[Hiring] Senior Medical Director, Pulmonary Hypertension, Global Medical Affairs @Merck

Role Description

The Global Senior Director Medical Affairs (GDMA) position resides in the Value & Implementation (V&I) organization, which includes GMSA as well as Outcomes Research. The GDMA is a subject-matter expert (SME) in their area of responsibility (Pulmonary Hypertension) and responsible for driving execution of the Global Medical and Scientific Affairs (GMSA) portion for their assigned Therapeutic Areas (TA) as part of the Global V&I Plans. As a highly specialized SME, they bring business savviness to the organization, are important decision-makers, and will have a focus on the United States (U.S.), while also supporting the rest of world (ROW). The GDMA works as part of a high-performing, results-driven team, focused on executional excellence.

• Drives execution of the annual V&I plan with medical affairs colleagues from key countries and regions with a focus on the U.S.
• Acts as an empowered partner, making informed decisions with a strategic and agile mindset.
• Serves as the SME and connector across assigned therapeutic areas, translating global scientific platforms into actionable Medical Value Narratives (MVNs).
• Actively engages with country-level stakeholders—including medical advisors, payers, and scientific leaders—to ensure strategic alignment and support local data generation, congress planning, and advisory boards.
• Serves as the medical representative within Product Development sub-teams (including Clinical, V&I, Commercial, Publications, and Label).
• Communicates pertinent information to stakeholders (e.g., Executive Director Medical Affairs (EDMA), Regional Strategy Leads (RSL), Regional Director Medical Affairs (RDMA), U.S. Director Medical Affairs (US DMA), Payor and Access Strategy Leads (PASLs)).
• Acts as the subject-matter expert, collaborating closely with V&I Outcomes Research (VIOR), Policy, Commercial, and Market Access teams.
• Serves as a strategic partner for Big Country Markets (U.S., China, Japan) with no RDMA role.
• Plays a pivotal role in bridging global strategy with local execution, including understanding the needs of the U.S. Market.
• Proactively collaborates with the US DMA and equivalent roles in China and Japan.
• Consolidates actionable medical insights from countries and regions.
• Engages with a network of international scientific leaders and other key stakeholders.
• Monitors external changing environment in partnership with the competitive intelligence (CI) team.
• Organizes global expert-input events (advisory boards and expert-input forums).
• Collaborates with Global Human Health (commercial) executive directors to inform of the GMSA portion of V&I plans.
• Organizes global symposia and educational meetings.
• Supports key countries with the development of local data-generation study concepts and protocols when requested.
• Reviews Investigator-Initiated Study proposals from key countries (ex-U.S.) prior to headquarters submission.
• Manages programs (patient support, educational or risk management) to support appropriate and safe utilization of our company medicines or vaccines.
• Demonstrates and champions our company’s Ways of Working, emphasizing innovation, medical modernization, defining team priorities, and focusing on the impact to the patient.
• Manages assigned budget with strong financial stewardship, ensuring delivery within a 3% variance.

Qualifications

• M.D., Ph.D. or Pharm.D. (M.D. preferred) and recognized medical expertise.
• Experience in country/region medical affairs or clinical development (Pulmonary Hypertension therapeutic area experience is preferred).
• Strong prioritization and decision-making skills.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with partners across divisions in a matrix environment.
• Excellent interpersonal, analytical, and communication skills (written and oral).
• Results-oriented project management skills.

Requirements

• At least three years regional medical affairs experience (e.g., Regional Director Medical Affairs) with proven track record of contribution to medical-affairs strategies.
• Customer expertise, especially of scientific leadership and other key stakeholders (payers, public groups, government officials, medical professional organizations), in the assigned therapeutic area.

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.