Associate Director, Market Research

Job Description

Within our Digital Human Health organization we are transforming to better power decision-making across our end-to-end commercialization process, from business development to late lifecycle management. As we endeavor, we are seeking a dynamic talent for the role of Associate Director, Primary Market Research

Position Description:

The Market Research Associate Director (Hybrid) will be a main point of contact for their assigned areas of responsibility for our product's marketing / commercial team. The position will plan, prioritize, manage, and execute a scope of work within the Oncology Business Unit. Specifically, the focus of this role will support the Pan-Tumor franchise and other tumor areas as needed.  Responsibilities will include providing strategic input to the extended global team via primary market research projects and secondary data analysis by proactively defining business questions and opportunities, identifying strategic insights, and recommending actionable business solutions.

This person is expected to be an exceptional team player who can comfortably interact with and add value to the existing market research team as well as strategically partner with extended team members including pricing and access, sales, promotion, marketing and our Research & Development Division.  The Associate Director will demonstrate consistently strong leadership skills with an ability to work independently in a rapidly changing environment with a transformational mindset, cultural awareness and resiliency to change.

Key responsibilities include and are not limited to the following:

Market Research & Analytics:

• Develop and oversee execution of an assigned portion of the global market research plan within the product franchise with a strategic mindset and minimal supervision.

• Provide leadership and strategic thinking for assigned primary market research projects for our product including framing critical business questions, identification of information needs, identifying considerations from other data sources, development of research/analysis plans and management of the research process to deliver an objective understanding of key customers, competitor products and current/future market developments.

• Take full ownership of understanding the business challenges/information needs, consider alternatives, propose appropriate method/approach, apply best practices, and proactively consider and/or develop new techniques and innovations to meet objectives.

• Proficient in various market research methodologies and research techniques to design effective research studies

• Complete analyses using available secondary data, syndicated reports and databases and integrate findings into primary market research efforts to build and tell a compelling story and deliver concise and actionable results, on an as-needed basis

Project Management:

• Implement market research studies and manage budget of projects; brief market research vendor partners to deliver what is required (e.g. objectives, timeline, compliance requirements, actionable insights and recommendations); understand vendor capabilities, quality requirements, and recommend innovative options.

• Articulate the rationale, hypotheses, and methodology of research approaches to both the manager and the franchise / client team proactively and ensure the business objectives are met and communicated in an effective way.

• Able to assess and direct vendor technical capabilities and manage risks in the analytic process

• Proactively communicate and facilitate discussion with marketing / commercial teams to ensure that insights are considered in decision-making and planning; integrate a variety of sources/studies to present strategic options to the extended team; provide consultative guidance to marketing / commercial team(s).

Proactive Collaboration

•  Collaborate proactively with cross-functional business partners including marketing communications, market access, commercial team, and the advertising agency to ensure optimal integration for launch and post-launch activities.

• Work with the forecasting team to Assist with analysis to inform the strategic assumptions that are built into brand forecasts and tracking of key performance indicators and benchmarking dashboards.

• Partner with other analytic functions to advance the use of novel data sources including Real World Data.

• Work on and lead ad hoc franchise-wide initiatives as needed.

Position Qualifications:

Education:

• Required: BA/BS

Knowledge and Skills:

• Minimum of eight (8) years of experience in pharmaceutical marketing/market research 

• Past roles in market research, analytics, sales, forecasting, access and pricing, marketing or competitive intelligence

• Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills; demonstrated ability to think strategically and objectively

• Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and understanding of secondary data sets/analytics and epidemiology data.

• Proven analytical expertise and ability to communicative research outputs with effective storytelling that turn data into actionable insights.

• Act as a strategic consultant with ability to quickly establish relationships of trust and credibility and develop effective partnerships with multiple stakeholders and team members

• Proficient technical aptitude to build expertise with various current and innovative market research techniques to provide unique solutions in a rapidly evolving therapeutic area and market landscape

• Ability and comfort in prioritizing and managing multiple requests from both marketing points and extended team members

• Ability to communicate effectively and a strong desire to lead change

Preferred Knowledge and Skills:

• Oncology experience (solid and/or hematologic cancers)

• Launch excellence

• Early commercial development knowledge

• Familiarity with marketing strategy development

• Strong leadership skills around customer focus, decision making, courage & candor, and collaboration / teamwork

• Solid project management skills

• Ability to motivate without authority 

• Ability to support transformation and manage change in a fast-paced environment

Required Skills:

Business Analysis, Marketing, Researching, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Supplier Management, User Research, Waterfall Model

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

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.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$156,900.00 - $247,000.00

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:

06/5/2026

*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.