Executive Director, US Clinical Operations

Head Of Tmed Us Clinical Operations

Translational Medicine (TMed) leverages multidisciplinary expertise to guide decision-making throughout the drug development process, driving the most promising therapeutic candidates forward. We partner with stakeholders to strategically shape our pipeline and advance breakthrough medicines from discovery to late-stage development and beyond. Through cross-functional collaboration, we integrate data to derive insights across functional and therapeutic areas, fostering connectivity and fueling innovation.

The clinical organization within Translational Medicine (TMed) is responsible for early clinical development of novel therapeutics, working in close collaboration with Discovery Sciences and Late-Stage Clinical Research, and is accountable for all scientific, operational, and technical aspects of TMed HQ-sponsored clinical trials. The Head of TMed US Clinical Operations will provide strategic leadership and managerial oversight, leading the group to deliver on the TMed clinical portfolio (>

100 trials and program level deliverables annually across multiple therapeutic areas, including multi-country / center patient trials).

The Executive Director will develop / support an empowered organization that can navigate in a matrixed environment and adjust quickly to business needs including new / evolving processes and technology. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring the organization drives successful execution of all operational components of clinical programs using strong project management, leadership, organizational and communication skills while ensuring GCP and quality standards are met and within agreed timelines and budgets. The incumbent will assure alignment of the operations activities with the overall priorities of the department, division, and company. They will be responsible for ensuring staff are provided with appropriate vision, direction, training, and sponsorship of projects and initiatives. The incumbent will ensure performance management and career development plans are implemented by direct supervisors and that the entire organization is compliant with all policies and procedures.

The ideal candidate demonstrates a growth mindset and uses sound judgement to balance risks and trade-offs. They bring a proactive solutions-oriented approach and a strong commitment to ensure continual optimization of our organization to meet Research and Development's (R&D) mission. They foster constructive debate, respectfully challenge assumptions, and communicate with courage and candor when representing TMed in higher level cross-functional interactions.

The Executive Director reports to the Senior Vice President / Head of Translational Medicine and sits on the TMed Leadership team. This role is a highly cross-functional and influential role within TMed and with cross functional partners.

Primary Responsibilities

Leadership & Culture :

• Provide strategic and motivational leadership to TMed US Clinical Operations, fostering an inclusive, engaging, and high-performance culture.
• Lead organizational change initiatives, ensuring adaptability to evolving internal and external environments.
• Promote diversity of thought through empowering staff to speak up, challenge the status quo, and contribute to continuous improvement.

Portfolio & Operational Oversight :

Resource & Talent Management :

Stakeholder Engagement :

Strategic Planning & Industry Awareness :

Education Requirement :

Required Experience and Skills :

Preferred Experience and Skills :

Required Skills :

Clinical Development, Clinical Trials, Cross-Functional Teamwork, ICH GCP Guidelines, Innovation, Leadership, People Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Planning, Strategy Development, Succession Planning

Preferred Skills :

Salary range for this role is $250,800.00 - $394,800.00. 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