Executive Director, Organization & Talent Partner R&D Division

Job Description

The Executive Director, Organization & Talent Partner (OTP), Research & Development Division reports to the Vice President, Human Resources, Research & Development (R&D) Division and serves as the senior strategic organization and talent advisor to senior leaders and their leadership teams. Operating with a divisional as well as an enterprise mindset, the leader architects the long-term view that connects priorities and business needs into organizational capability planning solutions that help ensure these organizations have the structures, capabilities, leadership, talent pipelines and ways of working needed to deliver their priorities. The role operates across complex scientific, pipeline, workforce, geographic and organizational priorities; co-creates strategy; frames organization and workforce choices; and establishes governance and ways of working across multiple leadership interfaces.

The Executive Director leads a team of Organization & Talent Partners. Operating with an enterprise mindset, the role connects priorities across our Research & Development Division, partnering with Talent Enablement and commissioning the right expertise from Centers of Excellence (COEs), Enterprise Team HR (ETHR) and HR Solutions & Operations to bring strategy into execution. As a people leader, the role is accountable for the direction, development, performance and effective deployment of a team of Organization & Talent Partners.

Primary Responsibilities:

Shape the agenda:

• Understand, anticipate and translate business strategy into the long-term organization and talent agenda​
• Lead organization capability planning so structures, roles and capabilities are ready for where the business is going​
• Drive strategic workforce planning linked to business direction and transformation
• Bring an enterprise perspective to leadership and business planning, connecting organization, workforce and talent implications across leadership teams and the broader enterprise.

Develop the organization and its leaders:

• Enable talent development strategy, including succession and leadership development for critical populations​
• Coach senior leaders to improve organizational effectiveness, leadership impact and talent decisions​
• Support transformational efforts from an organization and talent perspective​
• Act as steward in organizational effectiveness, driving stronger collaboration across functions and clarity in interfaces, so priorities connect rather than compete

Leverage the HR operating model to bring strategy into execution

• Be accountable for the strategy and execution of macro-level organizational change and transformation and ensure the right partnerships are activated to deliver successful execution​.
• Engage with TELs, COEs, ETHR, HR Solutions & Operations and other partners to deliver the highest-value business priorities, leveraging expertise and capacity where they reside. Across these partnerships, provide context on business priorities and dynamics, connect organization and talent priorities across divisions and countries
• Seek to understand local nuances and considerations when defining organization and talent strategy and execution plans​
  ​

Experience, capabilities and leadership characteristics

The successful candidate will bring deep strategic HR experience in a large, complex organization and a record of shaping outcomes through influence. The role requires the following capabilities and leadership characteristics:

• Business savviness: bring the depth of advanced business understanding needed to build differentiated talent strategies and workforce plans leaders will trust​.

• Organization development and effectiveness: diagnose how well the organization is working and take action to close the gaps and strengthen effectiveness, using the OCP playbook and OD team resources​.

• Talent growth and senior-leader coaching: anticipate talent and capability gaps in critical populations well before they become urgent, and shape the succession and development plans that close them​

• Influence and executive communication: effectively frame and communicate complex or sensitive issues clearly and confidently to stakeholders and partners to ensure effective action is taken, ​and align senior stakeholders without relying on formal authority.

• Change catalyst leadership: drive the organizational and cultural shifts your strategy requires, championing new approaches and helping people move through resistance to get there​

• Networking, partnerships: effectively navigate the organization, delivering through trusted partnerships across the HR Operating Model

• People leadership: ​Demonstrated success as a people leader, ability to build an inclusive, high-performing OTP team with clear direction and shared accountability.

• Systems Thinking: see the organization as a connected system — deep understanding of the interdependencies between businesses, functions and regions, and read data and signals across them to find the patterns that shape the org and talent agenda​

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business or a related discipline required

Required Experience and Skills:

• Minimum of twelve (12) years of progressive HR or closely related business experience, including significant strategic HR partnership experience in a complex, global environment.
• Demonstrated experience advising and coaching senior executives and leadership teams.
• Demonstrated broad-reaching experience in strategic workforce planning, organization capability planning, organization design and development, talent and succession.
• Experience supporting a pharmaceutical, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial or other science-based organization.
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders, manage high-risk and sensitive matters, and coordinate outcomes across organizational boundaries. Ability to commission work through a networked operating model. Broad global perspective and the ability to lead with cultural sensitivity across a matrixed and global organization
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, business judgment and analytical capability.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including leading, coaching and developing experienced HR professionals and building a high-performing, inclusive team

Required Skills:

Change Management, Confidential Data Handling, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), Functional Expertise, HR Information Management, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), Human Resource Management, Leadership Development Programs, Learning and Development (L&D), People Leadership, Recruiting Processes, Strategic Thinking, Succession Planning, Talent Acquisition, Talent Analytics, Talent Assessments, Talent Development, Talent Management, Talent Strategy, Workforce Analytics, Workforce Planning

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.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$231,900.00 - $365,000.00

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

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:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

NA

Job Posting End Date:

10/9/2026

*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.