Assoc. Dir , D&A Strategy

MSD • North Wales, PA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role resides within the DHH US Market Engagement Team for Vaccines and Infectious Disease, operating as part of the US commercial organization. The team provides strategic thought-partnership to US commercial stakeholders by understanding brand strategy, managing analytics requests, and defining associated business requirements aligned to business priorities. The US Market Engagement team quarterbacks demand fulfillment and leads the activation of DHH products and services to enable data-driven decision making across the vaccines and infectious disease portfolio. The Associate Director – Business Insights & Analytics, US Vaccines & ID (HIV) will be responsible for developing and communicating data-driven, actionable insights that drive deeper customer and market understanding, inform launch and go-to-market strategies, and support in-line brand growth and commercial objectives. The individual will function as a key business-facing analytics partner to US HIV marketing teams, supporting commercial insights, analytics, and data science needs, while helping to scope, design, and deliver well-defined use cases aligned to business OKRs. The preferred candidate will have an entrepreneurial and consultative mindset, strong understanding of the healthcare/pharma space (particularly HIV), and proficiency in advanced analytics, AI, machine learning, NLP, and Agentic AI. They will be comfortable translating complex business questions into analytical problems that require scalable, innovative solutions and will bring forward new ideas and methodologies that enhance the organization’s analytic capabilities. The candidate will need to comprehend the nuances of different product lines, the competitive landscape, and be versed in the Life Science commercial space. The individual who will thrive in this role will demonstrate strong leadership, intellectual curiosity, and a growth mindset. Although they will operate as an individual contributor, they will be adept at working in a matrixed environment, dealing with ambiguity, and collaborating across cross-functional teams. Strong communication and storytelling skills are essential to effectively influence stakeholders and drive adoption of data-driven recommendations.

Requirements

• BS (or equivalent) in Data Science, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Statistics, Decision Science, Marketing, Engineering, or Public Health is required.
• 5+ years of analytics or data science experience in pharma/biotech/healthcare; HIV experience preferred.
• Proven track record applying advanced statistics, AI, machine learning, NLP, and Agentic AI to solve commercial business problems.
• Proficiency in Python, R studio, SAS, SQL etc. or similar tools for data extraction, feature engineering, and model development.
• Strong experience with patient-level and healthcare data (claims, EMR/EHR, registry, CDC, IQVIA and other secondary sources).
• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into structured analytical questions and data-driven recommendations.
• Experience supporting products across their lifecycle (development, launch, growth, maturity, and end of life).
• Strong communication and data storytelling skills, including presenting complex findings to senior and non-technical audiences.
• Effective stakeholder management and influence skills within a matrixed, cross-functional environment.
• Solid project and time management capabilities, with experience leading multiple concurrent analytics initiatives and teams.
• Self-directed, adaptable, and curious, with a strong learning mindset in AI/ML, advanced analytics, and evolving healthcare data.

Nice To Haves

• MBA, MS, or PhD degree preferred.
• Prior hands-on experience working with healthcare data, especially EMR/EHR, claims data, and various IQVIA data offerings.
• Knowledge and experience of the HIV business is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key analytics partner to US HIV marketing, aligning analyses and insights to brand and portfolio priorities/OKRs.
• Work directly with business stakeholders to understand key questions, clarify objectives, and translate them into well-defined analytical use cases.
• Be accountable for ensuring delivery of analyses with high quality standards, timeliness, compliance, and excellent user experience (routinely keep client base updated on progress)
• Enable prioritization and scoping conversations by understanding business demand, requests, and potential use cases.
• Analyze diverse data sources (claims, EMR/EHR, CDC, IQVIA, digital/CRM) to generate clear, actionable insights and recommendations for commercial decisions.
• Propose appropriate analytical approaches and AI/ML/NLP/modeling techniques, demonstrating strong conceptual understanding of methods and trade-offs.
• Collaborate with data scientists, engineers, and other DHH teams (on-shore and off-shore) to deliver best-in-class solutions and ensure business questions are addressed with the right data, methods, and insights.
• Support the design, development, and refinement of AI/ML and NLP solutions (including Agentic AI) by providing business context, requirements, and feedback.
• Synthesize findings into concise stories and visualizations, and present insights to support data-driven decisions.
• Stay current on HIV market dynamics and advances in analytics, AI, and machine learning, bringing forward new ideas that will enhance analytic capabilities of the organization.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level