Associate Director, Strategic Programs

Merck • North Wales, PA

3d • $142,400 - $224,100 • Hybrid

About The Position

As our company continues to modernize content, customer engagement, and AI-enabled ways of working, we are taking a "One our company" approach to simplify processes, accelerate value delivery, and enable scalable, reusable capabilities across teams. We are seeking an Associate Director, Strategic Programs, to join our Strategic Programs and US Activation team. This role is pivotal in driving execution in support of key programs, including Content Accelerator and the One our company's Marketing Model (OMM) as part of Digital Human Health (DHH) strategic programs. The Associate Director drives execution by leveraging GenAI and agentic AI capabilities, ensuring these are embedded into workflows and actively used to support delivery, adoption, and ongoing improvement of content and customer engagement processes E2E.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• Five or more (5+) years of experience in strategic programs, digital transformation, capability deployment, or product/program leadership
• Proven track record of driving execution and delivering outcomes in complex, cross-functional environments
• Strong systems thinking across people, process, technology, and partner ecosystems
• Strong technical foundation in AI/ML, including GenAI and agentic AI concepts, with the ability to understand capabilities, constraints, and practical application within enterprise workflows
• Experience implementing AI-enabled capabilities (GenAI and/or agentic AI) within content, marketing, or digital ecosystems
• Ability to translate technical AI capabilities into practical execution approaches and business-aligned solutions
• Ability to translate strategy into execution plans and operational delivery
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence across Product, Engineering, Compliance, Marketing, and business teams
• Strong stakeholder leadership and ability to influence without direct authority

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Commercial Operations or enterprise content supply chain ecosystems
• Familiarity with DAM, MLR, workflow tools, and marketing platforms
• Experience working with external partners to deliver integrated solutions
• Experience in regulated environments with compliance and governance awareness
• Advanced degree in Business Administration, Data Science, Information Systems, Marketing, Communications, or a related discipline

Responsibilities

• Drive execution of Content Accelerator and DHH strategic programs
• Translate strategic priorities and leadership direction into actionable execution plans, milestones, and measurable outcomes
• Support development and operationalization of future-state business processes, operating models, and capability roadmaps
• Ensure alignment between strategic initiatives and broader DHH transformation priorities
• Act as a key integrator across DHH, DCCE, CEI, Content Accelerator, Product Management, Engineering, and Delivery teams
• Coordinate program activities, dependencies, risks, and decisions across multiple workstreams and stakeholder groups
• Facilitate governance forums, working sessions, and leadership reviews to maintain alignment and momentum
• Partner with Product Owners and Product Line Leads to ensure strategic priorities are incorporated into product roadmaps and delivery plans
• Drive adoption of GenAI, agentic AI, automation, and other emerging capabilities to improve efficiency and effectiveness across content and customer engagement workflows
• Partner with business, product, and technical teams to identify opportunities to embed AI into future-state processes and experiences
• Support experimentation, scaling, and value realization of AI-enabled capabilities
• Help establish repeatable approaches for integrating AI into enterprise workflows and operating models
• Leverage GenAI and agentic AI capabilities to enable execution across the content and marketing lifecycle
• Build strong partnerships with leaders across Content Accelerator, CEI, Marketing, and DHH organizations
• Lead cross-functional communication, alignment, and change management activities supporting strategic initiatives
• Develop executive-ready materials, summaries, and recommendations to support leadership decision-making
• Ensure stakeholders have visibility into program progress, risks, dependencies, and business outcomes
• Coordinate with strategic partners as required (Adobe, Veeva, Accenture, Google) to ensure aligned delivery
• Establish and monitor program success measures, KPIs, adoption metrics, and business outcomes
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, improve efficiency, reduce duplication, and increase reuse across capabilities
• Promote standardization and scalable approaches that support enterprise transformation objectives
• Support continuous improvement efforts to optimize delivery effectiveness and stakeholder experience

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days

What This Job Offers

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