Director, Doravirine/Islatravir Global Marketing Strategy

Job Description

Director,Doravirine/Islatravir Global Marketing Strategy

Our company is dedicated to delivering innovations that extend and improve the lives of people worldwide. We are committed to helping address unmet medical needs through scientific innovation, commercial excellence, and strong partnerships that improve access to medicines around the globe.

The Director, Doravirine/Islatravir Global Marketing Strategy will serve as a strategic commercial leader responsible for driving the global marketing strategy for Doravirine/Islatravir, our newly launched daily HIV treatment. This individual will play a critical role in maximizing the long-term value of Doravirine/Islatravir by leading strategy development, guiding promotional and brand planning efforts, partnering across functions to generate actionable customer insights, and ensuring alignment between commercial priorities and business objectives.

This role reports to the Executive Director, Global Marketing, our Company's HIV Treatment Programs and is a highly visible leadership position within the HIV franchise. The Director will serve as the L3 Strategy Lead for Doravirine/Islatravir while contributing to broader HIV treatment portfolio strategy, including future pipeline opportunities such as ISL/ULO.

The HIV market remains one of the most dynamic and competitive therapeutic areas, requiring deep customer understanding, strong analytics, thoughtful market access strategies, and differentiated brand execution. The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker, effective collaborator, and strong business leader capable of influencing across a complex matrix organization.

This role will require leadership across multiple areas including global strategy development, brand planning, market research, competitive intelligence, analytics, pricing and access strategy, financial planning, and portfolio management.

Key Responsibilities

Lead development and evolution of the global L3 strategy for Doravirine/Islatravir, ensuring alignment across commercial, medical, market access, analytics, and local market stakeholders.

Serve as the global strategy lead for Doravirine/Islatravir and contribute to long-range planning efforts for future HIV treatment programs, including ISL/ULO.

Lead annual strategic planning, business planning, and lifecycle management activities to maximize brand performance and long-term franchise value.

Own global brand strategy, positioning, messaging, and promotional direction, ensuring a consistent and differentiated customer experience across markets.

Partner closely with local teams to translate global strategy into actionable market plans and launch excellence.

Lead the market research and customer insights agenda, ensuring strategic decisions are grounded in robust understanding of healthcare provider, people living with HIV (PLWH), and payer needs.

Collaborate with DHH Analytics to identify key business drivers, define performance metrics, and leverage data to optimize business decisions and resource allocation.

Serve as the commercial lead for Market Access, Pricing, and Value & Implementation strategy, partnering with cross-functional teams to maximize patient access and value recognition.

Lead competitive intelligence efforts, monitoring market dynamics, competitive developments, and emerging treatment trends to inform strategic decision-making.

Serve as Expenses and Profit Plan Lead, overseeing budget planning, resource allocation, forecasting assumptions, and financial performance management.

Partner with Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Outcomes Research, and other stakeholders as a commercial contributor to scientific strategy and evidence-generation priorities.

Contribute to the development of our company's HIV Treatment Programs portfolio strategy, supporting portfolio prioritization, lifecycle planning, and future business development opportunities.

Build strong cross-functional partnerships and foster alignment across Commercial, Medical Affairs, Finance, Market Access, Policy, Analytics, Regulatory, and regional teams.

Challenge the status quo and identify innovative approaches to drive growth, strengthen competitive positioning, and improve execution excellence.

Lead through influence in a matrix environment and effectively communicate recommendations to senior leadership.

Education Minimum Requirements

Required: BA/BS

Preferred: MBA or equivalent advanced degree

Required Experience & Skills

Minimum of 10 years of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or related commercial experience.

Minimum of 5 years of strategic marketing, brand management, or commercial leadership experience.

Demonstrated success developing and executing marketing strategies that drive business performance.

Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities with a proven ability to synthesize customer insights, analytics, and market dynamics into actionable business recommendations.

Experience working with market research, analytics, forecasting, and competitive intelligence to inform commercial decision-making.

Knowledge of pricing, market access, reimbursement, and healthcare policy considerations.

Strong financial acumen, including business planning, budget management, and profit plan development.

Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.

Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence without formal authority.

Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results in a fast-paced, highly visible environment.

Preferred Skills

HIV therapeutic area experience.

Product launch and post-launch commercialization experience.

Global marketing experience.

Experience leading lifecycle management and long-range strategic planning activities.

Familiarity with customer analytics, omnichannel engagement, and digital marketing approaches.

Demonstrated ability to challenge conventional thinking and drive organizational alignment around strategic priorities.

Strong executive presence and ability to communicate with senior leadership.

Location & Work Model

Upper Gwynedd, PA or Rahway, NJ

Hybrid Work Model

Travel: Approximately 20% Required

Required Skills:

Brand Messaging, Brand Strategy, Digital Marketing, Executive Presence, Financial Acumen, Market Research, Portfolio Strategies, Strategic Thinking

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

$190,800.00 - $300,300.00

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:

Domestic/International

VISA Sponsorship:

Yes

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

08/21/2026 *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:R412677