Job Description
THE OPPORTUNITY
Position Objective
We are seeking an experienced, strategically minded Director of Market Access & External Affairs to lead integrated short and longterm access and external affairs strategies that ensure timely patient access to our innovative medicines and vaccines. This role owns reimbursement strategy and execution, aligns access planning with unmet needs for patients, HCPs and publichealth, and leads external affairs to shape policy environments that support innovation and equitable care. The successful leader will combine deep payer engagement experience, commercial acumen, and publicpolicy influence to deliver sustainable coverage, affordability and uptake.
What You Will Do
Duties and Responsibilities
Delivery of Business Goals and Aspiration
- Develop and lead short, mid and longterm access strategies for assigned portfolios, aligning reimbursement, pricing, tender management, contracting and launch sequencing to maximize patient reach and commercial sustainability.
- Translate clinical and realworld unmet needs into prioritized access objectives and measurable tactical plans.
- Define reimbursement pathways and payer segmentation to support market entry decisions.
- Own endtoend reimbursement delivery HTA/dossier strategy, pricing positioning, payer negotiations, submission management and postlisting coverage maintenance.
- Ensure operational excellence in HTA/dossier preparation, pricing strategy and payer engagement through team development and clear processes.
Team Leadership and Development
- Build a high-performing team, develop talents and capabilities for future business growth.
- Lead, mentor and scale the Market Access & External Affairs team; embed market access capability across functions and establish performance governance, KPIs and reporting.
Cross Functional Collaboration
- Lead crossfunctional launch teams to ensure integrated access execution.
- Synthesize payer intelligence, market insights and HEOR evidence to inform negotiation tactics, portfolio decisions and stakeholder engagement.
Ethics and Compliance
- Develop and execute stakeholder engagement and advocacy plans that mobilize clinicians, patient advocates and system leaders while ensuring full compliance with local regulations and company policies.
- Ensure HTA/dossier work, payer negotiations and contracting follow legal, regulatory and ethical standards; incorporate governance to track timetocoverage, uptake, contract outcomes and value realization.
Qualifications
WHAT YOU MUST HAVE
- BA/BS with a master's degree in public health/epidemiology, health policy, or health economics.
- Minimum 5 years of Reimbursement Market Access experience
- Minimum 3 years of experience in team leadership role
- Demonstrated ability to identify optimal reimbursement pathways consistent with the brand strategy in a rapidly evolving market access landscape.
- Strong leadership skills and ability to collaborate across the organization.
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing, negotiating, and conflict resolution skills.
- Critical thinking with track record of turn-around experience
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management and project management skills.
- Track record in policy shaping, public affairs or external affairs roles, including engagement with government, multilateral organizations, or patient advocacy groups.
- Proven experience implementing outcomesbased contracts, annuity models or other innovative financing solutions.
- Familiarity with compliance requirements for stakeholder engagement and transparency reporting.
- Experience across multiple markets is a plus.
Who We Are
We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.
What We Look For
Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join usand start making your impact today.
Required Skills
Adaptability, Cross-Cultural Competence, Developing Pricing Strategies, Direct Marketing, Health Economics, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Market Access, Marketing Management, Market Research, Negotiation, People Leadership, Preparation of Financial Reports, Professional Networking, Public Health, Resource Allocation, Strategic Consulting, Strategic Thinking, Transfer Pricing Documentation
Preferred Skills
Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
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
VISA Sponsorship
Travel Requirements
Flexible Work Arrangements
Not Applicable
Shift
Valid Driving License
Hazardous Material(s)
Job Posting End Date
01/23/2026
- 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 R367844
