Dir , Data Governance

Job Description

The Director is accountable for setting and driving the Social, Web, Mobile, Primary market research, data, digital data product and Digital data solutions governance & enablement strategy for Digital Human Health (DHH), across markets and franchises. This leader is responsible for embedding scalable governance-by-design controls across the lifecycle of customer facing digital engagement, primary market research, data ingestion and enablement across the medallion architecture, creation of Digital data products and more broadly pharma analytics and creation/enablement of digital solutions.

This role is responsible for leading a team that turns corporate policy and enterprise governance, privacy, risk, and compliance requirements into practical playbooks, tools and DHH operating standards. Socializes through alignment and influence with DHH leadership and key stakeholders across Legal, Compliance, IT RMS, General Counsel, Medical, Human Health leadership and with DHH product, platform, analytics teams, and vendor ecosystems. The leader will also be responsible to train the broader DHH organization to understand the guidelines, rules and playbooks. He/She will also strategize, design and build the right checkpoints to ensure adoption and becomes a trusted partner for DHH leadership to enable compliance by design, in the day to day ways of working across DHH.

He/She, with their team, will manage risk and deviation processes, coordinate cross functional reviews (Privacy, Security, Legal, Ethics, Procurement, Pharmacovigilance, Audit), and provide an escalation path for material risks while leaving operational delivery decisions with business owners.

Success in this role requires deep understanding of data, data driven analytics, Primary market research methodologies, digital marketing and marketing enablement across social, web and mobile channels. It is essential that the individual has extensive knowledge and experience in the application of Privacy (GDPR, HIPPA CCPA etc.), Pharmacovigilance (EMA, FDA), Anti-Trust, FCPA regulations etc. and their application to data, data sciences and market research. Given the evolving technology landscape, this individual is also expected to have learning orientation to learn to leverage technology and AI to enable the required capability builds, SOP creation, governance practices, monitoring and compliance readiness. The Director partners with first-line delivery leaders to enable responsible innovation while maintaining regulatory defensibility, privacy by design, and risk transparency, with clear linkage to second-line oversight functions.

Organizational Scope

The Director will lead a multidisciplinary team across Social, Web, Mobile, Market Research, Digital and Data governance enablement and GRC specialists (direct and matrixed). Scope includes governance enablement for:

Primary market research

Web, mobile and digital channels (apps, sites, content ecosystems)

Social media (listening, influencer engagements, company owned handles/assets)

Commercial data analytics- Prescriptive analytics and advanced statistical modeling

Data governance and privacy integration - Sensitive data domains, including HCP and patient-level data (identified, de-identified, and pseudonymized), Commercial data ecosystems (1st/2nd/3rd party), data ingestion, linkage, and enrichment

Digital data product governance enablement – Digital data products, insights platforms, and Digital data solutions

Risk management, audit/inspection readiness, and governance capability building

Leadership Responsibilities

Set strategy, priorities, and operating model for DHH Digital, Social, Web, Mobile, Market Research, data, and digital data product governance enablement.

Align and influence DHH leadership and key stakeholders to embed governance-by-design into planning and delivery.

Build governance capability (frameworks, training, templates, tooling, and metrics) that accelerates delivery while protecting patients, customers, and the company.

Provide transparent risk reporting and timely escalation pathways to second-line oversight functions and enterprise governance forums.

Responsible for building a high performing team of GRC advisors. Responsible for coaching, mentoring, hiring, disciplining when required, and providing guidance to the team.

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Engineering, Sciences, Liberal arts, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Business, Analytics or related fields

Ph.D. is preferred

Data Governance & Privacy Integration

Partner with CD&AO, DHH teams, HH leaders, Global Privacy Office, BIRO/ITRMS, Ethics & Compliance, and Legal to ensure policy alignment and consistent execution.

Embed privacy-by-design and data governance controls into DHH Digital and data product workflows, including secondary use, linkage/enrichment, cross-domain integration, and retention requirements.

Translate policies into concise playbooks, standards, templates and delivery tools.

Ensure defensible documentation for de-identification/pseudonymization methods and periodic reassessment, with clear traceability to intended use.

Digital Data Product Governance Integration

Integrate governance checkpoints into SDLC and agile product ways of working, with clear review/approval triggers where required.

Ensure end-to-end traceability across data inputs, transformations, model integration (where applicable), outputs, and intended use.

Set documentation and quality standards for digital data products and vendor-provided solutions, including controls for data acquisition and fair market value (FMV) approvals.

Risk Enablement & Escalation

Maintain and mature the DHH risk register to cover data/digital data products, including consistent assessment criteria and mitigation tracking. Align with enterprise ERM, enforce standardized risk classification and escalation procedures; ensure timely logging, ownership, mitigation and closure.

Identify systemic control gaps and drive remediation plans with delivery leaders; monitor effectiveness through defined metrics.

Escalate material privacy, security, and cybersecurity risks to second-line functions and enterprise risk governance, with timely executive communication.

Enterprise Governance, Risk & Compliance Alignment

Translate enterprise governance requirements into practical, auditable operational controls for DHH.

Coordinate with IT GRC, APEX (AI risk), ECO/Legal, Global Privacy Office, BIRO/ITRMS, Procurement, and MCAAS to ensure alignment, clear ownership, and effective escalation.

Anticipate emerging regulatory expectations impacting Social, Web, mobile, Market research, Digital and data. Update DHH standards and guidance accordingly.

Ensure documentation and evidence expectations support inspection readiness and defensible decisions.

Coordinate Privacy, Security and Legal reviews, document decisions with audit trails, and define escalation paths for analytics and insights activities.

Partner with Procurement to verify onboarding and due diligence in Aravo, maintain approved vendor list, validate MSAs/compliance before go live, monitor vendor performance and escalate material vendor risks.

Audit & Inspection Readiness

Set standardized evidence and documentation expectations across domains to support audits and regulatory inspections.

Ensure all required artifacts are complete, traceable, and defensible for intended use and risk posture.

Coordinate audit responses across DHH data domains and maintain ongoing readiness.

Governance Culture, Capability and Advocacy

Training & culture: design and deliver role based GRC training, track competency and completion, sponsor governance stewards and run regular steward forums.

Drive governance adoption by aligning with and influencing DHH leaders and delivery teams; clarify accountabilities, escalation paths, and decision forums.

Build practical enablement (role-based training, playbooks, templates, and tooling) that increases consistency and reduces delivery friction.

Champion responsible stewardship, balancing innovation, patient/customer trust, and compliance obligations.

Own success metrics (adoption, training completion, auditability, time to escalation, risk closure, stakeholder satisfaction) and drive improvements from register insights.

Decision Rights

The Director has authority to:

Define minimum governance controls for Social, Web, Mobile, Market research, Content, data, data products, digital data solutions within company policy and standards boundaries in close partnership with other teams that have a role in defining privacy, risk, compliance and governance standards for Human Health (HH).

Require minimum documentation and evidence prior to deployment and material change.

Escalate material risks for additional review, decisioning, and approval, as required.

Mandate remediation or mitigation plans for control gaps and monitor closure.

Business and product leaders retain ownership of delivery decisions and risk acceptance within company policy and standards; the Director provides governance enablement standards, oversight cadence, and escalation pathways to support consistent, defensible outcomes.

Qualifications

10+ years of experience in Governance, risk and compliance, Marketing, Data strategy, Data Engineering, Product design & deployment, data science and AI enablement, digital channels and market research with at least 7+ years of experience in Governance, Privacy, Risk Assessment and Compliance enablement

Proven ability to translate policy into operational standards, playbooks and tooling

Experience managing cross functional reviews with Privacy, Security and Legal

Strong leadership of multi-disciplinary teams and vendor oversight

Familiarity with risk registers, deviation/CAPA processes and vendor due diligence platforms

Excellent stakeholder management and training program delivery skills

Required Skills:

Data Governance, Data Ingestion, Data Management, Digital Consumer Engagement, Digital Healthcare, Governance Management, Market Research, Operational Decisions, Pharmacovigilance, Privacy Compliance, Procurement, Quality Management, Risk Governance, Social Media, Social Media Management, Strategic Procurement, Technical Advice, Waterfall Model

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:

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

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:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

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:R410474