Director, Marketing

MSD•North Wales, PA

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

Our company has been committed to advancing science for the treatment and prevention of HIV for more than 35 years. The HIV Business Unit is rapidly growing, with multiple marketed products, an investigational asset in late-stage development, and a robust research pipeline. We are recruiting a strategic, experienced leader to serve as Director, Scientific Strategy & KOL Engagement for HIV Treatments. This role will lead scientific engagement, thought-leader strategy, and the team responsible for translating scientific insights into commercial and medical strategies that advance care for PLWH and business objectives. Reporting to the U.S. Commercial Leader, HIV Treatments, and based in Upper Gwynedd, PA, 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. You will build and lead a high-performing team that partners across Medical Affairs, Commercial, Policy, and Global functions to ensure compliant, impactful scientific engagement across the U.S. HIV community.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
Minimum of 8 to 10 years of relevant pharmaceutical industry experience in KOL management, medical/scientific engagement, field medical, or related roles supporting commercial or medical strategy.
Strong strategic acumen with proven ability to craft and advance compelling, evidence‑driven scientific narratives.
Experience in HIV therapeutic area.
Demonstrated success in building and maintaining high-quality scientific relationships and networks within a therapeutic area.
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.
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 teams and 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 frequently for congresses, advisory meetings, and field engagements (up to 30% travel, including occasional weekends/evenings).
Accountability
Adaptability
Creativity
Digital Marketing
Market Access
Marketing Automation
Marketing Budget Management
Market Research
Omnichannel Marketing
People Leadership
Pharmaceutical Sales Marketing
Product Launches
Strategic Planning
Strategic Thinking
Teamwork

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA, MPH, PharmD, MD, MS, or equivalent) preferred.
Existing KOL networks in HIV strongly preferred.
Prior experience in a Medical Affairs, Field Medical, or Scientific Affairs leadership role.
Familiarity with omnichannel approaches to HCP engagement and digital meeting platforms.
Communication
Marketing Strategies

Responsibilities

Lead development of scientific narrative for the HIV portfolio 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 U.S. HIV 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 medical education aligned to the scientific narrative and brand priorities; ensure content meets educational and compliance standards.
Build and manage a U.S. HIV 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.
Build, lead, and mentor a Scientific Strategy & Engagement team including 2 scientific strategy marketers and up to 4 Regional Clinical Liaisons RCLs; set team strategy, priorities, KPIs, and career development plans.
Foster a high-performing culture of collaboration, accountability, scientific rigor, and continuous improvement.
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.