Associate Director, Capability Building for Commercial Oncology

Merck•Boston, MA

36d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director, Capability Building, Commercial Oncology is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of learning solutions that enhance the skills, knowledge, and behaviors of all commercial Oncology customer-facing roles—with the goal of driving highly impactful customer engagements that will have measurable business impact. This role leads to the creation of world-class onboarding programs, live and virtual learning experiences, product launch training, and continuous skill-building initiatives that elevate field performance. The Associate Director identifies capability gaps, designs scalable learning interventions, and partners cross-functionally to ensure alignment with business priorities. The role requires expertise in adult learning, performance consulting, instructional design, and digital delivery methods, as well as exceptional project management, time management, facilitation, communication, and collaboration skills. The position reports to the Director, Capability Building.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree with minimum 5 years of commercial experience, or master’s degree with minimum 3 years of commercial experience
Minimum 2 years of experience designing and implementing capability-building programs for commercial field teams, preferably in a home-office based role.
Project Management: Plans, organizes, and executes complex learning initiatives from concept through completion. Leads multiple workstreams and external vendors, ensuring deliverables meet scope, quality, and compliance standards while staying on time and within budget.
Time Management: Prioritizes effectively across strategic and tactical deliverables, balancing competing demands and deadlines.
Communication Excellence: Communicates clearly, confidently, and persuasively across all levels of the organization. Selects the right tools, technology, and medium for each audience—leveraging strong presentation design, storytelling, and PowerPoint expertise to enhance engagement and impact.
Technical Proficiency: Demonstrates expert-level PowerPoint skills and fluency in digital communication tools. Understands how to apply technology, data visualization, and emerging AI solutions—always within company compliance standards—to elevate learning design and operational efficiency.
Regulatory & Compliance Leadership: Demonstrates fluency in navigating the Medical, Legal, and Regulatory process to ensure timely approvals and compliant training execution.
Strategic Mindset: effectively analyze internal processes and dynamics to develop actionable plans that align with our organizational goals. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to think critically, anticipate challenges within cross-functional teams, and identify opportunities for improvement, ensuring that our initiatives are cohesive and drive overall business success.
Executive Presence: Projects confidence, composure, and credibility with senior stakeholders and field leadership.
Collaboration & Inclusion: Builds strong cross-functional partnerships rooted in trust, respect, and shared accountability; values diverse perspectives in solution design.

Nice To Haves

Home-office trainer experience.
Experience in an Oncology therapeutic area.
Product launch and vendor management experience.
Strong facilitation and presentation skills; able to simplify complex scientific content into clear, actionable learning.
Understanding of oncology marketplace dynamics and commercial business environment.
Ability to communicate openly and share information to foster trust while encouraging constructive debate, making informed decisions, and ensuring shared commitment to outcomes.
Demonstrated willingness to take risks and stand up for what is right while prioritizing the needs and experiences of customers and patients in all decisions.
Commitment to setting and reaching ambitious goals and setting high standards while acting in the best interest of the company and taking initiative to drive results.
Uphold ethical standards and being honest in all interactions.
Ability to streamline processes to focus on what matters and creates impact and acting quickly to adapt to changes.
Demonstrated ability to embrace new ideas, challenge the status quo, and seek innovative solutions while valuing diverse perspectives and treating others with respect and dignity.

Responsibilities

Leading New Hire & Onboarding Programs: Design and deliver onboarding curricula across all phases of new hire training. Facilitate engaging live and virtual sessions with applied learning and certification components. Provide structured feedback to field managers and Area Field Trainers (AFTs) to reinforce readiness.
Develop and Implement Training Content: Lead the design and development of learning materials for EMD Serono’s Oncology portfolio, including product knowledge, disease education, and customer engagement skills. Partner with Marketing, Field Leadership, and other cross-functional teams to translate brand strategy into training that produces improved performance. Lead readiness and launch capability initiatives to ensure the field is fully prepared for potential new product launches. Manage planning and execution of training sessions at national, divisional, and regional meetings. Create and maintain an annual training plan.
Support Continuous Refinement and Improvement of Learning and Development programs: Regularly conduct needs assessments and performance analyses to identify skill and knowledge gaps. Evaluate training effectiveness using data, feedback, and field insights to drive continuous improvement. Gather field insights through feedback sessions and focus groups to ensure training solutions remain relevant and responsive to market dynamics.
Drive Operational Excellence and Compliance: Lead the Medical, Legal, and Regulatory (MLR) review process for all training materials, ensuring timely submissions, cross-functional alignment, and full compliance with company and industry standards. Ensure all training aligns with compliance, brand, and business requirements. Track learner participation and maintain accurate training documentation. Manage assigned Oncology training budgets with Director oversight to ensure optimal allocation of resources across initiatives.
Partner and Influence Across Teams: Strategic collaboration with Sales, Marketing, Medical Affairs, Patient Access, Market Access, HR, and external vendors. Anticipate stakeholders’ needs, manage shifting priorities across multiple initiatives, and influence without authority. Develop and lead cross-functional project plans and monitor milestones to ensure timely, high-quality deliverables. Identify, onboard, lead and manage external vendors and agency partners who support content design, training delivery, and capability-building initiatives; ensure alignment to timelines, budgets, quality standards, and brand compliance. Collaborate with global learning partners (where applicable) to adapt global content for U.S. field implementation, ensuring consistency with local compliance and market needs.