Senior Director, Clinical Data Management Portfolio, Resource, Operations

Job Description

The Senior Director, Clinical Data Management Portfolio, Resource, Operations reports to the Head of their respective function and serves as the strategic functional lead for functional area portfolio, resource, and operational governance. Accountable for integrated analytics, forecasting, and strategic portfolio insights, this role ensures global alignment across functions, geographies, and stakeholders. As a key member of the functional area leadership team, the Senior Director partners with in-function and cross-functional partners to shape enterprise planning, drive efficiency, and guide long-range operational strategies. 

Responsibilities

Strategic & Functional Leadership:

• Provide functional area operations leadership and direction across the assigned organization; define policies, governance frameworks, and forecasting methodologies; provide operations oversight to monitor consistent execution, quality, and compliance with functional area business processes.

• Represent the functional area portfolio, resource and operations management in enterprise forums; communicate options/risks/trade-offs; serve as escalation point for issues arising within assigned teams or geographies.

• Lead or sponsor global initiatives to improve operational efficiency, continuous improvement leveraging automation / AI, quality by design, and change management in alignment with Global Data Management & Standards (GDMS) priorities. 

• Work with leadership to design the roadmap for the functional area operating model optimization and define guardrails for AI-First planning and reporting standards.

• Champions organizational change strategy; drives adoption of new operating models and digital capabilities across global functions.

Operational Governance, Execution, & Cross-Functional Alignment:

• Oversee capacity modeling, forecasting methodologies, trade-offs, and demand–supply trade-offs aligned with business, financial, and operational objectives to maximize efficiency and outcomes.

• Establish objectives, key results, performance metrics, and dashboards in partnership with relevant stakeholders (IT, Finance, GDMS functional areas & GCTO stakeholders); drive accountability for outcomes.

• In collaboration with process owners, define performance, capacity, and quality indicators for GDMS Operations Reviews and leadership dashboards.

• Govern resource, financial controls, and budget for assigned teams, including productivity benchmarks and service provider/contracting frameworks; ensure adherence to global SLA/SOW standards and maintain compliance and audit readiness.

• Set the strategy for role-specific curricula and proficiency levels; support the development of GDMS-wide training needs that are within scope; build communities of practice; develop future leaders and succession pipelines within Portfolio & Resource Operations team.

• Approve headcount/JD plans and funding cases, and oversee real-time, compliance-driven workload balancing / allocation across geographies - including proactive capacity planning, absence/holiday coverage, and surge redistribution - to ensure business continuity and on-time delivery to regulatory and business timelines.

• Champion Human-First Organization principles in process and tooling decisions and ensure changes improve clarity, workload balance, and decision quality.

People Management & Talent Development:

• Align teams around a clear direction; set clear objectives aligned to organizational goals; assign work and set priorities accounting for work-life balance sustainability.

• Conduct regular check-ins and annual reviews; coach for performance; provide recognition.

• Develop career plans; create growth opportunities and promotion cases; ensure appropriate training and mentoring.

• Lead recruiting and hiring and oversee performance management activities, including management of sensitive employee-relations matters in partnership with HR.

• Coordinate on-shore/off-shore and contingent resources; ensure role clarity and effective handoffs.

• Manage an operating budget and optimize spend against priorities.

• Inspires and ensures that team leaders are effectively supporting and empowering their individual leaders.

• Oversight of FSP (Functional Service Provider), contracts, people, and attrition.

• Ability to architect or apply enterprise-level capacity modeling and operational forecasting across regions/functional areas and connect to operational drivers or workforce cost modeling; ability to use analytical and forecasting tools (e.g., dashboards, capacity models) to inform resourcing, planning, and operational decisions.

• Ability to link portfolio management, financial planning, and performance into unified decision models.

• Applies cross-functional planning, cost management, and resource prioritization to clinical data operations, with a strong end-to-end understanding of data management and experience designing and running governance that connects data, people, processes, and performance across systems.

• Ability to apply industry benchmarks and internal baselines to set targets, measure maturity, and drive continuous improvement.

• Proven experience implementing risk-based and digital data practices, using data and automation to focus effort where risks are highest.

• Ability to define and enforce standards for integration, reuse, and scalability of data, tools, and solutions.

• Strong understanding of clinical data management operational systems and related performance measures.

• Expertise in KPI and data-product governance (definitions, lineage, quality controls, lifecycle) to maintain a single source of truth.

• Experience developing, implementing, and applying portfolio and capacity models to manage cross-functional operations

• Strategy and consulting skills to drive operating model adoption; experience developing and utilizing value realization frameworks to drive business optimization

• Deep knowledge of ICH/GCP (International Council of Harmonization - Good Clinical Practices) guidelines and how they apply to clinical data management activities.

Clinical Data Management-specific Technical Skills:

• Able to apply cross-functional planning, cost management, and resource prioritization to clinical data operations scenarios.

Non-technical knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Strategic leadership with the ability to align diverse teams and stakeholders around shared objectives, interfaces, and responsibilities across functions, geographies, and seniority levels.

• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, motivating and guiding cross-functional and virtual teams without direct reporting authority.

• Exceptional communication, influence, and storytelling skills, including the ability to convey complex or technical information to diverse audiences.

• Ability to integrate business, operational, and people dimensions into effective decision-making; coordinates work and drives timely resolution of complex issues.

• Resilient and adaptable, able to balance strategic vision with operational execution and perform effectively under pressure.

• Demonstrated disciplined prioritization, focusing teams on critical metrics and high-value initiatives.

• Advanced negotiation skills in addition to stakeholder management.

• Ability to create a high-performance, inclusive culture that attracts, develops, and retains senior talent.

• Demonstrated ability to drive large-scale change leadership, embed innovation, and drive continuous improvement initiatives through designing communications, training, and adoption strategies to standardize ways of working globally.

• Fluent in English with excellent written and verbal communication skills to clearly convey complex or technical information.

Enterprise Leadership Skills

• Networking & Partnerships | Builds strategic partnerships across GDMS, IT, Finance, GCTO stakeholders, and process owners to align portfolio priorities, resolve cross-functional constraints, and drive transparency in performance, capacity, and funding decisions across geographies.

• Influence | Influences senior stakeholders by presenting clear, data-backed insights and trade-off scenarios, securing alignment on resourcing, funding, and operational priorities that advance shared enterprise objectives.

• Talent Development | Develops a high-performing Portfolio & Resource Operations organization by defining capability standards, building succession pipelines, coaching leaders, and aligning workforce strategy to evolving business and regulatory demands.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Life science, Data or Information technology with 13 years of experience in data management, project management, life sciences, or pharmaceutical industries including:

  • 5 years of people management experience.

  • Demonstrated experience in managing operations for large, complex, geographic diverse departments including budget, contracts, resource utilization, sponsorship and leading cross functional projects.

• Advanced Degree (Masters or Doctorate) in Business, Life Science, Data, Information Technology with 10 years of experience in data management, project management, life sciences, or pharmaceutical industries including:

  • 5 years of people management experience.

  • Demonstrated experience in managing operations for large, complex, geographic diverse departments including budget, contracts, resource utilization, sponsorship and leading cross functional projects.

clinicaltrialjobs

EligibleforERP

Required Skills:

Budget Management, Clinical Data Management, Clinical Study Management, Clinical Study Protocols, Clinical Trial Management, Cost Management, Cross-Functional Leadership, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Operational Efficiency, Operations Management, People Leadership, Project Sponsorship, Resource Utilization, Strategic Leadership

Preferred Skills:

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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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The salary range for this role is

$173,200.00 - $272,600.00

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

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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:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

05/27/2026

*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.