Dir , Strategic Forecasting

Merck • Rahway, NJ

1d • $190,800 - $300,300 • Hybrid

About The Position

Our Market Access, Insights & Forecasting Team (MAI&F) team is innovating how we understand our patients and their needs. Working cross-functionally, we are inventing new ways of engaging, interacting, and measuring with our customers and patients, leveraging digital, data, and analytics.
We are seeking a Director, Strategic Forecasting Insights, who will be responsible for leading the development of strategic forecasts for a range of products and indications, interpreting their implications, developing insights, and communicating these to the business to help action the marketing strategy.
The individual in this role will work closely with other Digital Human Health (DHH) functions, including Market Research, Data Science, and Payer Analytics to build a strong perspective on the market and asset situation and thus the inputs to the strategic forecast. This individual will also work very closely across a range of commercial stakeholders, including Global and Regional Marketing, Market Access, and Finance. The individual will be both an independent contributor and a team leader, and, together, will act as the primary point of contact for our commercial teams regarding the development of product and indication forecasts and forecast-related insights.
The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of and experience across a range of forecasting methodologies, as well as a strong understanding of their respective business area (oncology, pharma, or vaccines). They will have demonstrated the ability to quarterback highly cross-functional teams across forecasting, market research, and data science, and shown an aptitude for partnering closely with business and finance teams. They will also have an entrepreneurial spirit, consultative mindset, and strong understanding of the available data landscape and sources of insight. This person will help scope, design, and deliver well-defined forecasting projects (including periodic forecasting cycles) and insights.
This role will require interfacing and collaborating with many teams. The candidate will have demonstrated consistently strong leadership skills, an ability to work independently and lead a team, and extensive experience working with larger cross-functional teams. The person will be required to have a growth mindset and embody a culture of continuous learning. Strong communication skills are essential for a candidate to be successful in this role.
Individuals in this role should have demonstrated the ability to mentor, coach, and lead teams (both direct line management and indirect management of individuals with a dotted reporting line). The individual will be responsible for developing the next generation of strategic forecasting leaders within MAI&F by fostering a culture of empowerment and continuous learning and demonstrating a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Individuals with prior experience leading high-performing and successful teams with a strong team-first mindset, empathy, and compassion are highly desired.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in a related discipline required
• Minimum of 8-10+ years of relevant delivery of complex analytical projects in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry using market research and/or large patient or physician databases.
• Experience in developing forecast models and extraction of forecasting insights.
• Direct line management experience is preferred. The candidate should have experience building/leading high-performance teams comprised of other Directors, Associate Directors, Senior Specialists (Consultants, Senior Consultants, Analysts) and enabling successful teams. Demonstrated the ability to collaborate and lead with empathy and compassion.
• Experience leading diverse groups of work colleagues and positively managing ambiguity. Ability to lead cross-functional pods.
• Self-motivated, proactive, with the ability to work independently and collaborate seamlessly. Lead without authority.
• Ability to understand business processes and break down business questions into specific, tangible hypotheses and requirements to guide analysis. Excellent problem-solving skills with an appreciation for data-oriented analytical methods.
• Ability to operate in an unstructured environment and have strong organizational skills to create structure and clarity. Ability to work within a highly matrixed environment and organize/ prioritize work efficiently and effectively to get things done.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or Master’s or Doctorate degree in Engineering, Public Health, Biological Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Medical Sciences preferred
• Therapeutic area experience (for the respective TA of oncology, vaccines, or pharma/rare).
• Advanced forecasting experience, including developing different types of models (patient-based, trend-based, etc.), developing advanced scenarios and simulations, and deeply understanding the nuances of modeling for the respective TA
• Consultative business partner experience (either within a company or as a consultant)
• Prior experience in functions that this person will be partnering closely with, including Marketing, Market Access, Finance, Market Research, Data Science, or Payer Analytics.
• Coding experience in languages such as R, Python, and SQL preferred

Responsibilities

• Determine appropriate forecast modeling approaches, tools, and techniques for your respective asset(s) and/or indication(s).
• Partner closely with Marketing Engagement, Market Research, Data Science, Payer Analytics, and other DHH functions on a continual basis to develop appropriate insights strategies and plans to have the necessary inputs for strategic forecasting.
• Lead your team in running the forecasting cycles aligned with our company's enterprise forecasting process.
• Ability to use the Forecasting digital tool, guide coding experts to implement forecasting flow, and explain the results to stakeholders
• Support ongoing understanding of the engagement with the business regarding actual performance against forecast, including what is driving it.
• Engage closely with the business partners (Marketing, Market Access and Finance) in aligning on inputs, outputs, and the overall forecasting insights for each cycle.
• Bring a range of forecasting capabilities to bear in addressing business strategy and decision-making, including trend-based forecasting, scenario analysis, Monte Carlo analysis, and others.
• Build a team of high-performing strategic forecasters, supporting and enabling their continued development across business knowledge, forecasting techniques, and stakeholder engagement / consultative skills.
• Partner and influence others in a highly matrixed organization, including across large teams across both US and India-based colleagues, ensuring we always operate as One Team.
• Drive frequent, clear communication around the forecasting process, inputs, insights, and other related topics to ensure all stakeholders are aligned.
• Enable interconnected problem-solving with other DHH functional colleagues and business colleagues around targeted business questions.
• Be a thought leader and strategic partner for our business partners via the establishment of close, trust-based relationships.
• Understand business stakeholders' priorities and help develop strategic forecasting-related solutions that support business objectives in collaboration with the broader commercial insight teams.
• Travel may be required (<20%).

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: Director