Director, Site Budgets

MSD; Upper Gwynedd Township (Montgomery County); On-site; GBP 130,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

MSD is seeking a transformational leader to own the global Site Budgets capability and to direct the Trial Initiation Specialist organization across regions. You will steer budget strategy, align with regulatory standards, and drive cross-functional initiatives to enable timely, compliant trial execution.

With 10+ years in clinical research and strong leadership, you will influence senior stakeholders, foster collaboration, and deliver process improvements that strengthen financial operations

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in scientific, business, or related discipline required; advanced degree a plus.
• 10+ years of clinical research experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry with operational leadership.
• Experience managing teams and driving performance in a matrixed environment.
• Proven ability to communicate complex issues and influence senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Own the global Site Budgets capability, defining strategic direction and evolving methodologies.
• Lead the Trial Initiation Specialist (TIS) organization and workforce performance.
• Act as senior business authority for site budgeting, including FMV principles.
• Establish a globally consistent operating model with regional and country input.
• Build strategic relationships across countries, regions, and external partners.
• Promote risk-based decision-making with governance and escalation paths.
• Leverage data and market insights to steer priorities and decisions.
• Collaborate with Site Budgets and Payments Ops to define requirements and capabilities.
• Represent Regional Operations in governance forums and cross-functional partnerships.
• Ensure budgeting aligns with regulations and compliant business practices.

Skills

Business Decisions

Clinical Trial Management

Clinical Trials Operations

ICH GCP Guidelines

Strategic Thinking

Stakeholder Analysis

Relationship Management

Executive Presence

Organizational Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in scientific, business, or related discipline

Job description

Our Company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and consumer health products, as well as animal health products. Today, we are building a new kind of healthcare company – one that is ready to help create a healthier future for all of us. Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity and teamwork of people like you. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement and teamwork. As part of our global team, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

The Head, Site Budgets serves as the global capability leader for clinical trial site budgeting within Regional Operations. The role is accountable for the performance, quality, consistency, competitiveness, and strategic advancement of our company's site budget capability worldwide. Through leadership of the Trial Initiation Specialist (TIS) organization and partnership with Regional Operations, Clinical Operations, Compliance, Finance, and Site Budgets and Payments Operational Excellence, the position ensures that site budget expertise, negotiation practices, decision frameworks, and organizational capabilities evolve to meet changing portfolio, market, and business needs while enabling timely and compliant trial execution.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Own the global Site Budgets capability, defining its strategic direction and ensuring budget expertise, methodologies, negotiation practices, and organizational capabilities evolve to meet changing portfolio, market, and business needs.
• Lead the Trial Initiation Specialist (TIS) organization, with accountability for workforce capability, organizational performance, service delivery, budget quality, and stakeholder outcomes.
• Serve as the senior business authority for clinical trial site budgeting, providing leadership on budget strategy, competitiveness, negotiation approaches, Fair Market Value application, and emerging industry trends.
• Establish and maintain a globally consistent site budget operating model that incorporates regional and country perspectives while promoting clear decision rights, escalation pathways, and appropriate local ownership.
• Builds strategic relationships across country, regional, global and external stakeholders to strengthen delivery.
• Promote risk-based decision-making and governance frameworks that empower country and regional teams while ensuring appropriate oversight of complex, novel, or higher-risk scenarios.
• Use operational data, market intelligence, and stakeholder insights to guide strategic priorities, workforce planning, performance improvement, and business decisions.
• Partner with Site Budgets and Payments Operational Excellence to define business requirements, priorities, and future capability needs, ensuring enabling processes, systems, analytics, training, governance, and change solutions effectively support business outcomes.
• Represent Regional Operations in governance forums and cross-functional partnerships as the accountable leader for the Site Budgets capability.
• Ensure site budget strategies and decisions are aligned with applicable regulations, Fair Market Value principles, standard of care requirements, and compliant business practices.
• Foster a culture of accountability, sound judgment, negotiation excellence, continuous improvement, innovation, collaboration, and empowered decision-making.

Required Education:

• A minimum of a bachelor's degree is required (scientific, business, or related discipline preferred); advanced degree a plus.

Required Experience and Skills:

• 10+ years of clinical research experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, including experience leading operational teams and driving business outcomes in complex environments.
• Strong business acumen and understanding of clinical trial financial operations, including site budgets, investigator grants, payments, Fair Market Value principles, and related operational processes.
• Experience managing directly or indirectly teams of professional employees.
• Proven success leading teams, developing talent, and driving operational performance in a matrixed environment.
• Ability to leverage data and insights to support decision-making, continuous improvement, and achievement of business objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex issues and influence decision-making at senior leadership levels.
• Strong collaboration, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to develop effective partnerships across functions and geographies.
• Demonstrates initiative, innovative thinking, and a continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to challenge traditional approaches and identify opportunities to simplify, modernize, and transform how work is performed.
• Strong communication, presentation, and change leadership skills.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply Good Clinical Practice (GCP)/ International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) and applicable regulatory requirements
• Strong organizational, prioritization, and execution management skills.
• Sponsors responsible digital, data-driven and AI-enabled ways of working.

Required Skills:

• Business Decisions, Clinical Trial Management, Clinical Trials Operations, Ethical Standards, Executive Presence, ICH GCP Guidelines, Motivating People, Multiple Therapeutic Areas, Organizational Leadership, People Leadership, Process Improvements, Relationship Management, Stakeholder Analysis, Strategic Analysis, Strategic Thinking, Strategy Development

Preferred Skills:

• Clinical Research, Global Experience

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.

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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement

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 and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The primary location for this posting is:

USA - Pennsylvania - North Wales (Upper Gwynedd)

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$173,200.00 - $272,600.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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 bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

• San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
• Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

• Employee Status: Regular
• Relocation: No relocation
• VISA Sponsorship: No
• Travel Requirements: 25%
• Flexible Work Arrangements: Not Applicable
• Shift: 1st - Day
• Valid Driving License: No
• Hazardous Material(s): N/A

Job Posting End Date:

10/22/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.