Science Digital Data Biotechnology Pharmaceuticals Telephone Skills Agile Methodology Matrix Management Business Analysis Demand Management Policy Compliance Influencing Skills Program Management Leadership Studies Patient Monitoring On-Time Performance Patient Observation Contingent Workforce Strategic Leadership Relationship Building Operations Management Innovation Leadership Stakeholder Management New Product Development Requirements Management Organizational Leadership Patient Management Software Situational Leadership Theory Master Of Business Administration (MBA)

At least 10 years, * Bachelor’s degree

• 10+ years of relevant experience in patient support, patient engagement, digital health strategy, program management, or commercial operations within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare industry.
• 5+ years of experience managing complex, cross-functional programs or teams in a highly matrixed environment.
• Proven track record of developing and executing strategic patient engagement or marketing initiatives.
• Strong understanding of the US healthcare ecosystem, including patient support programs, access, and reimbursement dynamics.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority across brand and enterprise teams.

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MPH).
• Prior experience specifically working within or closely partnering with a commercial patient support Center of Excellence (CoE).
• Demonstrated experience in evaluating, negotiating, and managing digital health partnerships or vendor relationships.
• Familiarity with agile methodologies and digital product development lifecycles.

Required Skills: Business Analysis, Business Analysis, Clinical Outcomes, Commercial Operations Management, Data Science, Demand Management, Engagement Strategies, Innovation, Leadership Management, Leadership Theories, Liaison Work, Matrix Management, Multidisciplinary Teamwork, Organizational Leadership, Patient Care, Patient Engagement, Patient Management, Patient Monitoring, Patient Observation, Patient Support, Policy Compliance, Requirements Management, Schedule Adherence, Situational Leadership, Sourcing and Procurement {+ 2 more}

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.

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The primary location for this posting is: USA - New Jersey - Rahway

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is: $173,200.00 - $272,600.00

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.