Director, Market Research

Job Description

Our Company is passionate about bringing our medicines and vaccines to our customers around the world. Through market research, digital listening, and patient analytics, we are able to understand our customers’ needs and strive to provide solutions to meet them.  At our Company, we are leveraging insights, analytics and technology, as we invent for life on behalf of patients around the world. We are seeking those who have a passion for using strategic insights, data and analytics to drive decision making, that will allow us to tackle some of the world’s greatest health threats.

 As the Director, Primary Market Research for Vaccines, you will join a team of passionate, data-driven strategists who partner with stakeholders at local, regional and global levels to enable value-driven decision making. You will lead and coach a team of market research professionals (both US based and indirect team members based in India) responsible for planning, prioritizing, managing and executing work across the vaccines portfolio spanning pre- and post-launch, as well as future assets. 

You will manage a diverse set of stakeholders at all levels and collaborate closely with peers in the Primary Market Leadership team and across the Digital Human Health (DHH) organization. Your Market Research and Analytics expertise will position you as a strategic partner who proactively engages cross-functional brand teams to address key business questions.

You will be an exceptional leader and active member of the Primary Market Research leadership team. You will collaborate to define and maintain best practices, and test and implement innovative approaches to generating and delivering insights in a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate is a subject-matter expert in market research methodology who partners closely with stakeholders across Business Insights & Analytics, Pricing & Access, Sales, Promotion, U.S. and Global Marketing, Forecasting, and other Digital Human Health teams to elevate the impact of the market research function. The Director consistently demonstrates strong leadership, a transformational mindset, cultural awareness, and resilience, and thrives in a rapidly changing environment.

Key responsibilities include and are not limited to the following:

• Lead a team of market research professionals (US and global) to design and execute research plans across the product lifecycle—from Business Development (BD) and early development through launch and mature phases—providing strategic partnership to the business by:

• • Framing critical business questions and identifying information needs

  • Integrating considerations from other data sources and developing research/analysis plans

  • Managing the research process to deliver objective insights on customers, competitors, and market developments

  • Clearly articulating rationale, hypotheses, and methodology to leadership and franchise/client teams to ensure objectives are met and communicated across all levels

  • Assessing and directing vendor capabilities; managing analytic risks

  • Facilitating strategic discussions with marketing/commercial teams to drive data‑driven decision-making and planning

  • Integrating multiple sources/studies to present strategic options

  • Providing consultative guidance to marketing/commercial teams

• Take end-to-end ownership of team performance: ensure understanding of business challenges and information needs; evaluate alternatives; select appropriate methods; apply best practices; and champion new techniques/innovations to meet objectives.

• Serve as a thought leader and strategic partner across commercial, R&D, and medical functions.

• Embrace innovation and technology to modernize market research, uncover growth opportunities, and provide actionable brand- and portfolio-level insights in near real time.

• Collaborate proactively with cross-functional partners—Business Insights & Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Communications, Market Access, Commercial, and advertising agencies—to ensure integrated launch and post‑launch execution.

• Partner with Forecasting to inform strategic assumptions, brand forecasts, KPI tracking, and benchmarking dashboards.

• Partner with analytic functions to expand the use of novel data sources, including Real‑World Data (RWD).

• Lead ad hoc initiatives as needed.

• Work effectively across multiple time zones and geographies.

• Mentor and develop junior researchers; support ongoing growth of the team.

 

Position Qualifications:

Education:

• Required: BA/BS in Business / Marketing / Healthcare

• Preferred:  Advanced degree (e.g., MBA, PharmD, PhD)

Experience, Knowledge and Skills:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in global pharmaceutical marketing and/or market research

• Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies; strong understanding of secondary datasets/analytics and epidemiology data

• Exposure to adjacent functions such as analytics, sales, forecasting, market access and pricing, marketing, or competitive intelligence

• Knowledge of vaccines portfolio preferred; experience with global product launches is an advantage

• Demonstrated ability to lead change: proactively prioritize, drive efficiency, challenge the status quo, and apply innovative approaches

• Proven strategic partner/consultant with the ability to quickly build trust and credibility and develop effective cross-functional relationships

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to think strategically and objectively; adept at communicating research outputs through storytelling that turns data into actionable insights

• Technical proficiency and learning agility to master current and emerging market research techniques—including AI—in a rapidly evolving, ambiguous environment

 

Preferred Knowledge and Skills:

• Launch excellence (e.g., go-to-market strategy, cross-functional readiness, post-launch optimization)

• Early commercial development knowledge (e.g., target product profile shaping, demand assessment, value/Access inputs, early forecasting)

• Project management and stakeholder management (plan, prioritize, manage risks/dependencies, drive alignment across functions)

• Business acumen and strategic thinking (market sizing, competitive assessment, scenario planning, portfolio trade-offs)

• Marketing strategy development (positioning, segmentation/targeting, value propositions, messaging)

• Leadership that emphasizes customer focus, decision making, courage & candor, and collaboration / teamwork

• Ability to motivate teams and support/lead transformation in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment

• People leadership and management (coaching, performance management, talent development)

Required Skills:

Building Trust, Business Analysis, Business Development, Communication, Customer Insights, Data Analysis, Epidemiology, Forecasting, Go-to-Market Strategies, Market Access, Marketing, Market Research, Motivating Teams, Project Management, REMOTE_SKILL-1-52891, Researching, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Insights, Supplier Management, Talent Management, User Research, Waterfall Model

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

$187,000.00 - $294,400.00

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:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

12/26/2025

*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.