Job Description
The Associate Director, Planning and Scheduling drives the strategic operating priorities for the GWES planning department and works collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to ensure a productive, aligned, and accountable workforce. This role manages and monitors the work activities of the planning and scheduling team, establishes planning and scheduling practices that support a best-in-class maintenance program, and ensures that planned preventive, predictive, calibration, and corrective maintenance work is safe, compliant, effective, and efficient.
This position sets work priorities based on schedule needs, resources, risk, compliance, and operational impact, while aligning Maintenance, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Safety, and external partners to ensure work packages, materials, and schedules are execution ready.
As part of a lean GWES organization, this role may require direct functional engagement in planning and scheduling activities and may be expected to perform planning or scheduling responsibilities for one or more assigned areas, including development of job plans, preparation of work packages, coordination of labor and materials, creating an effective schedule, maintenance of execution schedules, and resolution of schedule-readiness gaps.
Primary Activities
The primary activities include, but are not limited to the following:
Leadership and Governance
• Set the strategy, standards, and governance for GWES planning and scheduling department.
• Align planning priorities with site, divisional, compliance, reliability, and business objectives.
• Drive disciplined operating routines that improve execution, accountability, cost performance, and Right First-Time outcomes.
• Build an engaged, inclusive, high-performing planning and scheduling organization.
• Coach, develop, and evaluate direct reports while strengthening capability across indirect teams.
• Clarify expectations, reinforce standard work, and develop talent aligned with site and business priorities.
Planning Excellence (Work Preparation)
• Lead development of complete job plans, work packages, material readiness, and planning standards.
• Prioritize work based on compliance risk, equipment criticality, resource availability, and business impact.
• Partner across Maintenance, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Safety, Supply Chain, MRO, and external providers to ensure executable work preparation.
Scheduling Excellence (Work Execution Readiness)
• Drive schedule discipline, resource loading, and execution readiness for planned work.
• Maintain an approved weekly fixed schedule and a ready backlog to manage schedule disruptions.
• Ensure schedules reflect customer needs, workforce capacity, and site priorities.
Backlog and Work Management
• Own backlog health, work prioritization, planning quality, schedule readiness, and labor utilization metrics.
• Ensure GLP, Safety, and other regulatory work is prioritized while minimizing delays to critical non-regulatory work.
CMMS / Data and Continuous Improvement
• Use CMMS data, dashboards, and stakeholder feedback to improve planning, scheduling, and execution performance.
• Champion improvement initiatives that reduce waste, improve cycle time, and strengthen maintenance reliability.
• Advance long-range planning capability through data-driven governance and continuous improvement routines.
Performance Management
• Report performance, risks, gaps, and recovery actions to site and functional leadership.
• Use metrics to drive accountability, productivity, financial stewardship, and customer alignment.
Compliance and Operational Integration
• Embed Safety, Environment, cGMP, audit readiness, and procedure adherence into planning and scheduling practices.
• Integrate planning and scheduling priorities with operational needs, site risks, and compliance expectations.
• Escalate issues, communicate priorities, and align stakeholders on execution impacts and decisions.
Skills, Education and Experience
Education Minimum Requirement:
• Bachelor’s degree in science, Engineering, or another technical field.
Required Experience and Skills:
• Six (6) or more years of experience in more than one functional area, such as Operations, Quality, Technical Operations, Technology, Engineering, Maintenance, and/or Supply Chain.
• Three (3) or more years of experience in a Maintenance department directly responsible for planning and scheduling functions.
• Demonstrated leadership and people-management experience, including coaching direct reports, aligning stakeholders, and leading work through direct and indirect teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading planning, scheduling, work management, or maintenance execution processes in a complex, regulated, or asset-intensive environment.
• Strong computer skills, including CMMS, Excel, reporting tools, and related business systems.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in written and verbal form.
• Ability to use data, dashboards, and performance metrics to monitor backlog, compliance, schedule readiness, productivity, and continuous improvement action plans.
Preferred Experience and Skills:
• Working knowledge of cGMPs for pharmaceutical and/or vaccine manufacturing, including experience supporting site, divisional, or regulatory audits.
• Knowledge of High Performing Organization tools and methodology, including MPS, lean processing, and continuous improvement practices.
• Experience establishing reporting dashboards, planning governance routines, and performance review processes that drive compliance, productivity, and continuous improvement.
• Professional certifications such as CMRP, OSHA 10, or Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt are preferred.
Required Skills:
Adaptability, Adaptability, Applied Engineering, Business Systems, Calibration of Equipment, Collaborative Development, Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), Digital Transformation, Driving Continuous Improvement, GMP Compliance, HVAC Systems, Leadership, Maintenance Management, Maintenance Planning, Operation Risk Management, People Leadership, Performance Reports, Planning Process, Preventative Maintenance Programs, Prioritization, Process Control Systems, Production Management, Regulatory Compliance, Reliability Engineering, Safety Leadership {+ 4 more}
Preferred Skills:
Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
The salary range for this role is
$142,400.00 - $224,100.00
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 https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.
You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (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
Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
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:
Domestic
VISA Sponsorship:
No
Travel Requirements:
10%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Not Applicable
Shift:
1st - Day
Valid Driving License:
Yes
Hazardous Material(s):
N/A
Job Posting End Date:
07/24/2026
*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.
