Associate Director, Employee Engagement & Community Impact

Merck; Jackson (MS); Remote; USD 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

Merck is seeking an Associate Director of Employee Engagement & Community Impact to lead global strategy for employee giving, volunteering, and community programs. You will drive program strategy, governance, and cross-functional collaboration to maximize social impact and operational excellence across regions.

The role requires strong stakeholder engagement, budget stewardship, and platform management, with a focus on governance, compliance, and measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• BA or BS degree in Business, Public Health, or related field.
• Minimum five years of experience in employee engagement, employee giving, volunteer management, including employee giving programs and platforms.
• Minimum five years of experience in corporate philanthropy, social impact, or corporate responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience in vendor management, community engagement, and nonprofit and non-governmental organization partnerships across geographies and cultures.
• Proven ability to build and sustain effective relationships with vendors, internal stakeholders, nonprofit partners, and external organizations.
• Demonstrated success managing multi-million-dollar budgets, vendors, contracts, and service agreements.
• Strong analytical skills and Excel skills, and experience developing and utilizing metrics, dashboards, and reporting frameworks to measure participation, evaluate program effectiveness, and demonstrate impact.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, problem-solve, and adapt in ambiguous or fast-paced environments.
• Exceptional executive presence and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders, build consensus, and secure organizational alignment.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide business transformation initiatives that drive operational excellence, user adoption, and sustainable change.
• Strong operations and project management skills with the ability to lead multiple initiatives from planning through execution.
• Experience working in regulated environments with accountability for governance, compliance, audit readiness, and risk mitigation.
• Collaborative leadership style with a commitment to continuous learning, continuous improvement, and the ability to work effectively in a matrixed organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy and day-to-day management of the Company’s employee- giving and matching gifts platform, program, and processes.
• Provide oversight of employee giving fund disbursement activities, cash distributions, reconciliations, performance metrics and related operational processes, ensuring appropriate governance, compliance, financial integrity, and resource stewardship.
• Maintain associated vendor relationships, governance and collaboration to ensure efficient and effective operations, address program challenges, and continuously enhance employee experience.
• Identify opportunities to expand employee reach, participation, and program effectiveness.
• Recommend and coordinate giving opportunities, including global or local campaign activations.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on employee engagement programs, offering consultative support and ensuring adherence to established policies, procedures, and governance requirements.
• Lead stakeholder collaboration efforts to identify user requirements and program obstacles, and strengthen user engagement and satisfaction with the employee engagement giving and volunteering initiatives.
• Partner with company’s communications and related third party vendors to develop and execute employee communications, outreach strategies, and promotional campaigns that drive awareness, participation, and engagement across employee giving and volunteering programs.
• Monitor participation, activity, and outcomes to support measurement of employee engagement and social impact.
• Ensure programs are executed in alignment with company’s code of conduct, values, policies, and applicable legal, compliance, and governance requirements.
• Lead the strategy and execution of employee volunteering programs, including a global employee volunteering champions network, fostering employee engagement and mobilizing employees to contribute their time, skills, and resources in support of local community needs.
• Mobilize and support employee champions to engage with community leaders in company’s communities to ensure employee volunteering align with community needs.
• Oversee the administration of the employee engagement platform, including Dollars for Doers (employee volunteer grant program), participation tracking, impact measurement, reporting, and continuous program improvements and vendor coordination.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to expand and promote volunteer opportunities, resources, and programs to mobilize employees and teams to engage in meaningful volunteer activities aligned with their interests and community needs.
• Serve as a trusted resource for employees by answering questions, providing guidance, resources, and support related to volunteer opportunities and program participation.
• Partner with company’s Communications on volunteer-related communications and outreach.
• Ensure adherence to company’s code of conduct, values, standards and polices, as well as program legal and compliance requirements and governance.

Skills

Employee engagement

Vendor management

Excel

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Program leadership

Data analytics

Regulatory/compliance

Education

BA/BS in Business or Public Health

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Job description

Merck is seeking an Associate Director of Employee Engagement & Community Impact to lead global strategy for employee giving, volunteering, and community programs. You will drive program strategy, governance, and cross-functional collaboration to maximize social impact and operational excellence across regions.

The role requires strong stakeholder engagement, budget stewardship, and platform management, with a focus on governance, compliance, and measurable outcomes.