Assoc. Dir, Clin. Operations - Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence Regional Lead

Merck; Argentina; On-site; ARS 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck is seeking an experienced professional to join a global clinical operations team and drive the Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence program within the assigned region. You will act as the regional liaison for budgets and payments, translating global strategies into effective country-level execution.

The role emphasizes governance, process standardization, and collaboration with Finance, Tax, Compliance, and field teams to ensure compliant, scalable operations across budgeting,

Qualifications

• Minimum of seven (7) years of clinical research experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
• Meaningful experience in site budgets, site payments, clinical financial operations, process improvement, and related operational excellence activities.
• Strong working knowledge of site budget and payment processes, systems, controls, data flows, fair market value principles, and regional/country operating requirements.
• Ability to gather and document business requirements, analyze data, support testing and validation, coordinate cross-functional resolution, and translate changes into regional execution.

Responsibilities

• Support the implementation of the global Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence strategy within the assigned region.
• Serve as the primary regional connection point for Site Budgets & Payments process and system matters.
• Promote globally consistent end-to-end processes, documentation, controls, and ways of working while incorporating regional variations.
• Coordinate regional assessment of complex budget and payment issues and partner with teams to address needs.
• Clarify business needs, rules, and acceptance criteria, supporting design, testing, implementation, adoption, and validation.
• Translate regional requirements into enhancements across site budget and payment platforms and integrations.

Skills

Clinical research

Site budgets

Site payments

Process improvement

Stakeholder management

Training & enablement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Job Description

We are looking for an experienced professional to join a global clinical operations organization and support the implementation of the Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence strategy and roadmap within the assigned region.

This role serves as a key regional connection point for the end-to-end processes and systems supporting site budgets and site payments, helping translate global strategies into effective regional and country-level execution.

The position brings regional and country requirements, operational experience, risks, dependencies, and improvement opportunities into global process and system governance. It supports consistent, scalable, compliant, and sustainable ways of working across budgeting, payment setup, payment execution, systems, and downstream processes, while identifying regional or local needs requiring evaluation or approved adaptations.

The role partners closely with global and regional Clinical Operations teams, Site Budgets, Site Payment Operations, country delivery teams, Technology, Business Enablement, Finance, Tax, Compliance, external vendors, and other functional stakeholders to support integrated solution design, implementation, adoption, and continuous improvement.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Support the implementation of the global Site Budgets & Payments Operational Excellence strategy and roadmap within the assigned region.
• Serve as the primary regional connection point for Site Budgets & Payments process and system matters, bringing country requirements, user experience, risks, dependencies, and improvement opportunities into global governance and prioritization.
• Promote globally consistent end-to-end processes, documentation, controls, and ways of working, while identifying regional or local variations that require evaluation, approval, or incorporation into the operating model.
• Coordinate regional assessment of complex or recurring budget and payment process or system issues, partnering with the appropriate teams to address immediate operational needs and escalating systemic issues for cross-functional root-cause analysis and permanent remediation.
• Partner with Site Budgets and Site Payment Operations teams to clarify business needs, rules, functional requirements, controls, and acceptance criteria, supporting integrated solution design, testing, implementation, adoption, and validation.
• Gather, document, and translate regional business requirements and operational insights into enhancements across site budget and payment platforms, supporting applications, reporting tools, automation, and relevant upstream and downstream integrations.
• Participate in user acceptance testing, operational readiness assessments, controlled pilots, release evaluations, and post-implementation monitoring to confirm that approved solutions work effectively within regional and country contexts.
• Use operational data, trend analysis, quality findings, stakeholder feedback, and user experience insights to identify recurring issues, capability gaps, and improvement priorities, as well as to measure adoption and benefits.
• Lead or support regional enablement through training, communications, onboarding, knowledge management, office hours, job aids, and self-service resources, reinforcing approved support and escalation pathways.
• Identify and help scale practical automation, analytics, and artificial intelligence-enabled solutions, ensuring appropriate business, technology, compliance, and governance review before broader deployment.
• Represent the region in governance forums, working groups, vendor discussions, and cross-functional initiatives, communicating decisions, risks, dependencies, and actions to relevant stakeholders.
• Foster accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, organizational learning, and responsible digital and data-driven ways of working.

Education:

Bachelor's degree required, preferably in a scientific, business, finance, technology, or related discipline.

Advanced degree is considered an advantage.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of clinical research experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, including meaningful experience in site budgets, site payments, clinical financial operations, process improvement, implementation, and related operational excellence activities.
• Strong working knowledge of site budget and payment processes , systems, controls, data flows, fair market value principles, and regional or country operating requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to gather and document business requirements, analyze operational data and recurring issues, support testing and validation activities, coordinate cross-functional resolution, and translate global process or system changes into practical regional execution.
• Strong collaboration, influencing, stakeholder management, communication, presentation, change leadership, and prioritization.

Knowledge of ap