Associate Director, Community Engagement Team Lead - West

Job Description

Role Summary

The Associate Director, Community Engagement Team Lead position resides in the Value & Implementation (V&I) organization, which includes Global Medical and Scientific Affairs as well as Outcomes Research.

This role is responsible for leading and enabling a team of Community Engagement Specialists (CES) to execute community engagement across priority advocacy ecosystems, including patient advocacy organizations (PAOs), community-based organizations (CBOs/NGOs), and allied healthcare networks.

The Associate Director / Manager serves as a critical link between field execution and organizational strategy, ensuring consistent, compliant, and high-quality engagement aligned to enterprise priorities and community needs.

The role focuses on translating strategy into field execution, strengthening team capabilities, and ensuring the structured capture, synthesis, and communication of insights related to access, barriers to care, and community priorities.

Responsibilities and Primary Activities

People Leadership & Team Development

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

Lead and support execution of community engagement 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

Identify and prioritize training, coaching, and development needs across the CES team

Guide field-based segmentation and targeting activities, including oversight of tactical engagement plans and KPIs

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

Ensure consistent utilization of execution resources, including playbooks, tools, and standardized operating procedures (SOPs)

Establish and maintain bi-directional communication between CES field teams and headquarters to ensure alignment and visibility of community insights

Plan, coordinate, and lead team engagements including meetings, strategy discussions, and training calls

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

Utilize reporting tools and dashboards to monitor engagement performance and support decision-making

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

 

Travel:

Up to 75% travel required for external engagements, conferences, and regional meetings.

 Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Minimum

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred

Minimum of 5+ years pharmaceutical/biotech experience in a related role -AND/OR- community engagement, patient advocacy, or public health experience

Demonstrated experience leading or supporting field-based teams

Strong project management and organizational skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Proven ability to drive execution and manage multiple priorities

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

Preferred

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

Familiarity with health, access, and community engagement dynamics

Experience coaching, mentoring, or developing field-based team members

Experience supporting training, onboarding, or capability-building initiatives

Familiarity with agile or evolving field engagement models

Required Skills:

Community Advocacy, Community Engagement, HIV AIDS, Infectious Disease, Leadership, Medical Knowledge, Patient Relations, Public Health, Scientific Communications, Scientific Exchange, Stakeholder Engagement

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

$173,200.00 - $272,600.00

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:

75%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

08/26/2026 *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.

Requisition ID:R413094