Associate Director - Global Swine Technical Nutritionist

Job Description

Position title

·       Associate Director, Global Marketing Swine Technical Nutritionist

Organizational unit

• Animal Health — Global Marketing - Swine

Summary of the job

The Global Marketing Swine Technical Nutritionist is a senior technical role within our company's Animal Health’s Global Swine Business Unit. This person will provide high-level global nutrition and technical support to marketing, commercial and R&D teams across product lifecycles, ensuring nutritional science drives product positioning, claims and field adoption. The role blends applied swine nutrition expertise with strategic marketing support and global stakeholder engagement to advance product development, extension materials, and customer-facing technical resources. The role requires strong collaboration with marketing directors, R&D, regulatory and local country teams and frequent interaction with key opinion leaders (KOLs), nutritionists and veterinarians. Travel (domestic and international) will be required to support markets and scientific meetings.

 

Essential accountabilities

The responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop, define and maintain global nutritional technical platforms for new and existing products and services, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based nutrition information is available to global and local teams to inform strategy and technical communications.

• Provide expert nutritional assessment of new product ideas and proposals to R&D, Business Development and Regulatory Affairs; help prioritize opportunities that address nutritional gaps and customer needs in swine and broader livestock systems.

• Translate nutrition science into clear, actionable marketing materials (technical bulletins, white papers, training modules, digital content) in collaboration with marketing directors to support product launches and life-cycle management.

• Generate and review scientific materials for publication, technical conferences and oral presentations that communicate nutritional benefits, modes of action and practical feeding recommendations.

• Serve as a global technical nutrition representative at scientific meetings, congresses and exhibitions to advance the company’s technical profile and build credibility with nutrition and veterinary communities.

• Initiate and maintain relationships with global KOLs, academic nutritionists, and industry experts to inform product strategy and secure independent scientific validation when appropriate.

• Ensure all global promotional and PR materials, and nutrition-related communications, are technically accurate, ethically sound, and reflect authorized product labels and regulatory constraints.

• Monitor competitor nutritional products, feed additives, premixes and relevant scientific literature; synthesize findings and share insights with global colleagues and local companies to inform positioning and differentiation.

• Provide high-quality global customer product and nutritional support—either directly or by enabling and training local technical teams—to optimize technical adoption and client outcomes.

• Assist and guide local market product support trials and feeding trials to ensure robust experimental design, nutritional endpoints, adherence to technical platforms and compliance with global technical and regulatory requirements.

• Support internal training programs for commercial teams and local technical staff on nutritional principles, feeding strategies, and interpretation of trial data to improve customer conversations and sales effectiveness.

Scope and context

• This position reports to the Head of the Global Swine Business Unit.

• Location: Candidate should be based in the European Union or North America (open to remote within either region); relocation is not required but may be supported to maximize impact.

• The role will require regular travel (domestic and international) to support key markets, on-farm visits, trials and scientific meetings.

Key capabilities and behaviors

• Demonstrate ethics & integrity in scientific communications and interactions with customers and KOLs.

• Drive results by translating nutritional science into practical commercial outcomes.

• Focus on customers by supporting nutrition-driven solutions that improve animal health and producer economics.

• Make rapid, disciplined decisions balancing scientific rigor with commercial timelines.

• Act with courage & candor, build talent and foster collaboration across functions and regions.

Professional competencies

• Strong business and financial acumen applied to nutritional programs and product value propositions.

• Strategic thinking with the ability to align nutrition science to global portfolio strategy.

• Digital and content marketing literacy for scientific audiences.

• Project management, productive communication and problem-solving skills.

Core commercial functional competencies

• Customer and market insights with a nutrition lens.

• Strategic business management for nutrition-based product lines.

• Product knowledge & portfolio management emphasizing nutritional products and solutions.

• Lifecycle management, market access considerations and regulatory compliance for nutrition claims.

Minimum qualifications

Background & education

• PhD or MSc in Animal Nutrition, PhD or MSC in Animal Science with strong nutrition specialization required.

• Veterinarian degree (DVM or equivalent) is desirable.

• Demonstrated background combining formal training in nutrition with clinical veterinary perspective is highly desirable.

Experience

• Minimum 8 years’ experience in swine nutrition, swine production, academia or the animal health/nutrition industry, with a proven record of applied nutrition work in commercial production systems.

• Broader livestock nutrition experience (e.g., poultry, ruminants) is desirable — candidate should be able to integrate cross-species nutrition insights where appropriate.

• Previous technical advisory experience in an animal health, feed additive, feed ingredient, premix or nutrition consultancy is highly desirable.

• Experience in designing and interpreting feeding trials and nutrition studies, including formulation and performance/health endpoints.

• Practical on-farm experience with feed management, nursery/grower/finisher nutrition and sow herd nutrition strongly preferred.

• Understanding of the biologicals industry, feed additive regulatory environments and nutrition-related claims is preferred.

• Global exposure/experience and ability to work across multicultural teams and markets preferred.

Required skills & abilities

• Full proficiency in spoken and written English; proficiency in a second major language (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese) is a plus.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with ability to translate complex nutritional science into practical guidance and compelling marketing content.

• Strong interpersonal skills with a natural ability to work collaboratively across functional teams (marketing, R&D, regulatory, global & local technical teams).

• Proven project leadership and ability to manage multi-disciplinary, multi-region projects.

• Self-starter comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with the ability to prioritize competing technical and commercial demands.

• Availability and willingness to travel (50% or less, domestic and international).

• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with external academic and industry nutrition KOLs.

Desirable traits and attributes

• Passion for applied animal nutrition and improving production outcomes through nutrition-driven solutions.

• Knowledgeable about the nutritional differences in the Global Swine Industry

• Ability to balance veterinary clinical perspective with nutrition science and commercial considerations.

• Scientist-communicator: comfortable with data, trial design and statistics, but skilled at storytelling and clear guidance for commercial teams and customers.

• Strategic mindset with customer empathy and commercial pragmatism.

• Credibility and presence to represent the company in scientific and industry forums.

HR and legal note

• Company management reserves the right to add, delete, or otherwise alter assigned duties at any time. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The minimum qualifications listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Animal Nutrition, Animal Science, Customer Relationship Building, Data Analysis, Ethical Behavior, Interpersonal Relationships, Nutritional Science, Nutrition Education, Poultry Production, Product Management, Product Strategies, Project Leadership, Science Advocacy, Stakeholder Engagement, Swine Production, Technical Writing, Veterinary Education, Veterinary Medicine

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:

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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.

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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:

50%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

05/11/2026

*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.