Job Description
Associate Director, Scientific Strategy Lead — HPV Vaccine
The Associate Director, Scientific Strategy Lead - HPV Vaccine will lead the development and execution of integrated scientific strategy for the HPV vaccine franchise and translate scientific priorities into actionable commercial strategy. Collaborate across HPV Area Leadership Teams, Customer Agile Teams (CATs), Global Medical & Scientific Affairs, Value & Implementation (V&I), Policy, Vaccine Scientific Engagement (VSE) and Global Marketing to identify evidence gaps, prioritize scientific opportunities, shape medical and congress strategy, and ensure alignment across stakeholders on scientific priorities and messaging that drive uptake and advocacy.
Key responsibilities
Scientific strategy development
Proactively monitor the HPV scientific landscape to identify opportunities and risks; translate insights into strategic scientific priorities.
Develop and/or maintain commercial scientific narrative for the brand to ensure existing and new scientific claims are well understood internally and are messaged appropriately to customers
Identify gaps in value and evidence generation; prioritize opportunities and partner with V&I and Medical Affairs to define data generation plans that support commercial strategy.
Define success metrics for scientific initiatives and monitor performance against those metrics.
Evidence & Value & Implementation partnership
Co‑lead evidence planning with V&I and Medical Affairs; advise on study design priorities, real‑world evidence needs, and publications strategy.
Recommend prioritization and resource allocation for evidence generation based on commercial impact and scientific need.
Cross‑functional leadership & stakeholder management
Serve as the scientific voice on HPV Area Leadership Teams and CATs; influence strategy through diplomacy, negotiation, and stakeholder management.
Drive scientific commercial activities requiring coordination across GMSA, SDMA, V&I, Policy, VSE and Global Marketing; ensure One‑Company alignment.
Represent the brand in LEAD labeling and regulatory/scientific governance forums.
Congress & publications strategy
Own end‑to‑end congress strategy (promotional and non‑promotional), coordinating development and deployment of congress resources with CATs and cross‑brand stakeholders.
Lead publications planning, including tracking progress and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives.
Ensure congress and publication materials are created with scientific clarity and stakeholder usability in mind.
Communication & enablement
Translate complex scientific issues into clear, actionable messages and tools for field and external stakeholders.
Oversee medical/legal/regulatory (MLR) review processes to ensure compliant scientific communications and materials.
Develop training and enablement plans for appropriate teams on key scientific topics as needed.
Measurement & prioritization
Define and track KPIs tied to scientific initiatives (e.g., evidence gaps closed, promotional adoption, congress deliverable timeliness).
Use data and market insights to prioritize initiatives and iterate strategy based on impact.
Required qualifications
BA/BS required; advanced degree preferred (MBA, MA, MS, MPH, PharmD, PhD).
Minimum 7 years of relevant experience in strategic marketing, scientific strategy, medical affairs, evidence generation or brand management; vaccines experience strongly preferred.
Demonstrated ability to translate complex science into clear strategies and stakeholder-facing materials.
Strong emotional intelligence, including the ability to build trust, navigate ambiguity, manage differing perspectives, and influence cross-functional partners.
Experience with congress planning, publications, and cross-functional stakeholder leadership.
Strong written and verbal communication, project management, prioritization, and influencing skills.
Experience working in regulated environments and navigating medical/legal/regulatory review.
Preferred qualifications
Familiarity with agile marketing/scrum principles.
Prior scientific or medical education experience.
Experience partnering with V&I (or insights/evidence teams) and policy organizations.
Demonstrated success in leading publications, congress strategies and evidence generation initiatives.
Required Skills:
Adaptability, Biopharmaceuticals, Brand Management, Collaboration, Commercial Strategies, Content Creation, Creativity, Cross-Functional Leadership, Customer Insights, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Management, Market Research, Market Segmentation, Oral Communications, Pharmacokinetics, Product Management, Scientific Engagement, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Management, Strategic Market Analysis, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking
Preferred Skills:
Evidence Based Programs, Evidence Generation
Current Employees apply
Current Contingent Workers apply
US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:
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 .
You can apply for this role through (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:
Hybrid
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
N/A
Job Posting End Date:
07/25/2026
*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFOREthe listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
