Associate Director - Communications (M / F / d)

We strive to support a sustainable and equitable National Healthcare Service where reliable, scientifically validated, and unbiased information plays a crucial role.

The Pharmaceutical Industry needs to build and consolidate a transparent dialogue with all stakeholders, including the media, positioning the Company and boosting its reputation based on facts, while reaching citizens and patients through all available media with an ethical and evidence-based approach.

Our company’s Policy & Communications team collaborates with all relevant stakeholders in the Italian environment (e.g., the government, policy organizations at local and national levels, patient associations, academicians, and the media). We address legislative and regulatory issues that promote and protect the discovery of innovative medicine and vaccines while improving and protecting patient access to care. We carefully monitor and manage our Company’s reputation by communicating the work we do to improve lives.

The role of the Associate Director - Communications significantly contributes to positioning our Company as a relevant and key actor in the Italian healthcare system and to driving Company reputation through communication activities.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Designing and executing all communication strategies and plans (traditional and new media) for selected therapeutic areas, particularly Infectious Diseases, Anesthesia, Antibiotics, and Diabetes.
2. Translating business needs into communication strategies to position our Company as a key player in the Italian healthcare environment.
3. Developing narratives and storytelling to position our company as a leading entity in the country, emphasizing its Corporate Social Responsibility activities, footprint, assets, and investments.
4. Enhancing the Company’s reputation and image by leveraging all available opportunities.
5. Creating content for our company’s digital ecosystem in Italy, aligned with corporate and local strategies and ensuring compliance, while implementing multichannel media plans.
6. Engaging employees through a comprehensive internal communication plan.
7. Partnering with key public-private stakeholders, including patient associations, for innovative communication initiatives.
8. Scouting new stakeholders in the information and digital sectors, including media partnerships.
9. Fostering a positive and inclusive team environment, contributing to a workplace culture aligned with our values and principles.

The position reports to the Executive Director of Policy & Communications and is part of a team covering Government relations and external communication.

Qualifications and Requirements

• University degree in political science, law, public health, natural sciences, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in Life Sciences companies’ communication departments or in PR agencies, newspapers, or magazines, with skills in storytelling, multichannel media plans, content creation/management for social media and websites, and good networking with scientific and lay press journalists (online and offline).
• Proven ability to establish and manage strong partnerships and collaborations with various stakeholders and advise senior leadership.
• Effective leadership skills and the ability to take responsibility for key organizational issues and anticipate challenges.
• Supervisory skills with the ability to lead cross-functional teams toward organizational goals.
• Ability to analyze complex issues and summarize key points effectively.
• Excellent communication skills in Italian and English, both written and verbal.
• Ability to prepare talking points and concise briefing memos.
• Diplomacy, discretion, and multitasking ability in a fast-paced environment.

Who we are

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada, and MSD elsewhere. For over a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, we continue to lead in research to deliver innovative health solutions and improve disease prevention and treatment worldwide.

Our goal is to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company globally. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to healthcare through policies, programs, and partnerships.

We remain at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases such as cancer, HIV, Ebola, and emerging animal diseases.

Our purpose is to save and improve lives for generations to come.