Merck Posted November 5, 2026

Publication Manager, Sr. Specialist

North Wales, Pennsylvania, United States of America FULL_TIME
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About this opportunity

Job Description

The Publication Manager is the central source of information regarding publication activities and is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of publication plans and leading global Publication Teams. The Publication Manager oversees compliance with our company 's publication policies and procedures and works collaboratively with stakeholders on all levels both within and outside the company, including our Research & Development Division, Human Health, and medical communication agencies. With guidance and direction from the Director/Associate Director Publication Management, the Sr. Specialist Publication Manager coordinates publication planning and implementation, tracks and reports the progress of publication development, aids in the selection of appropriate journals and congresses for scientific data dissemination, and allocates resources for writing, editing, formatting and submitting articles to peer-reviewed scientific journals and scientific conferences. Under the supervision of the Director/Associate Director, they collaborate in the development of the Scientific Communication Platform and Lexicon for the products they support. The Sr. Specialist Publication Manager serves as the point to the Publication Team for information about current publication policies and industry trends.

Responsibilities:

Under the guidance of the Director/Associate Director Pub Manager, facilitate development of and maintain publications plans in the assigned therapeutic area(s). The Pub Mgr delivers the tactics identified in the plan(s) and manages relationships with both internal and external groups. The Pub Mgr is expected to:

Manage cross-functional Publication Teams, of low to moderate complexity, in the development of comprehensive global publication plans and the execution of the plan deliverables.

Facilitate Publication Team Meeting discussions; prepare background materials, agendas and meeting notes.

Track all publication activity on assigned projects using the Datavision publications database and generate reports for stakeholders as needed.

Build and maintain excellent relationships with publication team members and publication committees.

Manage medical communications agencies and freelance writers as required.

Effectively manage publication planning budget, providing updates to the Director/Associate Director Pub Manager

Assist with congress plan activities including maintenance of presentation trackers, document trafficking, author travel request management, archival of final versions and congress QR code process.

Assist with reference requests, bibliography management, posting of study data packages for author access and delivery of protocol documents to journals.

Develop and maintain publication SharePoint/EngageZone and our Research & Development Division's Slide Repository sites for a therapeutic area.

Ensure that medical/scientific publication activities comply with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Recommendations, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT), and Good Publication Practice for Pharmaceutical Companies; adhere to our company’s Publication Policies and Procedures

Provide regular and ad hoc publication process compliance training to Publication Teams

Collaborate with Director/Associate Director Pub Manager in the development of the Scientific Communication Platform and Lexicon for their assigned products

Conduct business in accordance with our company's values and standards.

Qualifications:

Education and Experience

BS and 5+ yrs, MS, PharmD and 1-2+ years of experience in scientific discipline, publication management, or related areas required

Required Experience & Skills:

Relevant experience in project area of interest or strong scientific background.

Understanding of the clinical development process, clinical study data and outcomes measures for assigned projects.

Ability to acquire and maintain thorough understanding of industry and publications standards with respect to authorship, industry best practice, quality and appropriateness of medical/scientific communications (GPP).

Thorough in-depth understanding of the scientific and medical rationale for assigned projects; stays abreast of new information and changes in the field (both therapeutic and industry best practices).

Effective presentation skills.

Effective communicator

Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills, able to create and foster relationships and collaborations

History of operational excellence, facilitation across all groups to deliver on objectives, ability to define solutions and formulate and execute on actions across a global organization.

Highly organized and capable of working with attention to detail. Able to relate project details to larger project objectives

Demonstrated accomplishment and skill in oral and written communication.

Ability to know when and how to appropriately raise issues to team and to management.

Ability to communicate complex medical/scientific information in routine interactions/management of internal and external groups.

Ability to plan, prioritize, and execute multiple projects; ability to multitask and work both independently and within multi-disciplinary teams, and keep both team members, departmental colleagues (as appropriate) and management fully apprised of project / initiative status and issues

Conduct oneself in a highly professional and ethical manner.

Preferred Experience & Skills:

Relevant work experience in a pharmaceutical, biotech, or academia setting (e.g., chemistry, biological sciences etc.)

A track-record of accomplishment in a publication management type role

Advanced scientific degree (e.g., MS, PharmD.) or a combination of equivalent experience and training.

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Business Agility, Change Management, Cross-Functional Leadership, Data Analysis, Growth Mindset, Interpersonal Relationships, Project Management, Project Organization, Publications Management

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 primary location for this posting is:

USA - Pennsylvania - North Wales (Upper Gwynedd)

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$117,000.00 - $184,200.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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 .

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

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:

11/20/2026 *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:R425344

Job details

Seniority
Manager
Function
Medical Affairs
Therapeutic area
Not listed
Location
North Wales, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Employment type
FULL_TIME

How this role compares

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

We currently track 399 comparable Manager Medical Affairs roles across 90 biopharma companies.

399Comparable roles tracked
373Currently active
90Companies hiring similar roles
46Countries represented

Salary context

102 of 399 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 · PSL&D Compliance Training Ops & Business Lead (Manager) · Pfizer $88,500/yr – $147,500/yr
Peer group range $118,000 – $255,000 (median $185,938)

Where these roles are based

Top locations among the 399 comparable roles

United States144
China53
Japan36
India19
Germany18
United Kingdom14

+ 40 more countries

Seniority mix

399 of 399 peers have a known seniority level

Manager230
Associate Director88
Associate81

Therapeutic area mix

141 of 399 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden

Oncology57
Neuroscience30
Immunology27
Rare Disease6
Cardiovascular / CVRM6
Dermatology & Aesthetics5
Vaccines & Infectious Disease4
Respiratory3
Gastroenterology2
Ophthalmology1

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
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Open in 3 locations

North Chicago, United StatesIrvine, United StatesFlorham Park, United States

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

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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.

60%
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Function Therapeutic area Seniority Country
60%
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Pfizer · Cambridge, United States · Manager
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Manager, Publications
AbbVie · Irvine, CA · Manager
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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.