[Hiring] Associate Director, Oncology KARE Operations & Strategic Execution @MSD

Role Description

At our company, we are inspired by a shared purpose: to save and improve lives around the world. Navigating healthcare access, education, and reimbursement is critical to ensuring patients receive the life-changing therapies they need.

The Key Accounts, Reimbursement and Education (KARE) organization is a critical commercial engine at Our Company, leading enterprise-level account strategies and partnering with our largest, most complex oncology customers. By aligning key account management, access and reimbursement navigation, and customer education, KARE drives seamless engagement across the healthcare ecosystem to support patient access.

We are seeking an energetic, tenacious, and highly organized Associate Director, KARE Business Operations & Strategic Execution to lead operational strategy, governance, and execution across this high-impact organization.

In this high-visibility role, you will serve as a strategic operations lead and force multiplier for the KARE AVP and leadership team. You will translate business priorities into integrated operating plans; lead governance across meetings, budgets, contracts, communications, resources, and field guidance; and influence cross-functional partners to deliver consistent, compliant, and timely execution across KARE.

Primary Responsibilities & Key Activities:

• Provide operational leadership for the day-to-day needs of KARE Account Executives and CSO field teams, serving as a central point of coordination for field needs, resources, processes, and issue resolution; partner across KARE and cross-functional teams to remove barriers and ensure timely, consistent, and compliant execution.
• Lead execution across key KARE priorities and initiatives, translating leadership priorities into clear plans, timelines, ownership, and deliverables; proactively identify dependencies, risks, and resource needs, drive cross-functional alignment, resolve barriers, and elevate issues requiring leadership decisions.
• Lead the end-to-end planning and execution of KARE meetings, including National Meetings, Fast Start Meetings, Director Meetings, and other leadership or field engagements; establish objectives, agendas, workstreams, timelines, decision points, success measures, and follow-through.
• Lead KARE new-hire onboarding, training, and ongoing talent development across employee and CSO teams, partnering with hiring managers, L&D, Field Leadership, and CSO partners to establish and routinely review standards, processes, milestones, and success measures; oversee implementation and delivery, resolve barriers, track completion, and assess effectiveness to drive continuous improvement and capability development.
• Lead governance and operational management of KARE CSO partnerships and contracts, partnering with contract teams that lead quarterly business reviews and the designated cross-functional owner to ensure reviews are scheduled each quarter; manage deliverables, statements of work, amendments, renewals, annual Fair Market Value rate validation, performance reviews, issue escalation, and coordination with Procurement, Finance, Legal, and business owners.
• Serve as the KARE communications lead, overseeing the development, approval, deployment, and maintenance of team communications, field guidance, and operational resources, including bulletins, SOP guidance, ways-of-working materials, and team resources; establish communication plans and standards, coordinate applicable PRT and board review submissions, partner with Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Regulatory, and business stakeholders, and maintain required documentation and renewal schedules.
• Own financial management and governance across KARE budgets, including annual planning, allocation recommendations, purchase orders, invoice reconciliation, accruals, payment timeliness, variance analysis, risk identification, and leadership reporting; partner with Finance and budget owners to balance funding across business priorities.
• Manage and coordinate the weekly OKAM Director Meeting, partnering with KARE leadership to prioritize agenda topics, develop supporting materials, document decisions and action items, and drive follow-through on commitments.
• Provide strategic communications and execution support to the KARE AVP and leadership team, developing leadership agendas, presentations, talking points, and time-sensitive communications; track critical decisions and commitments through completion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Relevant experience in biopharmaceutical or commercial operations, field operations, healthcare, project or portfolio management, or a related field, including progressively responsible leadership of complex, cross-functional initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead multiple complex initiatives from strategy through implementation, make sound decisions amid ambiguity, and drive accountability across teams without direct authority.
• Demonstrated experience advising senior leaders and translating strategic priorities into executable operating plans, governance processes, and measurable deliverables.
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations, executive-level communications, briefings, and decision materials.
• Experience identifying operational, financial, contractual, or compliance risks and leading resolution across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong project management, planning, prioritization, problem-solving, and organizational skills, with demonstrated ownership and attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to collaborate, influence, and drive alignment across a matrixed organization.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and deadlines and to manage sensitive or confidential information with sound judgment and discretion.

Requirements

• Pharmaceutical, oncology, market access, reimbursement, field operations, or commercial operations experience.
• Experience supporting an AVP or executive leadership team in a business operations, or strategic capacity.
• Experience establishing and managing operational processes, governance, performance measures, and executive reporting across a complex organization.
• Experience leading budget planning, forecasting, allocation, purchase orders, invoice and accrual processes, and financial reporting across multiple programs or teams.
• Experience managing external vendors or contract field organizations, including statements of work, contract amendments and renewals, vendor performance, and Fair Market Value processes.
• Experience leading large-scale national meetings, onboarding, training, or enterprise initiatives involving multiple functions and senior stakeholders.
• Experience working cross-functionally with L&D, Legal, Compliance, Privacy, Regulatory, Finance, and/or Procurement in a regulated environment.
• Experience leading the development and governance of field guidance, SOPs, bulletins, resources, or other operational standards.
• Familiarity with pharmaceutical review processes and systems, such as Veeva and PromoMats/PRT, and with financial, project-management, and reporting tools.
• Project management certification or formal project management training.

Benefits

• Comprehensive package of benefits including 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.