Director, Patient Experience Innovation

Job Description

Serves as the day-to-day bridge between brand teams and the Patient Support CoE for assigned therapeutic areas, owning TA-specific insight generation, patient journey mapping, and implementation support for critical capabilities. Accountable for translating designs and patient-facing capability concepts into operational and scalable solutions — ensuring new capabilities fit into the broader architecture or new capabilities deploy without disrupting live patient support operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Understand and pressure test TA-specific patient support designs, including workflow assumptions, operational feasibility, and implementation sequencing

• Serve as day-to-day bridge between brand and CoE teams, enabling integration and one-voice execution across assigned TA

• Own end-to-end patient strategy execution along with the Patient Support Strategy Lead and interaction models across Access, Affordability, and Adherence, supporting agile pod delivery through input gathering, execution follow-through, issue tracking and resolution

• Own end-to-end implementation process for capabilities, including scoping, sequencing, and operational configuration — translating documentation (design intent, success criteria, technical requirements) into operational specs for hub vendors and internal teams

• Identify and resolve implementation blockers — including vendor capacity constraints, data integration gaps, CRM configuration issues, and compliance requirements — and escalate to the right stakeholders for resolution

• Build and maintain implementation playbooks that codify repeatable deployment processes, reducing time and risk of future capability rollouts

• Conduct TA-specific insight generation, including patient-specific market research and HCP feedback as needed along with the brand patient strategy team

Points of Collaboration

• Patient Experience and Acceleration Lead: Reporting line; aligning TA-level insights and implementation priorities to vertical strategy and CoE roadmap

• Patient Access, Affordability, and Adherence Operations Leads: Coordinating deployment timing, vendor impact, and capability sequencing across operational verticals

• Direct-to-Patient Platform Lead: Thinking through integration with DTP and other emerging channel capabilities as relevant

• BU Patient Support Strategy lead (SP&ID, Oncology, Rare Disease): Receiving graduated capabilities and brand-specific configuration needs; aligning implementation timing to launch milestones

• DHH (Data, Hub and Hub Technology): Data integration, CRM configuration, and platform changes required by new capability deployments

• Hub and Technology Vendors: Translating capability requirements into vendor SOW amendments, configuration changes, and testing protocols

• Legal, Privacy, and Compliance: Identifying and resolving compliance requirements that create implementation blockers

Qualifications:

Minimum Education Required:

Bachelor's degree; Master's degree preferred

Necessary Skills and Competencies:

• 8+ years in biopharma patient services, program implementation, or operations, with experience deploying new capabilities across hub, access, affordability, and adherence

• Prior experience supporting patient support design and execution, including insight generation, pressure-testing, and implementation support across brand and CoE functions

• Strong understanding of patient support ecosystems, including hub, specialty pharmacy, access, CRM, and patient journey interactions; familiarity with where new capability deployments could create operational disruption

• Strong understanding of primary care, specialty care and complex therapy archetypes, including patient needs, access barriers, and support-model differences

• Experience synthesizing qualitative and quantitative inputs into actionable recommendations, including patient, HCP, operational, and program insights; ability to translate findings into operational specs that vendors and hub partners can act on

• Experience working with hub vendors on SOW amendments, configuration changes, and testing protocols; comfort managing a small, execution-focused team measured by what gets deployed, not designed

#PCAS2026

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Cross-Cultural Competence, Data Integration, Deployment Management, Developing Pricing Strategies, Health Economics, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Human Diseases, Implementation Management, Insight Generation, Market Research, Negotiation, Patient Interactions, People Leadership, Preparation of Financial Reports, Primary Care, Professional Networking, Project Implementations, Public Health, Regulatory Compliance Consulting, Resource Allocation, Strategic Consulting, Strategic Thinking, System Implementations {+ 2 more}

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:

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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.

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The salary range for this role is

$190,800.00 - $300,300.00

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:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

08/15/2026

*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:R408316