Field-Based Community Engagement Lead (Remote, 50% Travel)

Merck; Juneau (AK); On-site; USD 142,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid holidays

Vacation days

Sick days

Job summary

Merck seeks a Community Engagement Specialist to build trusted, long-term relationships with patient advocacy groups, CBOs, health departments, and allied networks across IL, IN, and WI. This field-based role focuses on non-promotional education, capturing community insights, and aligning engagement with corporate priorities while ensuring compliance and scalable execution.

The role covers a large territory with up to 50% travel, requiring a Bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years in

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required and a minimum of 3 years pharmaceutical/biotech experience -OR- community engagement, patient advocacy, or public health experience
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to execute effectively in a field-based role
• Experience engaging with community stakeholders, advocacy organizations, or related groups
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills
• Experience contributing to health-related, community-based, or engagement-focused initiatives
• Ability to work independently while contributing to a broader team environment

Responsibilities

• Use data, field observations, and qualitative feedback to evaluate engagement effectiveness and identify opportunities for continuous improvement, including standardized insight capture and reporting approaches
• Execute community engagement and relationship-building activities aligned to organizational and ecosystem priorities
• Partner with PI&E leadership in preparation, planning, and integration related to disease awareness, community engagement, and execution
• Contribute to identification of training and capability needs based on field insights and engagement experience
• Support field-based segmentation and targeting activities, including execution of tactical engagement plans and tracking against defined objectives
• Leverage community insights and engagement data to identify trends, unmet needs, access barriers, and opportunities to enhance engagement approaches
• Utilize established execution resources, including playbooks, tools, and standardized operating procedures (SOPs), to ensure consistency and quality
• Maintain consistent, bi-directional communication between field engagements and headquarters teams to ensure alignment and visibility of community perspectives
• Participate in team engagements including meetings, planning sessions, and training calls
• Ensure all engagement activities comply with legal, regulatory, and non-promotional requirements
• Utilize approved reporting tools and dashboards to document engagements and support performance monitoring
• Identify and communicate opportunities to evolve and optimize community engagement approaches and field execution models

Skills

Community Outreach

Engagement Strategies

Feedback Management

Liaison Work

Medical Affairs

Project Management

Relationship Building

Scientific Communications

Scientific Exchange

Virology

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Merck seeks a Community Engagement Specialist to build trusted, long-term relationships with patient advocacy groups, CBOs, health departments, and allied networks across IL, IN, and WI. This field-based role focuses on non-promotional education, capturing community insights, and aligning engagement with corporate priorities while ensuring compliance and scalable execution.

The role covers a large territory with up to 50% travel, requiring a Bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years in