Associate Director, Change Management

Job Description

Job Description

Digital is the multiplier that enables Development Sciences and Clinical Supply (DSCS) to drive faster experimentation, more efficient processes, and higher-confidence decisions across the portfolio. DSCS Digital Technologies (DDT) is responsible for pioneering and deploying digital and data capabilities that enhance speed, capacity, and robustness across DSCS.

The Associate Director, Change Management will lead the people and adoption strategy for DDT’s digital transformation portfolio, ensuring successful implementation and sustained use of digital capabilities, governance processes, and new ways of working.

This role partners with DDT leadership, program teams, and functional stakeholders to drive engagement, readiness, adoption, and value realization, embedding change management within program delivery and governance structures.

The Associate Director, Change Management will:

• Lead development and execution of integrated change management strategies across DDT programs and use cases

• Partner with DDT Leadership Team, workstream leads, and use case owners to align change strategy with program objectives and value realization
• Drive stakeholder engagement, including impact assessments, readiness planning, and sponsor alignment
• Establish and lead a change agent / champion network to support adoption across DSCS
• Define and execute communications and training strategies to support awareness, understanding, and behavior change
• Track adoption metrics, risks, and resistance, implementing mitigation actions to ensure sustained adoption
• Support post-go-live activities including reinforcement strategies, hypercare, and continuous improvement
• Provide coaching and guidance to program teams and sponsors on change management best practices
• Drive alignment between change strategy, communications, training, and delivery teams to ensure integrated execution

Knowledge, Duties & Responsibilities Include:

• Develop and maintain change impact assessments across people, process, and technology dimensions building out the necessary details within the project schedule.
• Establish stakeholder engagement strategies, including sponsor spine and governance alignment
• Design and implement communication and engagement plans tailored to multiple audiences (executive, functional, end-user)
• Partner with Learning & Development to define training strategy and enable capability building across teams
• Ensure consistent application of change management frameworks, tools, and templates across DDT initiatives
• Monitor adoption, engagement, and behavior change using defined KPIs and feedback loops
• Identify risks to adoption and implement mitigation strategies to reduce resistance and accelerate uptake
• Develop executive-ready materials, including presentations, talking points, and change updates
• Facilitate workshops and alignment sessions across cross-functional teams
• Contribute to continuous improvement of DDT change management practices and playbooks

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MS, or equivalent) preferred in business or pharma related field

Required Experience and Skills:

• 5-10+ years of experience in change management, digital transformation, or organizational effectiveness within Pharma/Biotech.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional change initiatives
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influence skills across senior leadership and global teams
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute adoption, communication, and training strategies
• Experience working in program delivery environments with integrated governance and stage-gate processes
• Strong business acumen and ability to align change efforts to measurable business outcomes
• Excellent communication skills, including executive storytelling and presentation development
• Demonstrated ability to coach leaders and teams on change management practices
• Experience working in complex, matrixed organizations

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in process development
• Familiarity with digital and data platforms (analytics, automation, data foundation)
• Experience supporting hub-and-spoke operating models
• Knowledge of change methodologies (e.g., Prosci, CEM, SRF)
• Experience building and scaling change networks

Required Skills:

Change Management, Digital Transformation, Stakeholder Engagement, Communications Strategy, Training & Capability Building, Adoption Strategy, Governance Integration, Change Impact Assessment, Cross-Functional Leadership, Program Support, Executive Communication, Organizational Change, Continuous Improvement, Data-Driven Decision Making

Preferred Skills:

Change Frameworks (Prosci, CEM, SRF), Pharmaceutical R&D, Data & Digital Platforms, Automation & Workflow, Portfolio Management, Value Realization

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Automation, Biopharmaceutical Industry, Chemical Engineering, Customer-Focused, Data-Driven Decision Making, Digital Platforms, Digital Transformation, Drug Product Development, Estimation and Planning, Executive Communications, Financial Management, Manufacturing Quality Control, Mitigation, Organizational Effectiveness, Pharmaceutical Process Development, Portfolio Management, Portfolio Risk Management, Process Control Automation, Process Optimization, Product Formulation, Safety Compliance, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management {+ 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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

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.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

07/8/2026

*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.