Associate Director, Field Enablement Planning & Execution

Job Description

Reporting to the Director of Strategy & Field Enablement (STREAM), the Field Enablement Planning & Execution Associate Director will join the team responsible for the development, execution, and governance of end-to-end field enablement project management and process improvement including sales force restructuring strategy and execution, product launch support, field readiness efforts, and other field related initiatives for the US Market.

This individual will work collaboratively with a diverse group of stakeholders and manage the complexity across headquarter functions to facilitate a seamless operational experience for field sales, account management, field access, and other field teams across our US HH commercial organization.  The primary goal of this role is to drive large-scale field force structure transformations and field go-to-market enablement initiatives across the US HH market and provide both strategic and operational subject matter expertise related to the optimal implementation of end-to-end business processes enabling the field. Additionally, this individual will manage deliverables of our outsourced vendor partner.

The ideal candidate thrives in high-intensity environments, demonstrates executive presence, and excels at translating complex strategies into actionable plans. Success in this role will require strong program management and project management skills, an agile mindset, and an effective partnership across multiple functions, including Sales Leadership, Sales Planning, Marketing, HR, Global Talent Acquisition, Compliance, Legal, L&D, Field Engagement Capabilities, Sales Operations, Alignments, SIP, and various Digital Human Health functions (e.g. Targeting & Segmentation, Field Data Visualization, Data Enablement).  Strong communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills are critical.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Collaborate closely with sales, marketing, and operations teams to ensure the field sales force is fully prepared for new product launches, restructuring initiatives, and other changes in business priorities.

• Lead cross-functional teams to develop and execute field enablement strategies and transformation initiatives.

• Translate large-scale sales force structure changes into detailed project plans, workflows, and timelines.

• Identify and manage dependencies, risks, and impediments; proactively remove barriers to execution.

• Communicate complex concepts clearly and effectively to business audiences, including senior executives.

• Create compelling presentations and take detailed notes to support strategic discussions and decision-making.

• Influence stakeholders without direct authority, driving alignment and momentum across teams.

• Manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously with a strong sense of urgency and ownership.

• Facilitate strategy sessions with creativity and problem-solving agility; pivot direction as needed.

• Challenge the status quo thoughtfully and productively to drive continuous improvement.

• Develop and execute strategic, innovative and sustainable approaches to business process documentation aimed at increasing process awareness across collaborative workstreams, ensuring future business continuity, and identifying opportunities for simplification.

Required Experience and Skills:

• Bachelor's Degree required

• Minimum of 5 years experience in sales operations, sales information, sales territory design, field sales, account management, or an organization which supports field sales and/or account management.

• Strong program/project management skillset

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across multiple workstreams with stakeholders at various levels of the organization, plan and execute

• Process-minded and exceptional attention to detail with a high level of accuracy in work product

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Ability to negotiate and influence key stakeholders, and lead without authority

• Independent thinking, self-starter, with an agile and growth mindset

• Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, problem-solving, relationship building, stakeholder engagement, understanding of sales and marketing

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• MS degree preferred

• People management experience preferred

Demonstrates the following Enterprise Leadership Skills: 

• Entrepreneurship - Embracing a patient and customer focus; ensuring that the internal or external customer’s perspective is a driving force behind strategic priorities, business decisions, organizational processes and individual activities; crafting and implementing service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs; promoting and operationalizing customer service as a value.

• Business Savviness – Understanding the business; building and applying one’s knowledge of company operations, financial performance, and the industry to improve individual, work group and/or organizational results. 

• Strategic Planning – Guiding team success; using appropriate methods and a flexible interpersonal style to build, motivate and guide a cohesive team to complete shared goals. Prioritizing and planning; establishing an action plan for self and others to complete work efficiently and on time by setting priorities, establishing timelines and leveraging resources. 

• Decision Making – Identifying and understanding problems and opportunities by gathering, analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative information; choosing the best course of action by establishing clear decision criteria, generating and evaluating alternatives, and making timely decisions; taking action that is consistent with available facts and constraints and optimizes probable consequences.

• Networking & Partnerships – Building partnerships; developing and leveraging relationships within and across work groups to achieve results. 

• Execution Excellence – Being execution and results-focused, per compliance standards; setting ambitious expectations for accomplishment and ensuring others contribute to organization strategies by focusing them on the most critical priorities, measuring progress and ensuring accountability against those metrics.

• Change Catalyst - Facilitating change; encouraging others to implement better approaches to address problems and opportunities; leading the implementation and acceptance of change within the workplace.

• Ownership and Accountability – Delegating and empowering others; identifying and leveraging opportunities to accelerate results and build capability by assigning tasks and decision-making responsibilities to individuals or teams with clear boundaries, expectations, support and follow-up.

• Innovation - Creating novel solutions with measurable value for existing and potential customers (internal or external); experimenting with new ways to solve work problems and seize opportunities that result in unique and differentiated solutions.

 

Required Skills:

Account Management, Adaptability, Business Processes, Market Access, Market Research, Product Management, Program Management, Project Management, Sales Support, Stakeholder Influence, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

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

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

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

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

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

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Regular

Relocation:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

05/9/2026

*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.