Community Engagement Specialist (CES) (IL, IN, WI)

Job Description

Role Summary

• The Community Engagement Specialist (CES) is a field-based, community-embedded role focused on building trusted, long-term relationships with national, regional, and local organizations serving communities disproportionately impacted by disease. Organizations include, but are not limited to, patient advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, health departments, community health centers, social and civic groups, and faith-based organizations to support engagement across the care continuum.

• This field-based role is responsible for executing and advancing community engagement across priority advocacy ecosystems, including patient advocacy organizations (PAOs), community-based organizations (CBOs/NGOs), and allied healthcare networks.

• The CES serves as a trusted field partner and ecosystem connector, responsible for building durable relationships, enabling meaningful engagement, and ensuring community perspectives are reflected in alignment with organizational priorities.

• The role delivers non-promotional, above-brand engagement and education, while also supporting the structured capture, synthesis, and communication of insights related to access, barriers to care, and community needs.

• This role serves as a key connector between field engagement and headquarters teams, contributing to consistent, compliant, and scalable execution through established tools, processes, and engagement approaches.

Responsibilities and Primary Activities

• Use data, field observations, and qualitative feedback to evaluate engagement effectiveness and identify opportunities for continuous improvement, including standardized insight capture and reporting approaches

• Execute community engagement and relationship-building activities aligned to organizational and ecosystem priorities

• Partner with PI&E leadership in preparation, planning, and integration related to disease awareness, community engagement, and execution

• Contribute to identification of training and capability needs based on field insights and engagement experience

• Support field-based segmentation and targeting activities, including execution of tactical engagement plans and tracking against defined objectives

• Leverage community insights and engagement data to identify trends, unmet needs, access barriers, and opportunities to enhance engagement approaches

• Utilize established execution resources, including playbooks, tools, and standardized operating procedures (SOPs), to ensure consistency and quality

• Maintain consistent, bi-directional communication between field engagements and headquarters teams to ensure alignment and visibility of community perspectives

• Participate in team engagements including meetings, planning sessions, and training calls

• Ensure all engagement activities comply with legal, regulatory, and non-promotional requirements

• Utilize approved reporting tools and dashboards to document engagements and support performance monitoring

• Identify and communicate opportunities to evolve and optimize community engagement approaches and field execution models

Required Location:

• This role covers IL, IN, & WI.

• Candidates must reside within the territory.

• Ability for travel up to 50% within the territory

Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Minimum

• Bachelor’s degree required and a minimum of 3 years pharmaceutical/biotech experience -OR- community engagement, patient advocacy, or public health experience

• Strong project management and organizational skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Demonstrated ability to execute effectively in a field-based role

• Experience engaging with community stakeholders, advocacy organizations, or related groups

• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills

• Experience contributing to health-related, community-based, or engagement-focused initiatives

• Ability to work independently while contributing to a broader team environment

Preferred

• Experience working with patient advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, or healthcare-related community ecosystems

• Familiarity with health, access, and community engagement dynamics

• Experience supporting or facilitating educational or community-based engagements

• Experience contributing to training, onboarding, or team capability development

• Familiarity with agile or evolving field engagement models

Required Skills:

Community Outreach, Engagement Strategies, Feedback Management, Liaison Work, Medical Affairs, Project Management, Relationship Building, Scientific Communications, Scientific Exchange, Virology

Preferred Skills:

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Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

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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

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

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:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

50%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

09/7/2026

*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.