Associate Director, Market Research

Position Description Job Description AD, Primary Market Research Focus Area: Infectious Diseases with a primary focus on HIV Our Marketing team is passionate about bringing our medicines and vaccines to our customers around the world. Through digital listening and patient analytics, we can understand our customers’ needs and strive to provide solutions to meet them. At our Company, we are leveraging insights, analytics and technology, as we invent for life on behalf of patients around the world. We are seeking those who have a passion for using strategic insights, data and analytics to drive decision making, that will allow us to tackle some of the world’s greatest health threats. Within our commercial Insights, Analytics, and Data organization we are transforming to better power decision‑making across our end‑to‑end commercialization process, from business development to late lifecycle management. As we endeavor, we are seeking a dynamic talent for the role of Associate Director, Primary Market Research. Key Responsibilities The Market Research Associate Director will be a main point of contact for their assigned areas of responsibility for our product's marketing / commercial team. The position will plan, prioritize, manage, and execute a scope of work within the HIV therapeutic area, spanning both pre- and post-launch. Specifically, the focus of this role will be for Infectious Disease, most notably HIV and any future assets in this domain. Responsibilities include providing strategic input to the extended global team via primary market research projects and secondary data analysis by proactively defining business questions and opportunities, identifying strategic insights, and recommending actionable business solutions. The Associate Director will also help advance the evolution of Primary Market Research by leveraging AI-enabled research, analytics, and knowledge management capabilities to accelerate insight generation, enhance decision‑making, and identify innovative approaches to understanding customers, markets, and business opportunities. This person is expected to be an exceptional team player who can comfortably interact with and add value to the existing market research team as well as strategically partner with extended team members including pricing and access, sales, promotion and marketing. The Associate Director will consistently demonstrate strong leadership skills with an ability to work independently in a rapidly changing environment with a transformational mindset, cultural awareness and resiliency to change. The successful candidate should have an understanding of emerging AI‑powered market research methodologies and capabilities including but not limited to synthetic respondents and digital personas and will embrace emerging technologies and data‑driven ways of working, while ensuring the responsible, compliant, and effective application of AI and advanced analytics to support business objectives. Position Qualifications Education: Minimum Required: BA/BS degree in Business, Marketing, Healthcare or related field Preferred: MBA, MS, MPH or other advanced degree in relevant discipline Knowledge and Skills: Minimum of eight (8) years of experience in marketing market research and analytics; prior experience may include market research, analytics, sales, forecasting, access and pricing, marketing or competitive intelligence Well-developed analytical and problem‑solving skills; demonstrated ability to think strategically and objectively Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and working knowledge of secondary data, analytics and epidemiology data sources. Proven ability to synthesize data and research outputs into compelling, actionable insights through effective storytelling and executive‑ready communication Strategic consulting mindset, with ability to quickly establish trust, build credibility, and influence effective partnerships across multiple stakeholders and team members Technical aptitude and curiosity to build expertise in current and emerging market research approaches, including AI‑enabled tools, advanced analytics, and innovative insight‑generation methods. Ability to prioritize and manage multiple requests from marketing partners, commercial stakeholders, and extended team members in a fast‑paced environment Strong communication skills and demonstrated ability to lead change, support transformation, and promote new ways of working Preferred Knowledge and Skills: AI fluency and experience applying responsible, compliant AI‑enabled market research and analytics capabilities to accelerate insight generation and enhance decision‑making. Hands‑on experience with LLM tools/apps and basic understanding of prompt engineering. Experience supporting launch excellence, early commercial development, and/or lifecycle planning Familiarity with marketing strategy development Demonstrated leadership behaviors, including customer focus, sound decision‑making, courage and candor, collaboration, and accountability. Strong project leadership skills, with the ability to manage complexity, balance competing priorities, and deliver high‑quality work in a fast‑paced environment Ability to motivate without authority Ability to support transformation, manage change, and promote adoption of new tools, capabilities and ways of working Required Skills: Business Analysis, Business Decisions, Business Metrics, Business Opportunity Identification, Competency Management, Influencing Skills, Influencing Without Authority, Insight Generation, Key Metrics, Market Analysis, Market Research, Market Research Reports, Primary Capital Markets, Product Rollouts, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Analysis, Strategic Recommendations, Strategic Thinking, Supplier Management, Waterfall Model Company Inclusion Statement 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. 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 Salary and Benefits The salary range for this role is $156,900.00 - $247,000.00 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. medical dental vision healthcare other insurance benefits (for employee and family) retirement benefits, including 401(k) paid holidays vacation compassionate and sick days More information about benefits is available at 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 Recruitment Policy 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. 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. Company Overview Our company is a global health care leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products. The difference between potential and achievement lies in the spark that fuels innovation and inventiveness; this is the space where we have codified our legacy for over a century. Our success is backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare. #J-18808-Ljbffr MSD Malaysia