Senior Director, Regulatory Advertising and Promotion

Merck Group$210K — $316K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in science or health related field; advanced degree preferred.
  • 10+ years in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in regulatory or scientific disciplines.
  • 7+ years as primary reviewer of advertising and promotional materials.
  • In-depth knowledge of FDA regulations and promotional review processes.
  • Strong understanding of clinical development lifecycle and FDA approval processes.
  • Proven skills in leading complex regulatory challenges and providing compliant solutions.

Responsibilities

  • Provide leadership in Regulatory Affairs for Promotional Review Committees.
  • Serve as liaison with FDA promotional review divisions, guiding regulatory negotiations.
  • Define innovative regulatory strategies for complex promotional concepts.
  • Oversee development of compliant product claims and messaging.
  • Establish and enhance advertising and promotion standards and SOPs.
  • Interpret regulatory trends impacting organizational strategy.
  • Lead solutions in labeling and global regulatory meetings.
  • Oversee regulatory communications and responses to FDA action letters.
  • Champion training programs to build department compliance capabilities.
  • Influence stakeholders across functions to ensure business-aligned promotional execution.
  • Lead internal audits and promote compliance improvement.
  • Mentor team members and support complex project execution.

Benefits

  • Health insurance
  • Paid time off (PTO)
  • Retirement contributions
  • Additional perquisites
Full Job Description
Your Role

The Senior Director, Advertising and Promotion serves as the strategic regulatory leader for U.S. promotional activities across assigned products or portfolio, accountable for the oversight, governance, and direction of promotional review and approval processes. This role ensures enterprise-level compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and FDA guidance while shaping forward-looking promotional regulatory strategies. As a senior advisor, this individual provides authoritative guidance to cross-functional leadership and influences key business decisions.

Operating with significant autonomy, the Senior Director drives alignment, fosters a culture of compliance, and enables the development of innovative, compliant promotional strategies that advance organizational objectives.

Key Accountabilities:
  • Provide cross-functional leadership and representation for Regulatory Affairs on Promotional Review Committees, ensuring U.S. promotional materials are compliant with regulatory requirements while shaping and aligning with overarching corporate and portfolio strategies.
  • Serve as the senior strategic liaison to FDA promotional review divisions (OPDP and APLB), overseeing high-impact interactions, guiding complex regulatory negotiations, and ensuring consistency and quality in correspondence and advisory submissions.
  • Define and shape innovative, compliant regulatory strategies and solutions for highly complex and business-critical promotional concepts, enabling enterprise objectives while proactively mitigating regulatory risk across the portfolio.
  • Lead the oversight and evaluation and positioning of product claims for assets in development, ensuring scientifically robust, compliant messaging and guiding the development of Important Safety Information (ISI) and Brief Summary documents.
  • Establish and advance the strategic framework for advertising and promotion processes, standards, and SOPs, driving continuous improvement, governance, and operational excellence across the organization.
  • Lead enterprise interpretation of evolving regulatory trends, guidance, and enforcement activities, and proactively shape organizational strategy by advising senior Regulatory Affairs leadership, review committees, and cross-functional stakeholders on implications for business decisions and compliance.
  • Identify and provide solutions during labeling and global regulatory team meetings to ensure support for anticipated promotional messages and claims (aligned with marketing strategy) in clinical trial design and product labeling as it relates to the use of study results in U.S. promotion.
  • Oversee and provide direction on regulatory communications, including responses to FDA action letters and high-visibility interactions with OPDP and APLB.
  • Champion and oversee department-wide capability building, including the strategy, design, and execution of training programs to strengthen organizational expertise and compliance awareness in promotional regulations.
  • Serve as a key strategic leader across the organization, influencing senior stakeholders across Marketing, Legal, Medical, and Regulatory functions to enable compliant, effective, and business-aligned promotional execution.
  • Provide leadership oversight for internal audits and CAPAs in partnership with Quality, ensuring strong governance, regulatory alignment, and continuous improvement in compliance practices.
  • Is seen as a leader and is sought out by peers. Creates capacity to provide support to team members. Proactively seeks opportunities to take on more complex projects and provide promotional regulatory training and coaching to team members. Mentors new hires.
  • Influence and drive alignment with senior commercial and functional leadership, building consensus and shaping decisions to balance business objectives with regulatory requirements.


Who You Are

Minimum Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in science or health related discipline. Advanced degree (PhD, MD, MS, PharmD) highly preferred.
  • Minimum 10 or more years of pharmaceutical industry or related experience with an emphasis in regulatory or scientific disciplines, with a minimum of seven years of direct experience as the primary reviewer of advertising and promotional materials.
  • Demonstrated in-depth expertise in FDA regulations governing promotion development, implementation, and promotional review processes, with the ability to shape organizational interpretation and application.
  • Comprehensive understanding of the clinical development lifecycle, regulatory policy, labeling strategy, and FDA approval processes, applied to inform and guide cross-functional strategic decisions.
  • Proven ability to lead and resolve highly complex promotional regulatory challenges, driving innovative, compliant solutions across products and therapeutic areas.
  • Exceptional diplomacy, influence, and negotiation skills, recognized for building consensus and effectively engaging senior stakeholders; demonstrated strategic and analytical leadership in shaping business and regulatory outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experienced leading or supporting drug promotion and product launches is preferred.
  • Comprehensive understanding of the pharmaceutical industry Regulatory Affairs landscape prescription drugs and labeling considerations.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead and foster a culture of continuous learning and process improvement across the organization.


Location: Boston, MA, USA (Seaport); Hybrid 3 days per week in office

Travel:

Pay range for this position: $210,900 - $316,300

The offer range represents the anticipated low and high end of the base pay compensation for this position. The actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level of experience, education, skills, and other job-related factors. Position may be eligible for sales or performance-based bonuses. Benefits offered by the Company include health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement contributions, and other perquisites. For more information click here.

About Merck Group

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There has never been a more opportune time to join Merck Group, a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science, and performance materials. Merck Group offers a plethora of job opportunities that cater to a variety of skills and professional aspirations, making it an ideal environment for both seasoned experts and those at the start of their career journey.

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At Merck Group, every team member contributes to breakthrough innovations in healthcare, life sciences, and electronics. The company's commitment to diversity and innovation fuels its leadership in various sectors, driving growth and transformation globally. Merck Group’s career paths are diverse, offering positions that challenge individuals to use their skills in new ways every day, supported by robust training programs and development opportunities.

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