Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence Regional Lead

Merck•North Wales, PA

6d•$142,400 - $224,100•Hybrid

About The Position

The Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence Regional Lead supports implementation of the global Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence strategy and roadmap within an assigned region. The role connects regional and country teams with global processes and systems, translating global direction into effective regional and country execution. It brings regional requirements, operating experience, risks, dependencies, and improvement opportunities into global process and system governance, supporting consistent, scalable, compliant, and sustainable approaches to site budgets and payments while identifying local needs that may require evaluation or approved variation. The role partners with the Head of Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence, the B2P Process & Systems Lead, Site Budgets, Site Payment Operations, regional and country delivery teams, Digital/IT, Business Enablement, Finance, Tax, Compliance, vendors, and other functional owners. It supports integrated solution design, implementation, adoption, and continuous improvement. The opportunity is hybrid or remote; remote work applies only to people outside commuting distance of the listed locations, while those within 50 miles are expected to work hybrid. The primary location is North Wales (Upper Gwynedd), Pennsylvania, with 10% travel. Relocation is not offered, and visa sponsorship is not available. The position is regular, first-shift/day, and eligible for an annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable. The salary range for the primary location is $142,400 to $224,100.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; a scientific, business, finance, technology, or related discipline is preferred.
At least seven years of clinical research experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, including meaningful experience in site budgets, site payments, clinical financial operations, process improvement, implementation, or related operational-excellence work.
Strong working knowledge of B2P processes, systems, controls, data flows, Fair Market Value principles, and regional or country operating requirements.
Ability to gather and document requirements, analyze data and recurring issues, support testing and validation, coordinate cross-functional resolution, and translate global process or system changes into practical regional execution.
Strong collaboration, influencing, stakeholder management, communication, presentation, change leadership, and prioritization skills in a global matrixed environment.
Knowledge of GCP/ICH and applicable regulatory and compliance requirements.
Technical aptitude with Excel, analytics or BI tools, automation, and responsible AI-enabled ways of working.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree is a plus.
Clinical research.

Responsibilities

Support implementation of the global Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence strategy and roadmap in the assigned region, aligned with the Head of Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence and the B2P Process & Systems Lead.
Serve as the primary regional connection point for Site Budgets & Payments process and system matters, bringing country requirements, user experience, risks, dependencies, and improvement opportunities into global governance and prioritization.
Promote globally consistent end-to-end processes, documentation, controls, and ways of working, while identifying regional or local variations for evaluation, approval, or incorporation into the operating model.
Coordinate regional triage of complex or recurring budget and payment process or system issues; ensure immediate operational containment remains with the relevant delivery or capability owner and escalate systemic issues for cross-functional root-cause analysis and permanent remediation.
Partner with Site Budgets and Site Payment Operations to clarify business needs, rules, functional requirements, controls, and acceptance criteria, and support integrated solution design, testing, implementation, adoption, and validation.
Gather, document, and translate regional business requirements and operational insights for enhancements to site budget and payment platforms, supporting applications, reporting tools, automation, and relevant upstream and downstream integrations.
Participate in user acceptance testing, operational-readiness assessment, controlled pilots, release evaluation, and post-implementation monitoring; confirm approved solutions work effectively in regional and country contexts.
Use operational data, trend analysis, quality findings, stakeholder feedback, and user experience to identify recurring issues, capability gaps, and improvement priorities, and measure adoption and benefits.
Lead or support regional enablement through training, communications, onboarding, knowledge management, office hours, job aids, and self-service resources; reinforce approved support and escalation pathways.
Identify and help scale practical automation, analytics, and AI-enabled solutions, ensuring appropriate business, technology, compliance, and governance review before broader deployment.
Represent the region in governance forums, working groups, vendor discussions, and cross-functional initiatives; communicate decisions, risks, dependencies, and actions to affected stakeholders.
Foster accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, organizational learning, and responsible digital and data-driven ways of working.