Director Strategic Planning

MSD • Rahway, NJ

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Enterprise Strategy Office (ESO) develops, implements, and drives enterprise strategy in support of the company, its customers, and shareholders. Its scope includes strategic program management, enterprise strategic planning, risk management, and strategic venture investments in healthcare through the Global Health Innovation fund. The group identifies business-critical challenges, develops and evaluates options, and supports effective implementation and cross-functional engagement.

The Director of Commercial Strategy Development leads and supports strategy development for enterprise-critical commercial initiatives, assessing and designing priorities involving complex, ambiguous questions with significant potential upside. The role spans ongoing company initiatives and the establishment of new strategies and capabilities. It works cross-functionally with senior leaders, including Executive Team, ET-1, and ET-2 members, to socialize and refine initiatives and build support for value creation and adoption of change. The role reports to the Executive Director, Commercial Strategy, Enterprise Strategy Office. Rahway, New Jersey is preferred; candidates from Upper Gwynedd, Pennsylvania will also be considered.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
• At least 4 years of strategy management consulting experience at a top-tier firm, such as BCG, McKinsey, L.E.K., ZS, or Kearney.
• At least 5 years of biopharmaceutical experience across diverse roles of increasing responsibility, including required commercial experience in US or global marketing and asset launches.
• Ability to structure complex commercial problems, develop assessments, and make actionable recommendations in collaboration with commercial colleagues.
• Analytical expertise and external landscape knowledge to develop data-driven insights for recommendations, including experience with or awareness of commercial market assessments for therapeutic or disease-area strategy and target product profile development.
• Ability to influence decision-making in a highly matrixed organization, demonstrating empathy, collaboration, and emotional intelligence.
• Ability to thrive amid ambiguity and bring cross-functional colleagues together to lead high-priority initiatives.
• Ability to prioritize time and solve problems to focus on the most impactful initiatives.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with senior management and across all levels of the business.
• Driven, curious, collaborative professional with a growth mindset, strong organizational skills, and willingness to learn.
• Skills listed include adaptability, analytical tools, budget management, business acumen, business analysis, business decisions, business operations, business opportunity identification, business planning, data-driven decision-making, developing proposals, enterprise leadership, executive presence, industry trend analysis, influencing skills, management consulting, managing ambiguity, market access, market research, oncology marketing, organizational leadership, pharmaceutical industry, and results orientation.

Nice To Haves

• Master of Business Administration or PhD.
• Collaboration and commercial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support development of enterprise-critical commercial initiatives, identifying opportunities and creating evaluations and recommendations in collaboration with commercial executive leaders.
• Partner in implementing critical commercial priorities requiring substantial cross-divisional collaboration, strategic thought partnership, and negotiation.
• Use existing or develop novel strategic frameworks to identify options, evaluate implications, and conduct analytical assessments such as “what you need to believe” analyses to reach recommendations.
• Bring outside-in perspectives and new ideas and priorities to commercial leadership, drawing on knowledge of evolving industry trends.
• Collaborate with commercial leaders on prioritized business-unit needs, launch planning, and launch excellence.
• Partner with commercial and cross-divisional leaders to incorporate market and competitive perspectives into therapeutic-area portfolio strategy, including commercial opportunity sizing and target product profile development.
• Manage internal and external associates dedicated to programs, both directly and indirectly.
• Create thriving and psychologically safe engagements and lead without authority to provide new strategic perspectives.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision healthcare benefits and other insurance benefits for employees and family.
• Retirement benefits, including a 401(k).
• Paid holidays, vacation, compassionate days, and sick days.
• Eligible for an annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

What This Job Offers

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