Job Description
The Global Clinical Supply (GCS) organization manages the “end-to-end” clinical supply for the company’s portfolio. GCS is accountable for the planning, sourcing, labeling, packaging and delivery of clinical supplies to clinical sites across more than 60+ countries, in compliance with worldwide regulations, company policies and standard operating procedures.
The Operational Supply Chain Planning Lead is responsible for creating, maintaining, and continuously improving the overarching packaging & release plan across all clinical supply sites. This role provides portfolio-level visibility to packaging demand, site capacity, operational constraints, and emerging supply risks, including re-sitings across the internal and external network. The successful candidate will work across GCS and external partners to translate portfolio priorities into executable planning assumptions, drive alignment on internal capacity and siting decisions, and proactively escalate risks with clear mitigation options. This position also supports key cross-functional initiatives that advance GCS’s mission by improving planning discipline, strengthening supply chain health, and enabling reliable, compliant delivery of clinical supplies to global clinical studies.
Primary activities include, but are not limited to:
- Develop, maintain, and govern the portfolio-level packaging plan across GCS packaging sites, ensuring planning assumptions are current, transparent, and aligned to clinical program priorities.
- Monitor internal site capacity, packaging demand, campaign timing, and operational constraints to identify potential bottlenecks, trade-offs, and downstream impacts across the clinical supply network.
- Partner with Clinical Supply Project Managers, Packaging Operations, Quality, Release Planning, Distribution, and external stakeholders to ensure packaging plans remain executable, compliant, and responsive to changing study needs.
- Lead scenario planning and risk mitigation discussions for capacity constraints, timeline changes, supply interruptions, re-sitings, urgent portfolio shifts, and other events that may impact clinical supply continuity.
- Serve as a subject matter expert for operational supply chain planning practices, providing guidance to stakeholders on planning standards, governance expectations, and issue resolution.
- Lead and manage the Clinical Supply Operations (CSO) planning & release team, support onboarding and training, and contribute to change management activities that build planning capability across the organization.
Experience and Skills:
- Bachelor's Degree with at least 10 years' experience -OR- Master's Degree with at least 8 years' experience, -OR- PhD with 6 years' experience or equivalent in scientific, business or related discipline with.
- Knowledge of supply chain planning
- Strong strategic thinking and business acumen
- Proven ability to lead and influence in a matrix environment without direct authority
- Experience driving process improvements and transformation initiatives
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement and collaboration skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, manage competing priorities and adapt to changing business needs.
- Ability to lead, coach and develop team members.
Continuous improvement:
- Recommends & leads process improvements to enhance the efficiency of the End to End (E2E) Supply Chain Planning team
- Contributes to process harmonization across raw material, packaging capacity, and release planning.
- Coordinates training of new and junior employees.
clinicaltrialjobs
Required Skills:
Clinical Supply Chain Management, Driving Continuous Improvement, EU Regulations, Logistics Management, Operations Management, Pharmaceutical Packaging, Planning Operations, Plan of Correction, Process Improvement Projects, Process Improvements, Project Leadership, Project Planning, Quality Oversight, Stakeholder Collaboration, Supply Chain Processes
Preferred Skills:
Clinical Supply Chain, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Current Employees apply
Current Contingent Workers apply
The salary range for this role is
$173,200.00 - $272,600.00
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:
No relocation
VISA Sponsorship:
No
Travel Requirements:
10%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid
Shift:
1st - Day
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
N/A
Job Posting End Date:
09/1/2026
*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.
