About this opportunity
Work Your Magic with us!
Ready to explore, break barriers, and discover more? We know you’ve got big plans – so do we! Our colleagues across the globe love innovating with science and technology to enrich people’s lives with our solutions in Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics. Together, we dream big and are passionate about caring for our rich mix of people, customers, patients, and planet. That's why we are always looking for curious minds that see themselves imagining the unimaginable with us.
Your Role:
We are seeking a strategic, business-minded leader to head Corporate Affairs Europe. You will shape the company’s European advocacy agenda across Healthcare, Life Science and Electronics, translating business and geopolitical developments into clear priorities and practical recommendations.
Working with business leaders and colleagues across regions and functions, you will represent Merck with EU and national policymakers, regulators, industry associations and other stakeholders. You will anticipate policy developments, focus engagement on issues with the greatest impact on Merck’s businesses and operating environment, build trusted networks, and lead a high-performing Corporate Affairs Europe team.
Who you are:
A graduate degree or equivalent in political science, law, economics, international relations, public policy, or a related discipline.
More than 12 years of combined experience in government relations, public affairs, public policy, or strategy consulting in Europe; senior leadership experience is preferred.
A demonstrated record of influencing legislation, market rules, or procedures in support of business objectives at EU and/or national level.
Deep knowledge of the European political, regulatory, and economic environment, with an understanding of issues affecting multinational companies. Familiarity with Healthcare, Life Science, or Electronics is an advantage.
The ability to assess complex policy and political developments and turn them into clear business implications, priorities, and recommendations.
Strong commercial and financial judgment, including the ability to assess business impact and make a compelling case for priorities and resource allocation.
Experience leading and mentoring diverse teams and influencing senior stakeholders across a matrix, including without direct authority.
Established professional relationships with relevant European and national policymakers, regulators, industry associations, and other stakeholders.
Fluency in English; additional European languages are an advantage.
What we offer: We are curious minds that come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe that this variety drives excellence and innovation, strengthening our ability to lead in science and technology. We are committed to creating access and opportunities for all to develop and grow at your own pace. Join us in building a culture of inclusion and belonging that impacts millions and empowers everyone to work their magic and champion human progress!
Apply now and become a part of a team that is dedicated to Sparking Discovery and Elevating Humanity!
Job details
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 401 comparable BD&L & Strategic Planning roles across 79 biopharma companies.
Salary context
128 of 401 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function. This posting doesn't list a seniority level, so peers aren't narrowed by seniority either -- the range below may span more levels than usual.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 401 comparable roles
+ 36 more countries
Seniority mix
291 of 401 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
65 of 401 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
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.
Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.
Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.
Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.
Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.
Matched on job function only -- seniority, specialty, and location weren't confirmed as aligned.
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.
Or follow a whole field: get every new BD&L & Strategic Planning job in Belgium, and choose locations and companies.
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.
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.