Executive Director, Chief of Staff, Global Clinical Trial Operations

Job Description

The Executive Director, Chief of Staff serves as a senior strategic partner and transformation integrator for the Senior Vice President (SVP), Head of Global Clinical Trial Operations (GCTO). The role helps accelerate best-in-class global trial operations by translating GCTO and enterprise priorities into focused execution, strengthening operating discipline, surfacing issues that require leadership attention, enabling timely decisions, and driving adoption of simplified, AI-enabled ways of working across a complex, regulated organization.

As a member of the GCTO Leadership Team, this role enables transformation by removing barriers, strengthening governance, and ensuring follow-through on priorities that improve portfolio delivery, quality, inspection readiness, site and patient execution, productivity, cost, global consistency, employee engagement, and change readiness.

The ideal candidate combines clinical trial operations experience, strong business judgment, executive communication, digital and AI acumen, and the credibility to lead transformation with urgency, pragmatism, and follow-through.

Key Responsibilities:

Set Direction and Drive Execution

• Partner with the SVP and GCTO Leadership Team to translate enterprise and GCTO priorities into clear execution plans, measurable outcomes, and disciplined operating rhythms.
• Serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner to the SVP, bringing external landscape awareness, business judgment, and data-driven recommendations to advance best-in-class trial operations.
• Identify and mobilize high-impact initiatives that improve trial delivery, quality, speed, simplicity, productivity, cost, and organizational effectiveness.

Govern Decisions and Manage Risk

• Lead annual priority setting, goal tracking, risk identification, mitigation planning, and senior leadership reporting for GCTO strategic priorities.
• Design and facilitate leadership governance, including Leadership Team meetings, barrier-removal discussions, business reviews, and decision forums; ensure clear agendas, decisions, owners, and follow-through.
• Surface issues, escalate barriers, and drive timely resolution of risks or decisions that affect portfolio execution, quality, inspection readiness, transformation, or operational performance.
• Serve as Global Clinical Development (GCD) Risk Lead representing GCD on the Research and Development (R&D) Risk Governance Committee; identify emerging risks, align mitigations with senior leaders, and prepare leaders for R&D risk reviews.

Modernize How We Work

• Drive modernization of clinical trial operations through simplification, quality by design, and responsible use of AI, automation, predictive analytics, and other digital capabilities.
• Ensure modernization efforts deliver measurable improvements in portfolio delivery, global consistency, cycle time, quality, productivity, and user experience.
• Partner with functions to identify capability, training, digital upskilling, and knowledge development needs that support adoption of new ways of working.
• Promote continuous improvement, process simplification, responsible AI use, innovation, and knowledge sharing across the organization.

Align, Communicate and Engage

• Act as a cross-enterprise integrator across GCTO, GCD, R&D, Finance, HR, IT, Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Learning and Development, and other partners to align priorities, resources, and execution.
• Develop executive communications, presentations, leadership messages, and engagement materials that mobilize leaders around priorities, decisions, and change expectations.
• Lead the GCTO communications and organizational engagement team to support Town Halls, Leadership Team meetings, Leader Forums, and other enterprise-facing forums.
• Promote a collaborative, inclusive, high-performing culture that supports transparency, accountability, learning, and disciplined execution.
• Partner with Chiefs of Staff and operational leaders to align ways of working and accelerate adoption of enterprise practices.

Minimum Education Requirement:

• Bachelor’s degree and > 10 years of relevant clinical trial delivery experience OR
• Master’s degree and > 8 years of relevant clinical trial delivery experience OR
• Ph.D. or doctorate and > 6 years of relevant clinical trial delivery experience

Preferred Education:

• Advanced degree
• Certification in AI

Required Experience and Skills:

• Proven ability to influence, integrate, and drive alignment with senior leaders and cross-functional teams in a complex, matrixed, regulated environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategic initiatives, operational excellence, transformation, productivity, cost, or simplification programs from strategy through execution.
• Strong digital and AI leadership, including experience applying enterprise-approved AI, automation, predictive analytics, and data-driven approaches to modernize clinical trial delivery and ways of working.
• Maintains relevant digital curriculum completion or certification expectations, such as GCTO Elevate for internal applicants, with role-appropriate progression over time.
• Strong judgment, decision-making, and prioritization skills; able to operate autonomously in ambiguous, fast-moving, and sensitive contexts.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with ability to manage multiple priorities, surface tradeoffs, and drive closure.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to synthesize complex information into clear executive messages, recommendations, and decision materials.
• Strong change leadership and global collaboration skills; able to influence adoption and drive outcomes across geographies, cultures, and reporting lines.

Required Skills:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Acumen, Clinical Trials Operations, Collaboration, Cross-Functional Leadership, Digital Capabilities, Digital Transformation, Executive Communications, Executive Leadership, Matrix Leadership, Operational Excellence, Project Management, Risk Mitigation, Strategic Initiative

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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The salary range for this role is

$255,800.00 - $402,700.00

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

You can apply for this role through (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

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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:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

10/6/2026

*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.