Director, UX and Digital Communications

MSD; Rahway (NJ); Hybrid; GBP 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Merck & Co., Inc. seeks a Director, UX and Digital Communications to shape our external web ecosystem, defining strategy, standards, and operating models for accessible, user-centered experiences across traditional and AI-powered search.

You will lead enterprise web experience strategy, collaborating with UX, content, analytics, IT and legal, and building governance that scales across regional teams and partners. This is a hybrid, senior role with strategic oversight and a broad benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• 10+ years in digital strategy, UX, or web communications.
• Experience leading enterprise web strategy across global/regulatory environments.
• Proven ability to govern and align cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise UX, web experience strategy across external properties.
• Use audience research, journey mapping, usability testing, analytics, and stakeholder insights to improve digital experiences.
• Set clear standards for site architecture, navigation, accessibility, content structure, and user journeys.
• Guide web content strategy and governance with digital, editorial, analytics, platform, and regional teams.
• Improve findability and reuse through taxonomy, metadata, tagging, and content classification standards.
• Turn audience needs and data into practical experience improvements.
• Provide strategic oversight for major web initiatives, aligning scope, priorities, and outcomes.
• Build governance frameworks, workflows, compliance expectations, and operating practices.
• Partner with IT and development teams to shape platform strategy and performance standards.
• Define success measures and use analytics to guide decisions and continuous improvement.
• Align Communications, IT, Legal, Privacy, analytics, regional teams, and external partners on shared priorities.

Skills

Adaptability

Digital Strategy

Executive Presence

Stakeholder Leadership

Cross-Functional Collaboration

UX & Accessibility

SEO/GEO

AI-enabled search

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree

Job description

We are seeking a Director, UX and Digital Communications to shape how our company shows up across its external web ecosystem. This leader will define the strategy, standards, and operating model for intuitive, accessible, user-centered, measurable, and discoverable digital experiences across both traditional and AI-powered search environments.

This is an opportunity to lead enterprise-wide web experience strategy, strengthen our company's digital presence, and help stakeholders find, understand, and engage with our content in an evolving digital landscape.

The Director will work closely with UX, content, analytics, IT, Legal, Privacy, regional teams, and external partners to create clear priorities, practical governance, and scalable ways of working. The role provides strategic oversight of major web initiatives without owning day-to-day production or technical development.

The Director reports to the Executive Director, Enterprise Brand Social Media and Digital Communications.

Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA.

What you will do:

• Lead enterprise UX, research, web experience, and digital communications strategy across our company's external digital properties.
• Use audience research, journey mapping, usability testing, analytics, and stakeholder insights to identify opportunities and improve digital experiences.
• Set clear standards for site architecture, navigation, accessibility, inclusive design, content structure, and user journeys.
• Guide web content strategy and governance in partnership with digital, editorial, analytics, platform, and regional teams.
• Improve findability and reuse through enterprise taxonomy, metadata, tagging, and content classification standards.
• Turn audience needs, pain points, performance data, and research findings into practical experience improvements.
• Provide strategic oversight for major web initiatives, helping teams align on scope, priorities, experience standards, and outcomes.
• Build practical governance frameworks, workflows, compliance expectations, and operating practices that help teams move with clarity and consistency.
• Partner with IT and development teams to shape platform strategy, technology direction, and performance standards.
• Define success measures and use analytics, insights, and performance data to guide decisions and continuous improvement.
• Bring together Communications, IT, Legal, Privacy, analytics, regional teams, and external partners to align on shared priorities and outcomes.
• Advance GEO and AI-era discoverability so content is structured, credible, current, measurable, and optimized for search, citation, and answer-engine visibility.
• Build, coach, and lead a strong team and partner model with clear ownership across strategy, execution, and delivery.
• Stay ahead of trends in UX, digital experience, AI search, and content innovation, and translate them into opportunities for our company.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree required, Advanced degree a plus.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in digital strategy, UX, web communications, or a related field, ideally in a global or highly regulated environment.
• A track record of setting enterprise web strategy and leading large-scale digital experience transformation.
• Experience leading and influencing cross-functional teams across UX, content, SEO/GEO, analytics, technology, and external partners.
• Strong knowledge of UX, accessibility, information architecture, SEO/GEO, AI-enabled search, answer engines, and content governance.
• Ability to establish practical governance models, operating frameworks, standards, and best practices across complex organizations.
• Strong stakeholder leadership, with the ability to align senior leaders and teams around shared strategy, priorities, and outcomes.
• Comfort using KPIs, analytics, and insights to guide decisions and measure impact.
• Familiarity with web platforms, CMS ecosystems, and collaboration with IT and development partners.
• Excellent communication, executive presence, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to thrive in a global, matrixed, and regulated environment.

Required Skills:

• Adaptability
• Adaptability
• Community Relations
• Content Creation
• Crisis Communication Management
• Critical Success Factors
• Detail-Oriented
• Digital Media
• Digital Media Channels
• Digital Strategy
• Digital Transformation
• Digital Transformation Initiatives
• Environmental Social And Governance (ESG)
• Event Management
• Executive Presence
• Impact Analysis
• Media Relations
• Performance Metrics
• Platform Design
• Platform Management
• Policy Development
• Public Speaking
• Research Development
• Social Media Management

Preferred Skills:

Digital Experiences

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

The salary range for this role is $173,200.00 - $272,600.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting.

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.

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

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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 and approach problems collectively.

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

Employee Status: Regular

Relocation: No relocation

VISA Sponsorship: No

Travel Requirements: 10%

Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid

Shift: 1st - Day

Valid Driving License: No

Hazardous Material(s): N/A

Job Posting End Date: 09/25/2026*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.