Associate Director, Corporate Responsibility

Merck; Helena (MT); On-site; USD 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck is seeking an Associate Director, Community Impact, to advance the global community engagement strategy across priority U.S. communities, coordinating with the Head of Global Community Impact and Engagement.

In this non-commercial role, you will lead program operations, track milestones, support grant review, and ensure compliant, non-duplicative activities through influence and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field.
• 7+ years in program operations, management, public health, community health, or philanthropy.
• Experience coordinating complex initiatives with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience leading work through influence in matrixed environments without direct reports.
• Experience working with grantmaking, contracting, and reporting processes.
• Strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead execution and implementation of key initiatives 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 escalation, and follow-up on deliverables.
• Support learning on trends and local insights across priority U.S. communities.
• Partner with Community Impact Liaisons and internal stakeholders to ensure work is relevant, compliant, and non-duplicative.
• Support compliant coordination across internal stakeholders (Patient Insights, Policy, Legal, Compliance, Communications, Finance).
• Lead establishment and management of a grant review committee for structured review of grant applications.
• Recommend and implement cadence for grant application review aligned with governance requirements.
• Coordinate review materials, meeting logistics, decision tracking, and follow-up actions.

Skills

Program operations

Program management

Public health

Community engagement

Cross-functional coordination

Influence without formal authority

Grantmaking support

Monitoring & evaluation

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Business, Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Public Administration, or related field

Advanced degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Business Administration, Public Administration, Social Work, or related field

Job description

Job Description

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Community Impact, supports execution of the community engagement strategy across priority U.S. communities in partnership with the Head of Global Community Impact and Engagement. This role is responsible for driving implementation, operational coordination, and follow-through through key initiatives, projects, and priorities related to the Community Impact Liaison (CIL) program model.

This role sits within Global Impact Investing and Giving (GIIG) pillar in the Social Impact and Sustainability team and serves as a central point of coordination to help ensure community-centered social investments and engagements are executed effectively and in alignment with strategic priorities. The Associate Director will work across internal stakeholders and with at least seven Community Impact Liaisons to support operational excellence, strengthen cross-functional alignment, reduce duplication of efforts, and ensure activities are compliant.

This role does not have direct reports and leads through influence, coordination, and program management. This role is non-commercial and fully separate from promotional, brand, and medical activities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead execution and implementation of key initiatives, projects, and directives identified by the Head of Global Community Impact and Engagement
• Serve as the primary program coordination led 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 the Community Impact Liaisons and other internal stakeholders to ensure work remains relevant, coordinated, compliant, non-duplicative, and aligned with broader company access to health goals
• Support compliant coordination across internal stakeholders, including Patient Insights & Engagement, Policy, Legal, Compliance, Communications, Finance, and other relevant departments
• Lead the establishment and operational management of a grant review committee to support structured and consistent review of grant applications
• Recommend and implement an appropriate, efficient cadence and process for grant application review in alignment with governance requirements
• Serve as a member of the grant review committee and coordinate review materials, meeting logistics, decision tracking, and follow-up actions
• Support grantmaking processes, including application intake, proposal review coordination, internal approvals, contracting, and reporting
• Track program milestones, outputs, implementation risks, budget-related status, and key decisions to support effective execution and leadership visibility
• Develop clear updates, materials, and recommendations based on program activity, community insights, and portfolio progress
• Support monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities to strengthen program effectiveness and continuous improvement
• Partner with our Communications department and other relevant stakeholders to identify and support compliant opportunities to elevate and share highlights of the CIL model and program impact

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, Health Policy, Business, Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Public Administration, or related field
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in program operations, program management, public health, community health, social impact, philanthropy, health systems strengthening, community engagement, or a related field
• Strong experience in operations management, implementation planning, and coordination of complex initiatives involving 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 maintain accountability for follow-through
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, drive alignment, and support execution through collaboration and influence

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Business Administration, Public Administration, Social Work, or related field
• Experience working in communities of high need, including access to health, HIV, oncology, cardiovascular disease, or related community health areas
• Experience in corporate social impact, ESG, or corporate philanthropy
• Experience supporting monitoring, evaluation, and learning for community-based programs
• Experience supporting compliant communications or stakeholder engagement related to social impact programs

Additional Information

• Reports to: Head of Global Community Impact and Engagement
• Direct Reports: None
• Location: U.S.-based
• Travel: Based on business needs and community engagement priorities; may be up to 5–10% of time

Required Skills:

Charitable Organizations, Communication Strategy Development, Community Impact, Environmental Social And Governance (ESG), Fundraising Management, Media Communications, Philanthropy, Policy Development, Program Implementation, Public Health, Research Development, Special Event Planning, Stakeholder Engagement, Vendor Management

Preferred Skills:

Community Engagement

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

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The salary range for this role is

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

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