Executive Director, Market Access

Job Description

Our Global Market Access (GMAx) organization is dedicated to delivering breakthrough innovations that extend and improve the lives of individuals worldwide. Our focus is on innovation and launch execution excellence, translating scientific advancements into impactful medicines that help people globally. This role presents an exciting opportunity to advance patient access and has a significant impact on our growing vaccines & infectious diseases portfolio.

Our company's Influenza pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) asset is a first-in-class innovative investigational long-acting, strain-agnostic antiviral agent that addresses many of the gaps in the influenza landscape and targets the unmet need to prevent influenza infection and related complications. The asset was recently acquired from CIDARA Therapeutics and is currently in Phase 3 of clinical development. The asset offers substantial opportunities to reduce burden of influenza-related complications in high-risk individuals and requires comprehensive go-to-market and segmentation strategy, value proposition, and stakeholder engagement plan to optimize patient access globally.  

The Executive Director, Global Market Access is a senior leader responsible for developing and implementing sustainable market access, pricing, and reimbursement strategy globally and integration into the broader enterprise portfolio, accounting for the evolving policy landscape for access and pricing. The leader will shape enterprise‑level strategy, and drives alignment with R&D, commercial (US & Ex-US), and global market access functions to enable timely, broad, and sustainable access for this newly acquired asset.  Reporting to the Associate Vice President, Global Market Access Vaccines & Infectious Diseases, the Executive Director serves on the Vaccines Infectious Diseases Access & Pricing leadership team and has significant influence on investment, launch strategy, and long‑term portfolio value.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead global payer value proposition development and integrated access & pricing strategies leading to Payer Value materials (ex. Dossiers).

• Partner closely with the cross functional team including Marketing and Product Development Teams (PDTs), R&D, Finance, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Medical Affairs, Policy, Communications, regional and country teams to shape long‑term access strategy and evidence plans in the US and ex-US.

• Anticipate environmental and competitive pressures, lead development of innovative pricing and access solutions efforts including partnership with Sustainable Access Solutions (SAS) team and others on GMAx LT.

• Oversee payer and HTA/NITAG insights, market research, policy shaping, and 4th hurdle assessments to inform investment and launch decisions.

• Owner of therapeutic level access & pricing strategy including tradeoffs, risk tolerance, escalation and overall governance and compliance responsibility.

• Provide access assumptions for business development, portfolio strategy, and enterprise‑wide prioritization.

• Build organizational capability and talent pipeline across the Vaccines Infectious Diseases team.

Education:

• Required: Bachelor’s degree

• Preferred: MBA or advanced degree

Experience and Skills:

• ≥10 years in market access, pricing/reimbursement, public health, health economics, sales/marketing, or market research

• Knowledge and experience in infectious disease, preferably in vaccines

• Prior experience developing global business strategy

• Knowledgeable about health economic tools and techniques

• People management experience

• Demonstrated excellence in strategic leadership, innovation, team building, cross-functional influence, and executive communication

• Demonstrated innovative mindset and high level of comfort working in a white space environment that is necessary for innovation

• Demonstrated ability to understand, develop and communicate scientific based strategies and messages

• Comfort and confidence in working with teams and routinely demonstrates inclusive behaviors; actively seeks out different perspectives and experiences

Travel: 25% of the time

Work Location: Rahway, NJ or Upper Gwynedd, PA (Hybrid)

Required Skills:

Accountability, Accountability, Business Development, Clinical Development, Cross-Cultural Awareness, Decision Making, Developing Pricing Strategies, Direct Marketing, Extensive Traveling, Film Acting, Global Market, Health Economics, Infectious Disease, Interpersonal Relationships, Latin American Markets, Leadership, Market Research, Medical Affairs, Patient Assistance Programs, People Leadership, Pricing Processes, Pricing Strategies, Product Development, Product Management, Public Health {+ 5 more}

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.

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U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$255,800.00 - $402,700.00

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:

Domestic/International

VISA Sponsorship:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

NA

Job Posting End Date:

04/29/2026

*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.