MSD

Senior Specialist: Corporate Communications IT

USA - New Jersey - Rahway Full time

Job Description

Our Company's Information Technology organization partners with colleagues across the business to deliver technology solutions that empower our corporate communications function. As part of the IT team, you will collaborate internationally to deliver services and applications that enhance communication effectiveness, support global messaging, and drive innovation in how our Company communicates with internal and external stakeholders.

We are seeking an experienced professional with a strong background in Product Management to shape the vision and strategy for technology solutions supporting corporate communications. The Product Manager will define product strategy, drive continuous discovery, and work with stakeholders to deliver high-value application solutions that improve communication workflows, content management, and stakeholder engagement for our Company communications teams.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

·         Lead and manage IT applications supporting corporate communications, serving as the main point of contact for these solutions.

·         Own the product roadmap and demand pipeline, ensuring alignment with our Company communications strategy and business goals.

Vision & Principles

·         Define and communicate the vision and strategy for communications technology products, maximizing value and driving measurable outcomes.

Prioritization

·         Ruthlessly prioritize high impact work that advances communications capabilities, continuously reassessing priorities as new insights and data emerge.

Discovery & User Research

·         Lead ongoing discovery activities (user research, interviews, surveys, usability testing) in partnership with communications stakeholders and UX/Design teams to validate assumptions and inform product decisions.

·         Translate user insights from communications teams into clear requirements, hypotheses, and minimal viable experiments for technology solutions.

Execution & Delivery

·         Maintain and prioritize a healthy backlog of epics, features, and user stories aligned with the communications roadmap.

·         Partner with development teams to ensure high-quality delivery using Agile methodologies.

·         Act as product owner through delivery, ensuring outcomes meet the needs of the communications function and align with product vision.

Collaboration

·         Work closely with software engineers, architects, UX designers, business analysts, project managers, vendors, and communications stakeholders to refine, scope, and deliver technology solutions.

Regulatory & Compliance

·         Ensure technology solutions for communications comply with relevant regulations and standards, partnering with compliance and quality teams as needed.

Risk & Issue Management

·         Capture and manage risks, impediments, assumptions, and dependencies for communications technology execution, focusing on early mitigation.

Stakeholder Alignment

·         Facilitate alignment among communications stakeholders through data-driven decision-making and clear communication.

Value Measurement & Reporting

·         Define success metrics (KPIs, OKRs, outcome measures) for communications technology in partnership with stakeholders.

·         Continuously measure and report progress, communicating value and learnings to leadership.

Vendor & Financial Management

·         Manage vendor contracts and total cost of ownership for communications technology products, collaborating with procurement and finance to optimize costs.

Experience and Skills

·         Bachelors in IT, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.

·         5+ years of relevant work experience, with at least 3+ years of demonstrated Technical Product Management experience supporting IT applications or technology solutions.

·         Experience building and supporting large-scale IT solutions using modern technologies.

·         Strong experience working in agile environments (scrum, kanban) and with agile teams.

·         Hands-on with product tools such as Jira, Confluence, analytics platforms, and collaboration tools; comfortable producing roadmap artifacts and prioritization documentation.

·         Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to quickly establish credibility and trust with communications stakeholders.

·         Self-motivated, curious, and collaborative; able to foster an inclusive team culture across a global organization.

·         Proficiency in written and spoken English.

Preferred Qualifications

·         Product management certification (e.g., Pragmatic Institute) and/or Agile certifications (CSPO, CSM) preferred.

·         Experience working with SaaS/COTS vendors and procurement processes.

·         Previous experience in communications technology, life sciences, pharma industry, or clinical operations domain.

Required Skills

Asset Management, Benefits Management, Business Case Development, Communication, Customer Experience Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), Management System Development, Product Management, Product Roadmap, Product Strategies, Requirements Management, Software Product Management, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, System Designs, Total Cost of Ownership Analysis, Vendor Management, Vendor Management Systems (VMS)

Required Skills:

Agile Environments, Agile Environments, Business Case Development, Cloud Computing Services, Cloud Platform, Collaboration Tools, Communication, Communications Planning, Corporate Communications Strategy, Database Management, Data Integration, Detail-Oriented, IT Infrastructure Management, Marketing, Procurement, Product Lifecycle, Product Management, Product Roadmap, Product Strategies, Professional Networking, Server Hardware Configuration, Software Development, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Planning, User Research {+ 4 more}

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

$114,700.00 - $180,500.00

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:

11/28/2025

*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.