Merck Posted October 10, 2026

Director, Oncology Global Communications – Hematology

Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America FULL_TIME
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About this opportunity

Job Description

The role of Director, Oncology Global Communications – Hematology is a unique opportunity to join our company, a recognized leader in oncology, as a key member of the Oncology Global Communications team. The role is dedicated to managing day-to-day communications related to our company’s hematology portfolio. The candidate selected for this role will work under the guidance of the Executive Director, Global Oncology Communications, in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment.

Responsibilities include but will not be limited to the following key activities:

Develop and implement integrated communications programs and strategies for our company’s hematology portfolio and near-term product launches, including five pipeline assets.

Provide strategic external communications support across the hematology portfolio, including press releases, media materials, executive thought leadership, medical meeting communications, and social and digital content; heavy emphasis on data communications (scientific and data milestones, regulatory decisions and approval and launch communications).

Lead strategic planning and execution of communications in partnership with cross-functional colleagues, including our Research & Development Division , Investor Relations, Commercial, Policy and Market Access.

Responsible for developing and executing communication strategies to establish our company’s reputation in hematology, aligned with the company’s corporate narrative, Global Oncology business strategy and key business priorities.

Anticipate issues and prepare crisis and issues management communications for the hematology portfolio in partnership with cross-functional colleagues.

Develop and execute communications strategies, programs and materials for use by our company’s regions and subsidiaries worldwide; help advise regions and subsidiaries for franchise and product communications issues.

Serve as a liaison to third party groups (including advocacy organizations) and external experts (including researchers) to advance disease education and patient-centered communications programs.

Work directly with public relations agencies and help manage related budgets.

Manage direct report supporting our company’s hematology portfolio.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree required

A minimum of eight (8) years’ experience in a communications or public relations role within the pharmaceutical or a related industry (hospital, public health, etc.)

Hematology/oncology product communications experience strongly preferred but not required.

Excellent written and oral communications skills across a variety of mediums/channels (e.g., print, digital, presentation), with the demonstrated ability to develop clear, persuasive materials under time pressure.

Experience leading disease awareness, product communications, scientific communications, and/or approval and launch landmarks in a regulated environment.

Demonstrated ability to translate complex scientific information into clear, concise, and compelling communications and storytelling efforts across a variety of mediums (print, digital, social and visual) and audiences in both branded and unbranded communications.

Strong interpersonal and influencing skills, with demonstrated ability to counsel and build trusted relationships with senior leaders and diverse cross-functional partners.

Experience in proactive issues identification, scenario planning and issues or crisis management.

Strong project management skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks and competing priorities.

Team player, collaborative spirit, ability to succeed in a fast-paced, high-visibility role.

Budget and agency management experience.

Required Skills:

Brand Awareness, Content Creation, Crisis Communication Management, Digital Communications, Executive Presence, Internal Communications, Media Campaigns, Media Relations, Medical Communications, Public Affairs Strategies, Public Speaking, Social Media Strategies, Stakeholder Engagement

Preferred Skills:

Communications Strategy, External Communication

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:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

10/21/2026 *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:R421215

Job details

Seniority
Director
Function
Communications & Public Affairs
Therapeutic area
Oncology
Location
Rahway, New Jersey, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

Computed from every other active Communications & Public Affairs role in our database, not just this employer's listings.

We currently track 62 comparable Director Communications & Public Affairs roles across 31 biopharma companies.

62Comparable roles tracked
51Currently active
31Companies hiring similar roles
12Countries represented

Salary context

21 of 62 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 $173,200/yr – $272,600/yr
Lowest disclosed · Senior Director, Global Consumer Science Communications · Lilly $154,500/yr – $226,600/yr
Highest disclosed · Sr Director, U.S. Public Affairs (Boston, MA, US) · Servier $216/hr – $316/hr (≈ $449,280–$657,280/yr)
Peer group range $190,550 – $553,280 (median $232,750)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 62 comparable roles

United States42
Japan4
United Kingdom3
China3
Italy2
Switzerland2

+ 6 more countries

Seniority mix

62 of 62 peers have a known seniority level

Director40
Senior Director22

Therapeutic area mix

5 of 62 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Cardiovascular / CVRM2
Oncology2
Neuroscience1

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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.

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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.