Job DescriptionGlobal Commercial & Launch Excellence | Immunology and IBD Launches Help launch teams turn strategy into coordinated action, stronger decisions and sustained readiness.
The OpportunityThe Associate Director, US Launch Excellence will serve as the strategic launch partner for the US Immunology pipeline, with primary focus on approaching inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) launches. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, planning and execution, helping teams connect decisions, dependencies and workstreams into one integrated view of launch readiness.
You will work closely with marketing leadership, cross-functional launch teams, Global partners and Centers of Excellence to translate strategy into action, anticipate what could affect readiness and help the team make timely, well-informed decisions. The right candidate brings strategic judgment, practical launch discipline and the ability to build trust and momentum without direct authority.
What You Will Do- Lead integrated launch planning and readiness
- Partner with marketing and launch leaders to translate brand, customer and go-to-market strategy into integrated, adaptable launch plans with clear outcomes, milestones, dependencies and ownership.
- Orchestrate readiness across core and extended launch workstreams, connecting functional plans and maintaining a clear view of the critical path rather than managing activities in isolation.
- Create transparent ways to assess readiness, surface gaps and support decisions through launch plans, readiness indicators, dashboards and key performance indicators.
- Support pre-launch measurement, launch monitoring and post-launch hypercare so teams can learn quickly and adjust when needed.
- Anticipate risk and strengthen decisions
- Identify and challenge launch-critical risks, assumptions and interdependencies early; facilitate mitigation, trade-off and escalation discussions before issues affect readiness.
- Lead scenario planning and prioritization to help teams focus attention and resources on the work most important to launch success.
- Bring an outside-in and enterprise perspective, applying launch excellence practices while tailoring the approach to the asset, market and IBD customer ecosystem.
- Operate as a strategic launch partner
- Serve as a trusted thought partner and launch excellence subject matter expert who asks the right questions, challenges constructively and engages the right functional expertise.
- Design and facilitate core and extended launch team meetings and other readiness forums that drive alignment, decisions, accountability and follow-through.
- Build strong partnerships across Marketing, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Patient Support, Data & Analytics, Digital, Field and Learning & Development, as well as Global teams and Centers of Excellence.
- Clarify Global-to-US inputs, ownership and handoffs so US teams can build on enterprise work, address market-specific needs and avoid unnecessary duplication.
- Advance launch excellence capabilities
- Capture and apply launch learnings, reusable practices and knowledge to strengthen future Immunology and US Human Health launches.
- Improve launch ways of working across people, process and technology, including responsible use of digital and AI-enabled capabilities within company policies.
- Help evolve the launch partner model beyond program coordination toward strategic partnership that improves integration, decision quality and execution.
What You BringRequired Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, General Management, Biotechnology or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology or life sciences consulting industry, including experience in marketing, sales, strategy and planning, commercial operations or related launch work.
- Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into executable plans and lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
- Strong program and project management capabilities, including managing multiple priorities, milestones, risks and interdependencies.
- Proven ability to influence without direct authority, build commitment and create accountability across functions and organizational levels.
- Excellent written, verbal, facilitation and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and communicate clearly with senior stakeholders.
- Willingness to travel as needed and meet the on-site expectations defined for the approved role and location.
Preferred Qualifications:- Experience leading or materially supporting a new branded product, indication or commercial program launch in the pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical industry.
- Immunology, gastroenterology or IBD experience, including familiarity with complex patient, provider, access and account pathways.
- Experience across integrated go-to-market planning, patient support, market access, field readiness, customer experience or launch measurement.
- Demonstrated use of data and insights to inform priorities, readiness decisions, KPIs and performance optimization.
- Experience with scenario planning, Agile ways of working, launch governance, knowledge management or post-launch hypercare.
- Experience working across Global and market teams or in an alliance environment.
Critical Skills and Competencies:- Strategic acumen: Connects market, customer and enterprise context to the priorities that matter most, then translates strategy into action.
- Integrated launch orchestration: Creates structure across complex workstreams while keeping the team focused on outcomes, dependencies and the critical path.
- Constructive challenge: Uses sound judgment and thoughtful questions to test assumptions, expose gaps and improve decisions.
- Systems and risk thinking: Anticipates downstream implications, sees connections across workstreams and helps teams act early.
- Stakeholder leadership: Builds trust, aligns perspectives and mobilizes teams through influence rather than authority.
- Executive communication: Turns complex information into clear, concise and decision-oriented narratives.
- Learning agility: Adapts quickly, seeks outside-in perspectives and applies lessons across launches.
- Ownership and follow-through: Creates clarity, maintains momentum and ensures decisions translate into accountable action.
Why This Role MattersThis role offers the opportunity to shape readiness for a growing Immunology pipeline, partner with leaders across the enterprise and influence how US Launch Excellence evolves. The impact extends beyond a single asset: you will help build stronger launch teams, better ways of working and capabilities that can scale across future launches.
Required Skills: Adaptability, Adaptability, Agile Project Management, Building Trust, Business Agility, Business Management, Commercial Operations Management, Data-Driven Decision Making, Developing Proposals, Employee Performance Evaluations, Environmental Scanning, Executive Leadership, Executive Reports, Feasibility Studies, Financial Acumen, Influencing Without Authority, Market Research, Pharmaceutical Market, Portfolio Management, Product Ownership, Project Management, Resource Allocation, Risk Management, Sound Judgment, Stakeholder Management {+ 7 more}
Preferred Skills: Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.
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:10/17/2026
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