Job Description
The Executive Director, Customer Service Center Strategy & Ops Leader (ED, CSC) reports to the Associate Vice President of US Marketing Operations in Commercial Excellence & Innovation and leads the overall US Customer Service Center organization with accountability to direct the strategy and execution of engagements with Healthcare Professionals, Patients, Consumers, and Employees across five contact centers with primary focus in the US. This accountability extends to include operational performance, regulatory‑compliant intake, and large‑scale service modernization. This role directs a complex, multi‑layered organization of approximately 80 Full Time Employees, including multi-level leaders, people managers, and frontline teams responsible for critical, highly regulated customer and patient interactions.
The ED, CSC sets the vision, strategy, and governance for a critical service organization that supports Healthcare Professionals, consumers, patients, and employees across safety, quality, product, and information needs. This leader is accountable not only for what services are delivered, but how our company delivers them at scale, with speed, consistency, and trust.
A defining and expanded component of this role is full ownership of the evolution of the CSC capability stack to be AI‑enabled. The Executive Director is accountable for modernizing service centers through automation, advanced analytics, digital self‑service, and AI‑enabled customer engagement—driving measurable improvements in efficiency, scalability, and customer/patient experience while maintaining the highest standards of compliance, quality, privacy, and validation.
This role has a US focus but operates as an enterprise leader, partnering across US Human Health, Digital Human Health & IT, Legal/Privacy, Regulatory, and cross divisional partners in Research & Development (R&D) and Manufacturing with focus Pharmacovigilance, Quality, and Safety to ensure that all engagements are executed and reported compliantly today and in the future.
Scope of Responsibility:
The Executive Director, CSC Strategy & Ops Leader, is a critical compliance-focused role with end‑to‑end accountability for the National Service Center (NSC), Promotional Contact Center (PCC), Field Service Center (FSC), Switchboard, and AE Follow‑Up. These centers collectively operate across voice, digital, email, chat, self‑service, and emerging AI‑enabled channels and represent a core operational backbone of our company's US commercial and regulatory ecosystem.
The CSC operation is an insourced model, and this role leads a large, multi‑level organization of ~80 FTEs, including multi-team leaders and people managers, and is responsible for organizational design, leadership effectiveness, succession planning, and sustained compliant execution across all centers and channels.
The Executive Director serves as the Designated Point of Contact for the US Market and the single source of intake for Adverse Events (AEs), Product Quality Complaints (PQCs), CDT, and product feedback, with executive accountability for FDA‑required follow‑up, audit readiness, and inspection outcomes.
In addition to operational leadership, this role owns the design, governance, and performance of the CSC’s technology and AI‑enabled service ecosystem, ensuring that modernization initiatives directly support business priorities, regulatory obligations, and customer/patient outcomes.
Primary Responsibilities:
Organization & Execution Leadership:
Direct the strategy and execution of engagements with Healthcare Professionals, Consumers, and Employees across five contact centers: National Service Center (NSC), Promotional Contact Center (PCC), Field Service Center (FSC), Switchboard, and AE Follow-Up.
Lead the multi-level organization, with focus on compliance, operational efficiency and talent development.
Lead the development and optimization of multi‑channel customer engagement, including voice, digital, self‑service, and AI‑enabled channels.
Establish and achieve key performance measurements and outcomes, budgetary responsibilities, delivery of training, ensure standard operating procedures are maintained and followed, operational oversight and delivery of the desired customer experience.
Develop and execute all customer/consumer/employee communications (across multiple channels), efficient/effective processes and procedures, and the delivery of the desired customer experience, including management of escalated customer requests to resolution.
Own budget strategy, resource planning, and workforce investment decisions for the CSC organization.
Lead vendor and partner governance for service platforms and operations, ensuring value delivery and compliance.
Strategy Definition & Governance
Set and execute the multi‑year strategy for the CSC operating model, aligning customer engagement, compliance, service performance, and modernization priorities to US commercial and enterprise objectives.
Direct the design and execution of service delivery across all CSC contact centers, ensuring consistent, compliant, high‑quality experiences for customers, consumers, patients, and employees.
Establish enterprise‑level governance for service standards, performance outcomes, risk management, and strategic investments.
Regulatory, Risk & Compliance Oversight:
Managing risk across the five contact centers. Establishes and maintains oversight of measures across multiple channels as (e.g., phone, mail, email, social, chat and self-serve channels)
AE intake and all FDA required follow-up on AE reports.
Designated Point of Contact for the USM; the single source of intake for AE, PQC, CDT and Product Feedback.
Management of all pharmacovigilance audits – FDA, Business Partner and Internal. Serve as the primary contact for the FDA and other auditors leading approximately eight audits per year which this organization is the direct focus of. Also accountable for active participation in ex-US audits as reports are relevant to other country regulatory agencies.
Own strategy and execution of the Oncology Project Manager Escalation program. This program is dedicated to handling customer escalations related to our oncology products.
Managing and addressing US and ex-US inquiries related to Clinical Trials for R&D
Service Modernization (AI-Enabled)
Business Owner of the end‑to‑end CSC capability roadmap, including platforms, data and knowledge foundations, workflow automation, analytics, and AI‑enabled service capabilities.
Lead the transformation of CSC operations into modern, AI‑enabled service centers, improving speed‑to‑resolution, service consistency, scalability, and operational efficiency.
Establish and chair governance for responsible AI use within CSC, ensuring alignment with privacy, security, validation, quality, and regulatory requirements.
Partner with Digital, IT, Commercial Excellence, Quality, and Legal/Privacy to ensure AI‑enabled solutions are audit‑ready and compliant by design.
Drive enterprise change management and capability uplift so leaders and teams can effectively operate in a technology‑ and AI‑enabled service environment.
Education:
Required: Bachelor’s degree (BA/BS)
Preferred: Advanced degree
Required Experience and Skills:
Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in customer service, operations, commercial support, or related functions.
Demonstrated experience leading large, multi-level organizations in regulated environments.
Strong understanding of pharmaceutical or healthcare customer engagement, including pharmacovigilance and product quality reporting requirements.
Expertise in contact center operations, customer engagement technologies, automation, and performance management.
Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and partner effectively across Commercial, Digital, IT, Quality, Legal, and Regulatory organizations.
Excellent communication, strategic thinking, and executive leadership skills.
Key Capabilities:
Executive judgment and enterprise leadership
Technology-enabled service strategy and governance
Customer-centric service design and delivery
Regulatory and compliance oversight
Data-driven performance management
Innovation and automation leadership
Talent development and organizational leadership
Cross-functional collaboration and influence
Required Skills:
Coaching, Communication, Management Process, Marketing, Measurement Analysis, Program Management, Strategic PlanningPreferred Skills:
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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
$231,900.00 - $365,000.00This 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.
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Employee Status:
RegularRelocation:
DomesticVISA Sponsorship:
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10%Flexible Work Arrangements:
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03/23/2026*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.