Associate Director, Development Project Management (Hybrid)

Merck; Rahway (NJ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck in Rahway, NJ is seeking an Associate Director, Project Manager to lead end-to-end drug development programs within GPAM and partner with team leaders across discovery to late-stage development.

You will guide cross-functional teams, develop integrated project plans, manage risks, and drive governance and decision-making to advance the Research & Development pipeline in a complex pharmaceutical environment. This role emphasizes leadership by influence and program execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; concentration in a scientific or applied discipline preferred.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in project management or a related role required.
• Preferred advanced degree and project management certification (PMP) are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Managing the end-to-end drug development process, including projects of significant complexity; driving cross-functional teams and leading by influence to develop comprehensive strategies and ensure successful execution.
• Act as enterprise leaders by guiding teams through the creation, approval, and execution of integrated project plans appropriate to the project's phase of development and complexity.
• Building and maintaining project schedules and critical project information in enterprise project management systems and databases.
• Using these tools to integrate activities across key team members, proactively identify risks, address uncertainty, elevate appropriately, assess program status, and ensure clear communication.
• Leveraging relationships and networks to improve team dynamics and remove obstacles to drive results.
• Navigating corporate governance and business requirements to enable informed decision-making.
• Leading key team meetings with agendas, participation, insights, and accountability.

Skills

Business Decisions

Change Management

Clinical Research

Collaboration

Cross-Functional Leadership

Drug Development

Enterprise Project Management (EPM)

Process Optimization

Progress Monitoring

Project Implementations

Project Management

Project Management Governance

Project Planning

Regulatory Compliance

Risk Management

Strategic Planning

Strategic Thinking

Team Organization

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Job Description

Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) is part of the Research and Development organization at our Company, which is also referred to as our Company's Research Laboratories.

Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) is part of the Research and Development organization at our Company, which is also referred to as our Company's Research Laboratories. Development Project Managers in GPAM are enterprise leaders that leverage a strong Project Management foundation to enable pipeline progression through integrated planning, aligned project execution, and problem solving. The GPAM Associate Director, Project Manager, is a core member of Drug Development Teams (e.g. Discovery Teams, Early Development Teams and/or late Product Development Teams), partnering with team leaders to develop strategies and execute our Company's drug and vaccine development efforts to progress the Research & Development pipeline and realize its full potential. The Associate Director is expected to provide project management leadership and drive cross-functional teams with sufficient influence and mastery of project management to take on challenging assignments with minimal guidance. Projects could span any therapeutic area in which our company is actively engaged. In addition to project work, the Associate Director is expected to contribute to ongoing business process improvement and talent development in Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM). This position may be based in either Rahway, NJ or Upper Gwynedd, PA.

Primary Responsibilities

• Managing the end-to-end drug development process, including projects of significant complexity; driving cross-functional teams and leading by influence to develop comprehensive strategies and ensure successful execution.
• Act as enterprise leaders by guiding teams through the creation, approval, and execution of integrated project plans appropriate to the project's phase of development and complexity. This includes integrating strategic and tactical input from different disciplines (e.g., clinical, regulatory, market access, manufacturing, CMC, commercial, and other areas) as applicable to the project, and driving alignment with key stakeholders and partnerships with Project and Alliance Managers across the GPAM organization, including colleagues in Japan and China.
• Building and maintaining project schedules and critical project information in enterprise project management systems and databases. Using these tools to integrate activities across key team members, proactively identify risks, address uncertainty, elevate appropriately, assess program status, and ensure clear and effective communication with key team, management, and cross-departmental stakeholders.
• Leveraging relationships and networks to improve and enhance team dynamics; proactively identifying and removing obstacles to drive business results.
• Navigating our company's process and organizational norms to enable teams to understand corporate governance and business requirements, thereby enabling decision-making.
• Leading key team meetings including creating thoughtful agendas, ensuring appropriate participation, contributing project management insights, and following up to ensure the team continues to make progress while holding others accountable.
• Actively participating and completing ongoing training and personal development activities to increase leadership competency and to gain knowledge and skill in the discipline of project management and the business and science of pharmaceutical product discovery and development.
• Participating in Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) departmental initiatives and workstreams aimed at improving the way that we work and the way that we interact with one another as well as other departments. Improving business processes to find new efficiencies and connect people to the information that they need.
• Providing mentoring, coaching, and oversight to partner project managers working on common projects. Sharing lessons learned and best practices to impact the Global Project and Alliance Management (GPAM) community positively.

Required Education, Experience, And Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required; concentration in a scientific or applied discipline preferred
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in project management or a related role required

Preferred Experience And Skills

• Advanced degree (e.g., MS, MBA, Ph.D., PharmD) preferred
• Product development experience strongly preferred (ideally in pharmaceutical/biotech industry)
• Experience and knowledge of clinical drug development strongly preferred; including the different phases of development and how the various functional areas contribute to a comprehensive strategy
• Project management certification (PMP) and/or formal coursework/training in project management strongly preferred

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Required Skills

Business Decisions, Change Management, Clinical Research, Collaboration, Cross-Functional Leadership, Drug Development, Enterprise Project Management (EPM), Process Optimization, Progress Monitoring, Project Implementations, Project Management, Project Management Governance, Project Planning, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking, Team Organization

Preferred Skills

US And Puerto Rico Residents Only

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities.

Requirements

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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We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's thinking