Merck
Associate Director, Procurement - Global Category Lead (Hybrid - PA or NJ)
Merck, Rahway, New Jersey, United States, 07065
Associate Director, Global Category Lead
The Associate Director, Global Category Lead is responsible for all Procurement related activities supporting the strategic analysis of suppliers, supply markets, and supply chains within the Global Medical & Scientific Affairs (GMSA) area of the Research & Development Sourcing & Procurement organization. This role will take an active leadership role in the development of procurement strategies, global category management, process improvement, contract management, risk management, stakeholder management and supplier value management within this category. The selected candidate will be responsible for ensuring that all sourcing strategies are compliant and follow Global Procurements' Sourcing Management Process (SMP) and will prepare and conduct pre-negotiation planning, live negotiations, provide contracting support as well as lead and conduct requests for proposals (RFP), requests for quotations (RFQ), quotation analysis, and cost modeling. This role will report directly to the V&I category lead (Director) and has one direct report. The Associate Director is responsible for defining and leading sourcing strategies for medical and scientific affairs services in support of our Company's product portfolio and pipeline. The role will need to interact effectively with senior leaders within our Company's Global Medical and Scientific Affairs (GMSA) division to ensure alignment with and delivery of business objectives, and will also need to connect with other service categories to identify and execute cross-functional category strategies. This role specifically will focus on the strategic procurement of services: Establish global strategies to support the category to achieve their business priorities, working collaboratively across the enterprise to streamline processes and deliver value. Continuous improvement and refinement of strategies and management of team. Lead execution and implementation of strategies in collaboration with other functions and categories in support of: Pre-license patient access programs Talent strategies (function service providers vs. contingent labor) Regional and local needs (including medical education) Streamline global sourcing and contracting processes leveraging support functions as needed to reduce sourcing & contracting cycle times and increase value Support additional needs across the category as they arise. Primary activities include, but are not limited to: Leadership:
Accountable for development and implementation of robust sourcing strategies that link to core business deliverables while leveraging knowledge of the marketplace and supplier community. Provide leadership and direction for cross-functional teams. Build high performing engagement models with business units and regions. Strategy Development/Implementation:
Utilizes Sourcing Management Process and other tools and techniques to create breakthrough strategies that deliver quick wins and generate legitimate business value. Cost Management:
Helps drive the control, containment and reduction of costs for our research labs. Implements Supplier Value Management with key suppliers to foster innovation, manage supplier performance and ensure continuous improvement. Continuous Improvement:
Develop and communicate a strategic vision for continuous improvement, aligning procurement processes with organizational goals. Actively engage with stakeholders, gathering feedback and collaborating to optimize processes and enhance supplier performance. Change Management:
Provide strong change leadership, developing strategies and plans to guide procurement-related changes and minimize resistance. Alignment of procurement changes with broader organizational strategies and goals through effective communication and collaboration. Diversity:
Champion inclusive sourcing practices, promoting diversity within the supplier base and engaging with diverse suppliers. Support development of diverse suppliers through mentorship and resources, fostering long-term partnerships. Category Knowledge:
Continuously conduct research and analysis to stay informed about market trends, competitors, and emerging technologies within their assigned procurement categories. Using category knowledge to develop long-term plans, anticipate changes, and align procurement strategies with the organization's goals. Cross-Category Alignment:
Work closely with other categories of spend, in effort to streamline and harmonize business processes as appropriate, align on category boundaries, and implement breakthrough cross-category sourcing strategies where applicable. Position Qualifications: Education Minimum Requirement: Bachelor's Degree required. MBA or advance degree is desirable. Required Experience and Skills: Minimum 5 years of strategic sourcing experience with defined scope & responsibility in category management and/or experience within a global organization in Research & Development roles Excellent analytical, project management, oral & written communications, relationship, teambuilding, strategic thinking and leadership skills are required. Extensive experience managing internal and external business relationships. Must be adaptable in dealing with ambiguous and complex environments. Demonstrated experience in championing changes, communicating candidly, building talent, and achieving results. Proficient in the use of personal computers and business software, including MS Excel and Word. Preferred Experience and Skills: Strategic sourcing experience of services Strategic sourcing experience in the global medical & scientific affairs or related experience in a business role within the pharmaceutical industry Demonstrated process improvement skills Demonstrated ability to ideate and implement breakthrough strategies The salary range for this role is $126,500.00 - $199,100.00. 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 VISA Sponsorship: No Travel Requirements: 10% Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid Shift: Not Indicated Valid Driving License: No Hazardous Material(s): N/A Required Skills: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), Adaptability, Business, Business Value Creation, Change Management, Contract Negotiations, Cost Controls, Cost Management, Decision Making, Financial Acumen, Global Sourcing, Inventory Control Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), Logistics, Logistics Management, Management Process, Managing Change Requests, Packaging Procurement, Procurement Management, Procurement Strategies, Production Planning, Relationship Building, Requisition Management, Risk Management Preferred Skills: Job Posting End Date: 08/23/2025 *A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed
The Associate Director, Global Category Lead is responsible for all Procurement related activities supporting the strategic analysis of suppliers, supply markets, and supply chains within the Global Medical & Scientific Affairs (GMSA) area of the Research & Development Sourcing & Procurement organization. This role will take an active leadership role in the development of procurement strategies, global category management, process improvement, contract management, risk management, stakeholder management and supplier value management within this category. The selected candidate will be responsible for ensuring that all sourcing strategies are compliant and follow Global Procurements' Sourcing Management Process (SMP) and will prepare and conduct pre-negotiation planning, live negotiations, provide contracting support as well as lead and conduct requests for proposals (RFP), requests for quotations (RFQ), quotation analysis, and cost modeling. This role will report directly to the V&I category lead (Director) and has one direct report. The Associate Director is responsible for defining and leading sourcing strategies for medical and scientific affairs services in support of our Company's product portfolio and pipeline. The role will need to interact effectively with senior leaders within our Company's Global Medical and Scientific Affairs (GMSA) division to ensure alignment with and delivery of business objectives, and will also need to connect with other service categories to identify and execute cross-functional category strategies. This role specifically will focus on the strategic procurement of services: Establish global strategies to support the category to achieve their business priorities, working collaboratively across the enterprise to streamline processes and deliver value. Continuous improvement and refinement of strategies and management of team. Lead execution and implementation of strategies in collaboration with other functions and categories in support of: Pre-license patient access programs Talent strategies (function service providers vs. contingent labor) Regional and local needs (including medical education) Streamline global sourcing and contracting processes leveraging support functions as needed to reduce sourcing & contracting cycle times and increase value Support additional needs across the category as they arise. Primary activities include, but are not limited to: Leadership:
Accountable for development and implementation of robust sourcing strategies that link to core business deliverables while leveraging knowledge of the marketplace and supplier community. Provide leadership and direction for cross-functional teams. Build high performing engagement models with business units and regions. Strategy Development/Implementation:
Utilizes Sourcing Management Process and other tools and techniques to create breakthrough strategies that deliver quick wins and generate legitimate business value. Cost Management:
Helps drive the control, containment and reduction of costs for our research labs. Implements Supplier Value Management with key suppliers to foster innovation, manage supplier performance and ensure continuous improvement. Continuous Improvement:
Develop and communicate a strategic vision for continuous improvement, aligning procurement processes with organizational goals. Actively engage with stakeholders, gathering feedback and collaborating to optimize processes and enhance supplier performance. Change Management:
Provide strong change leadership, developing strategies and plans to guide procurement-related changes and minimize resistance. Alignment of procurement changes with broader organizational strategies and goals through effective communication and collaboration. Diversity:
Champion inclusive sourcing practices, promoting diversity within the supplier base and engaging with diverse suppliers. Support development of diverse suppliers through mentorship and resources, fostering long-term partnerships. Category Knowledge:
Continuously conduct research and analysis to stay informed about market trends, competitors, and emerging technologies within their assigned procurement categories. Using category knowledge to develop long-term plans, anticipate changes, and align procurement strategies with the organization's goals. Cross-Category Alignment:
Work closely with other categories of spend, in effort to streamline and harmonize business processes as appropriate, align on category boundaries, and implement breakthrough cross-category sourcing strategies where applicable. Position Qualifications: Education Minimum Requirement: Bachelor's Degree required. MBA or advance degree is desirable. Required Experience and Skills: Minimum 5 years of strategic sourcing experience with defined scope & responsibility in category management and/or experience within a global organization in Research & Development roles Excellent analytical, project management, oral & written communications, relationship, teambuilding, strategic thinking and leadership skills are required. Extensive experience managing internal and external business relationships. Must be adaptable in dealing with ambiguous and complex environments. Demonstrated experience in championing changes, communicating candidly, building talent, and achieving results. Proficient in the use of personal computers and business software, including MS Excel and Word. Preferred Experience and Skills: Strategic sourcing experience of services Strategic sourcing experience in the global medical & scientific affairs or related experience in a business role within the pharmaceutical industry Demonstrated process improvement skills Demonstrated ability to ideate and implement breakthrough strategies The salary range for this role is $126,500.00 - $199,100.00. 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 VISA Sponsorship: No Travel Requirements: 10% Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid Shift: Not Indicated Valid Driving License: No Hazardous Material(s): N/A Required Skills: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), Adaptability, Business, Business Value Creation, Change Management, Contract Negotiations, Cost Controls, Cost Management, Decision Making, Financial Acumen, Global Sourcing, Inventory Control Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), Logistics, Logistics Management, Management Process, Managing Change Requests, Packaging Procurement, Procurement Management, Procurement Strategies, Production Planning, Relationship Building, Requisition Management, Risk Management Preferred Skills: Job Posting End Date: 08/23/2025 *A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed