Associate Director, Community Impact & Engagement

MSD Malaysia; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck seeks an Associate Director, Community Impact, to drive execution of the U.S. community engagement strategy within the Global Impact Investing and Giving (GIIG) pillar.

The role coordinates with multiple internal stakeholders and seven Community Impact Liaisons to ensure compliant, non-duplicative and strategically aligned activities. The position emphasizes program management, governance, and learning across priority communities, balancing grant review processes with effective

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, Health Policy, Business, Life Sciences, Public Administration, or related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in program operations, program management, public health, community health, or related field.
• Strong experience in operations management, implementation planning, and coordination of complex initiatives with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience leading work through influence in a matrixed environment without direct reporting authority.
• Experience managing projects with multiple workstreams, timelines, dependencies, and stakeholders.
• Experience supporting grantmaking or community-based program processes, including coordination of application review, approvals, contracting, and reporting.
• Experience working across internal cross-functional stakeholders to align priorities, support compliance, and reduce duplication of effort.
• Strong program and project management skills, with demonstrated ability to drive execution and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Lead execution and implementation of key initiatives and directives identified by the Head of Global Community Impact and Engagement.
• Serve as the primary program coordination lead to drive follow-through, track progress, and support timely execution across the CIL model.
• Coordinate day-to-day program operations, including planning, milestone tracking, issue identification, escalation, and follow-up on key deliverables.
• Support ongoing learning related to emerging trends, evolving community needs, and local insights across priority U.S. communities.
• Partner with Community Impact Liaisons and internal stakeholders to ensure work remains relevant, coordinated, compliant, non-duplicative, and aligned with broader company goals.
• Support grantmaking processes, including application intake, proposal review coordination, internal approvals, contracting, and reporting.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional coordination

Influence without authority

Analytical thinking

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Public Health / Health Policy / Business

Job description

Merck seeks an Associate Director, Community Impact, to drive execution of the U.S. community engagement strategy within the Global Impact Investing and Giving (GIIG) pillar.

The role coordinates with multiple internal stakeholders and seven Community Impact Liaisons to ensure compliant, non-duplicative and strategically aligned activities. The position emphasizes program management, governance, and learning across priority communities, balancing grant review processes with effective