Executive Director, Procurement

Job Description

The Executive Director leads a procurement team responsible for providing sourcing & supplier management support across Discovery, Pre-Clinical & Translational Medicine and Development Sciences & Clinical Supply, Research and Development Division (R&D).

The Executive Director will lead the development of procurement strategy, guiding and implementing global category management while supporting business stakeholders in achieving operational delivery and performance through the supplier base.  The incumbent will develop and maintain strong relationships with key executive business leaders across R&D and serve as a bridge to enable analytical and process tech transfers to our Manufacturing Division.

Primary activities include, but are not limited to: 

• Leadership – As a key leader of a category of spend (exceeding $1.5 Billion annually), responsible for developing and implementing sourcing strategy and ensuring alignment, compliance and delivery of required business performance. 

• Organizational Development – Build a core team of procurement professionals who have direct responsibility for sourcing of projects. Responsibility includes effective talent management, proactively building a recruitment bench & succession planning.  

• Change Management – Adopt high quality change practices with customers and stakeholders, building and implementing an organizational culture which is customer focused, results driven and sustainable.  Be a personal exemplar of our company's Enterprise Leadership Skills.  

• Performance – Deliver ongoing value capture targets as required, as well as meeting critical business requirements for AQSCI.   

• Relationships – Build outstanding relationships with the business stakeholder community, fellow procurement and finance professionals and our company's supplier network.

• Global – Ensure that the approach adopted is aligned with and supports our company's global procurement strategy and Global Category Management and Ways of Working.

• Sustainability – Actively support sustainability efforts, which include but are not limited to expanding engagement with new suppliers to provide opportunities for economic inclusion and championing environmental sustainability goals across Scopes 1, 2 and 3.

 

Education:

• Bachelor's degree required in engineering and/or life sciences. 

• Graduate degree and MBA preferred. 

Required Experience and Skills:

• 10 years procurement and business management experience. 

• Demonstrated executive presence

• Strong communication skills and ability to drive change in an environment of scientific innovation and ambiguity. 

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Technical – Broad base of core pharma R&D, Research and Direct procurement category knowledge preferred, including specific R&D experience in small and large molecule pipeline portfolio covering early discovery & development phase, pharmaceutical sciences as well as pre-clinical development segments.  

Required Skills:

Clinical Supply Chain Management, Clinical Supply Chain Management, Commercial Contract Negotiations, Cultural Awareness, Customer-Oriented, Global Team Management, Global Travel Management, Governance Management, IT Project Leadership, Leadership, Life Science, Organizational Culture, Organizational Development (OD), Pharmaceutical Sciences, Procurement, Procurement Consulting, Procurement Strategies, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Procurement Planning, Succession Planning, Supplier Management, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Metrics, Supply Chain Processes, Sustainability Initiatives {+ 1 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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The salary range for this role is

$231,900.00 - $365,000.00

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:

1st - Day

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.