Merck KGaA Posted August 12, 2026

Director Group Portfolio Execution (all genders) part/full-time

Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany FULL_TIME
BD&L & Strategic Planning Director

Merck KGaA is the source of truth for this posting and owns the application process. We surface normalized context and market comparison you won't find on the original listing.

About this opportunity

Your Role:

As a Director Integration & Carve-Out, you will own the end-to-end integration and carve-out execution for our small to mid-size strategic deals. Reporting to the Head of Portfolio Execution, you will be joining a highly energetic, mission-driven team of experienced integration and carve-out leaders managing these strategic initiatives across the three sectors.

Key Responsibilities

Represent integration interests during due diligence.

Own and lead assigned integration or carve-out projects end-to-end – serving as the primary point of contact with full accountability across all workstreams.

Design and drive a structured, disciplined implementation strategy – from project set-up and timeline planning through milestone delivery – dynamically adapting and recalibrating plans as the situation evolves.

Build trusted partnerships and align with key stakeholders and business leaders, mobilizing necessary cross-functional team members and providing clear direction and oversight for accountabilities and assignments.

Drive creation and sign-off of the future target operating model.

Ensure smooth delivery at country level.

Orchestrate high-impact workstream governance – establishing meeting cadence, creating and deploying common frameworks for feedback, inputs, and deliverables within a business unit and across our company – keeping all teams laser-focused on value drivers and key enablers across the company.

Drive fast decision-making – proactively identifying and resolving risks and pivoting course decisively to protect deal success.

Ensure full compliance with legal and regulatory requirements throughout the transaction lifecycle, safeguarding our organizational and financial interests.

Plan and manage overall integration / separation cost budget.

Ensure people and organizational aspects (culture, org design, retention and engagement, capability identification and preservation) are appropriately considered and managed in integrations.

Lead the end-to-end definition, implementation, and delivery of post-closing services (incl. Manufacturing Supply Agreements (MSAs) and Transitional Service Agreements (TSAs) in carve-out projects. Lead and manage timely and effective post-closing agreement exit in integrations.

Understand and communicate concerns, motivations and needs of all entities to ensure maximum benefit is realized and business momentum is maintained / increased.

Track and report performance against agreed-upon milestones and deliverables (as well as top- and bottom-line synergy / value creation targets in integrations).

Maintain a structured approach for keeping all relevant stakeholders informed – reporting integration / carve-out progress against financial and non-financial targets, surfacing roadblocks, and driving timely escalation to senior leadership.

Create a clear roadmap and transition plan for handover and ongoing ownership.

Actively coach and develop junior team members.

Continuously evolve transaction execution-related best practices and engage in best-practice building.

 

 

Who You Are:

Minimum Qualifications:

Master’s degree, e.g., in Business Administration, Economics, Finance or related fields

6+ years of experience with global, matrixed organizations

6+ years of experience in management consulting or similar positions, with demonstrated success in steering large, cross-functional teams and overseeing substantial resources in complex environments

Demonstrated 2+ years of leading operational post-merger integrations and / or carve-outs across various deal types (e.g., share deals, asset deals, standalone / incubator integrations, spin-off).

2+ years of leadership experience

Broad-based knowledge and project experience in the industries in which our company operates (Life Science / Healthcare and / or Electronics) – with curiosity about the technologies shaping our future

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with attention to detail

Good balance of strategic and operational strength

Exceptional organizational skills, with ability to work in an agile manner and change course as required; able to systematically work through ambiguity

Skilled at building credibility and networks – from working teams to C-suite – both internally and with external partners

Strong business acumen – deep understanding of business processes / operating models, with knowledge of financial analysis, ROI analysis and key performance indicators

Continuous learning orientation and ability to quickly acquire new skills and domain knowledge in evolving business contexts

Strong drive, especially in fast-paced, complex and high-pressure environments, showing resilience and adaptability

Proven ability to make sound, data-driven decisions with confidence and minimal need for escalation

Culturally and politically savvy, strong in change management and communications

Preferred Qualifications:

MBA degree

Proficient financial literacy and experience in financial due diligence, valuation, and M&A lifecycle

Multi-year experience in strategy, business development, portfolio management, investment banking, or related field is a plus

AI literacy or interest in AI – including critical thinking and experience with AI tools, concepts and prompt engineering to accelerate project execution and drive synergies

The position can be based in the USA or Germany

Role Level: Project Manager 4

Department: EF-MA Group Strategy, M&A and Venturing

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
BD&L & Strategic Planning
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active BD&L & Strategic Planning role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 33 comparable Director BD&L & Strategic Planning roles across 12 biopharma companies.

33Comparable roles tracked
32Currently active
12Companies hiring similar roles
7Countries represented

Salary context

12 of 33 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)

Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.

This roleSubject Not listed on this posting
Lowest disclosed · Director, Group Portfolio Execution · Merck KGaA $151,900/yr – $227,900/yr
Highest disclosed · Sr. Director, Strategic Partnerships, External Surfaces · Pfizer $214,900/yr – $358,100/yr
Peer group range $189,900 – $286,500 (median $240,325)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 33 comparable roles

United States17
China6
United Kingdom4
Germany3
Spain1
Korea (the Republic of)1

+ 1 more countries

Seniority mix

33 of 33 peers have a known seniority level

Director25
Senior Director5
Principal3

Therapeutic area mix

5 of 33 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Immunology3
Oncology1
Cardiovascular / CVRM1

Similar opportunities

The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.

60%similar
Regeneron GmbH Munich, Germany Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
60%similar
Sandoz Holzkirchen (Sandoz International GmbH), Germany Director
Same function Same seniority Same country
50%similar
Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany Senior Director
Same function Adjacent seniority Same country
45%similar
Novartis Cambridge (USA), United States Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Gilead Sciences Shanghai Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. Shanghai, China Director
Same function Same seniority
45%similar
Novartis East Hanover, United States Director
Same function Same seniority

Notify me about similar jobs

Get an email when we spot other openings like this one – same job function, comparable seniority, roles you'd actually want to see.

How we calculate "similar"

No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.

Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.

60%
Director International Commercialization Immunology (f/m/d)
Regeneron GmbH · Munich, Germany · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Director, Search & Evaluation (Platforms & AI)
Novartis · Cambridge (USA), United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Director, Data Governance and Contract Compliance, Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC)
Regeneron Genetics Center (USA) · Tarrytown, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
45%
Oncology Strategy Director
Amgen Inc. · Remote, United States · Director
Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
Unmatched or unknown dimensions score exactly the same: 0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.