Assoc Director Discovery & Translational Portfolio Management (Hybrid)

Job Description

Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) sits in the R&D organization at our Company's Research Laboratories. The Project Managers and Alliance Managers in GPAM are core members of discovery, development, and alliance teams at our Company. Project Managers drive these cross-functional teams to deliver projects and products that improve human health and our Company's business, and Alliance Managers ensure successful collaborations with our R&D alliance partners. The GPAM Project Management Office (PMO) is responsible for the development, sustainment, and training of GPAM-owned systems, tools, and business processes as well as alignment with Finance, IT, and functional area operations groups within our Company.

Position Description/Summary

The Associate Director, Discovery & Translational Portfolio Management, is a core functional area member of Project and Leadership teams in Discovery and Early Development. Partnering with Therapeutic Area and functional area leadership, the Associate Director, Discovery & Translational Portfolio Management will help plan and execute our Company's discovery, preclinical, translational pharmacology, development, and in-line portfolio efforts for early-stage assets. 

• This role is designed for a high-performing individual who thrives in complex, matrixed environments and is eager to take ownership of a Therapeutic Area (TA) portfolio. In close partnership with TA and functional leadership, the Associate Director will shape portfolio insights, drive cross-functional alignment, and enable high-quality decision-making across Discovery and Early Development.

• Operating at the intersection of strategy and execution, this role connects data, scientific context, and business priorities to support portfolio-level planning, prioritization, and execution. The position offers significant exposure to senior leadership and governance forums, and the opportunity to build enterprise portfolio perspective over time.

• Portfolio managers are strategic partners to the Project Leads, Therapeutic Area (TA) Leads and governance committee chairs and may manage multiple cross-functional and/or cross-divisional committees. They are also expected to contribute to ongoing business process improvement and talent development in GPAM.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading portfolio management activities for early-stage R&D programs (discovery through IND/Ph1) including owning the integrated view of the TA portfolio (timing, key milestones, risks, and dependencies), in partnership with the TA Lead and Discovery Core Team Leads

• Translating portfolio strategy into actionable plans, including synthesizing, and articulating portfolio strategy and translating it into execution

• Preparing regular reports and presentations for senior management/governance committees/leadership committees, with a focus on developing clear, data-driven insights and narratives to enable decision-making.

• Capturing and communicating various metrics on the portfolio, including resources, project distribution across sites, phases of development, etc. and translating these into actionable portfolio insights

• Providing our Company's organizational and process expertise to teams to enable navigation of discovery, development, and corporate governance and business requirements.

• Collaborating effectively with functional areas, support functions, and alliance partner functions (if applicable) to facilitate project/portfolio delivery.

• Managing or administrating strategic, cross-functional or cross-divisional management, governance, or alliance committees

• Proactively surfacing key risks, trade-offs, and opportunities across the portfolio, and driving alignment across stakeholders in support of decision-making

• Providing mentoring, coaching, and oversight to Specialist/Senior Specialist project/Portfolio Managers working on common projects

• Actively participating and completing ongoing training and personal development activities to increase leadership competency and to gain knowledge and skill in the discipline of project management and the business and science of pharmaceutical product discovery and development.

• Partnering with Finance to ensure resource/budget planning and management.

• Collaborating with IT and PMO colleagues to maintain portfolio tools, dashboards, and reporting systems.

• Identifying and implementing best practices in portfolio management and governance, to drive process improvements and operational efficiencies, including contributing to the continuous evolution of portfolio and governance processes within GPAM.

Education, Experience, and Skill Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; concentration in a scientific or applied discipline strongly preferred

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in project or portfolio management or a related role required.

• Demonstrated leadership and ethics; demonstrated ability to hold others accountable for delivery

• Proven ability to lead and influence in highly matrixed environments without direct authority

• Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, create clarity, and drive alignment across complex stakeholder groups

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team setting, including demonstrated experience building and leading teams, committees, task forces, etc.

• Strong collaboration and problem-solving skills; able to establish good working relationships with employees at all levels, resolve conflict and provide feedback, and to devise and implement creative solutions to problems

• Strong communication skills, both oral and written; demonstrated ability to speak up appropriately and to raise issues to teams and management

• Ability to connect strategy, data, and execution to generate actionable portfolio-level insights

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree preferred (MS, PhD, MBA)

• Experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry strongly preferred, specifically in the phases of discovery, preclinical and/or early development.

• Project management certification (PMP), Portfolio management certification (PfMP) and/or formal coursework/training in project or portfolio management

Travel

• Yes, 5-10% of the time

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Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Biopharmaceutical Industry, Budget Development, Business Processes, Business Process Improvements, Business Process Management (BPM), Clinical Trial Management, Corporate Governance, Cross-Functional Alignment, Data Analysis, Data Insights, Decision Making, Feasibility Studies, Innovative Solutions, Knowledge Management, Personal Development, Portfolio Management, Prioritization, Project Delivery, Project Management, Project Management Tools, Project Planning, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management {+ 2 more}

Preferred Skills:

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Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

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As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

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The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits.  Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

06/11/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.