Associate Director, US Scientific Strategy & KOL Engagement – HIV Prevention

Merck • North Wales, PA

1d • $142,400 - $224,100 • Hybrid

About The Position

Join the US launch team for an investigational Phase III HIV prevention asset to lead scientific strategy & KOL engagement. Reporting to the future Director HCP Marketing Product Owner, this role will lead scientific engagement, thought-leader strategy, and be responsible for translating scientific insights into commercial and medical strategies that advance care for people who may benefit from PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) and business objectives. This is a high-visibility role that will shape scientific advocacy, KOL (key opinion leader) engagement, speaker and congress strategy, and the integration of KOL insights into brand planning and cross-functional go-to-market activities.
The ideal candidate for this role is someone with a demonstrated record of strong strategic thinking, ability to comprehend and translate complex scientific & clinical data and deliver results working cross-collaboratively and leading without authority.

Requirements

• A minimum of 5 years of healthcare industry experience, including at least 3 years in strategic marketing or Scientific Leader facing role
• Strong strategic acumen with proven ability to craft and advance compelling, evidence‑driven scientific narratives
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining high-quality scientific relationships and networks within a therapeutic area.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable delivering presentations to senior leadership and external experts.
• Strong cross-functional partnering skills and demonstrated ability to influence in a matrixed environment without direct authority
• Experience managing external vendors/agency partners, with fiscal responsibility for budgets.
• Deep understanding of compliance and regulatory requirements governing scientific engagement and HCP-facing activities in the U.S.
• Flexibility and readiness to travel for congresses, advisory meetings, and field engagements (including occasional weekends/evenings).
• A growth mindset, strong collaboration and business agility.

Nice To Haves

• HIV Treatment or Prevention, or related public health experience
• Product launches and pre-launch commercialization activities
• Proven self-starter with a hands-on, results-driven approach: proactively identifies opportunities, removes barriers, and delivers outcomes with minimal supervision.
• Ability to influence without authority and drive team towards common goal
• Familiarity with omnichannel marketing and digital channel integration, as well as agile marketing process
• Strong track record of designing and executing speaker programs, advisory boards, and congress strategies that align with business and scientific objectives.
• Proven ability to synthesize KOL insights into strategic recommendations that impact brand positioning, evidence generation, and commercialization.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of scientific narrative for HIV prevention (PrEP) in partnership with Medical Affairs, Outcomes Research, Global Marketing, HCP Marketing, and other stakeholders.
• Advance scientific narrative by integrating into brand strategy and working with cross-functional teams to define and prioritize evidence needs that support clinical positioning, payer value, and future pipeline decisions; translate gaps into actionable evidence-generation and advocacy plans.
• Continuously monitor emerging science, guidelines, and competitive data; educate marketing and engagement teams on key developments and ensure the scientific narrative and materials are updated accordingly.
• Own identification, mapping, and profiling of national, regional, and emerging scientific leaders, clinical experts, and relevant society contacts across the US HIV prevention ecosystem including HIV Community
• Maintain a prioritized, dynamic KOL landscape aligned to brand and portfolio objectives, and surface relationship- and insight-priorities to cross-functional partners.
• Design and execute strategic, compliance‑aligned engagement plans (advisory boards, external expert meetings, group input meetings, site visits, customer strategy sessions) that generate prioritized, actionable insights.
• Ensure engagements are explicitly linked to business questions and evidence needs; convert KOL input into clear recommendations for brand positioning, messaging, and evidence-generation priorities.
• Lead development of omnichannel medical education aligned to the scientific narrative and brand priorities; ensure content meets educational and compliance standards.
• Build and manage a U.S. HIV PrEP speaker bureau: identify faculty, oversee onboarding and training, and ensure speakers consistently reflect approved scientific platforms and messaging.
• Develop and lead congress strategies to maximize scientific impact and insights capture across national, regional, and specialty meetings, including sponsorships, programming, and satellite activities.
• Coordinate logistics and stakeholder participation to ensure seamless execution and capture of strategic learnings.
• Capture, synthesize, and operationalize real‑time qualitative and quantitative insights from KOL interactions, GIMs, speaker feedback, and field inputs.
• Partner with Data & Analytics and Medical Affairs to triangulate HCP insights with clinical, real-world, and outcomes data to inform brand strategy, evidence-generation plans, and commercial tactics—ensuring insights are documented, prioritized, and tracked to decision outcomes.
• Ensure all scientific engagement, speaker, and congress activities comply with internal policies, industry codes, and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee external vendor and agency relationships, ensuring quality deliverables, timelines, and budget stewardship.

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
• annual bonus
• long-term incentive

What This Job Offers

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