Associate Director, US Scientific Strategy & KOL Engagement – HIV Prevention

Job Description

Associate Director, US Scientific Strategy & KOL Engagement – HIV Prevention

Join the US launch team for an investigational Phase III HIV prevention asset to lead scientific strategy & KOL engagement. Reporting to the future Director HCP Marketing Product Owner, this role will lead scientific engagement, thought-leader strategy, and be responsible for translating scientific insights into commercial and medical strategies that advance care for people who may benefit from PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) and business objectives. This is a high-visibility role that will shape scientific advocacy, KOL (key opinion leader) engagement, speaker and congress strategy, and the integration of KOL insights into brand planning and cross-functional go-to-market activities.

The ideal candidate for this role is someone with a demonstrated record of strong strategic thinking, ability to comprehend and translate complex scientific & clinical data and deliver results working cross-collaboratively and leading without authority.

Primary Responsibilities

Scientific Strategy for HIV PrEP

• Lead development of scientific narrative for HIV prevention (PrEP) in partnership with Medical Affairs, Outcomes Research, Global Marketing, HCP Marketing, and other stakeholders.

• Advance scientific narrative by integrating into brand strategy and working with cross-functional teams to define and prioritize evidence needs that support clinical positioning, payer value, and future pipeline decisions; translate gaps into actionable evidence-generation and advocacy plans.

• Continuously monitor emerging science, guidelines, and competitive data; educate marketing and engagement teams on key developments and ensure the scientific narrative and materials are updated accordingly.

Scientific Leader and Organization Identification & Profiling

• Own identification, mapping, and profiling of national, regional, and emerging scientific leaders, clinical experts, and relevant society contacts across the US HIV prevention ecosystem including HIV Community

• Maintain a prioritized, dynamic KOL landscape aligned to brand and portfolio objectives, and surface relationship- and insight-priorities to cross-functional partners.

Strategic Scientific Engagement & Planning

• Design and execute strategic, compliance‑aligned engagement plans (advisory boards, external expert meetings, group input meetings, site visits, customer strategy sessions) that generate prioritized, actionable insights.

• Ensure engagements are explicitly linked to business questions and evidence needs; convert KOL input into clear recommendations for brand positioning, messaging, and evidence-generation priorities.

Medical Education & Speaker Development

• Lead development of omnichannel medical education aligned to the scientific narrative and brand priorities; ensure content meets educational and compliance standards.

• Build and manage a U.S. HIV PrEP speaker bureau: identify faculty, oversee onboarding and training, and ensure speakers consistently reflect approved scientific platforms and messaging.

Congress & Scientific Meeting Strategy

• Develop and lead congress strategies to maximize scientific impact and insights capture across national, regional, and specialty meetings, including sponsorships, programming, and satellite activities.

• Coordinate logistics and stakeholder participation to ensure seamless execution and capture of strategic learnings.

Insight Generation & Integration

• Capture, synthesize, and operationalize real‑time qualitative and quantitative insights from KOL interactions, GIMs, speaker feedback, and field inputs.

• Partner with Data & Analytics and Medical Affairs to triangulate HCP insights with clinical, real-world, and outcomes data to inform brand strategy, evidence-generation plans, and commercial tactics—ensuring insights are documented, prioritized, and tracked to decision outcomes.

Compliance, Quality & Vendor Management

• Ensure all scientific engagement, speaker, and congress activities comply with internal policies, industry codes, and regulatory requirements.

• Oversee external vendor and agency relationships, ensuring quality deliverables, timelines, and budget stewardship.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA, MPH, PharmD, MD, MS, or equivalent) preferred.

Required Experience & Skills:

• A minimum of 5 years of healthcare industry experience, including at least 3 years in strategic marketing or Scientific Leader facing role

• Strong strategic acumen with proven ability to craft and advance compelling, evidence‑driven scientific narratives

• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining high-quality scientific relationships and networks within a therapeutic area.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfortable delivering presentations to senior leadership and external experts.

• Strong cross-functional partnering skills and demonstrated ability to influence in a matrixed environment without direct authority

• Experience managing external vendors/agency partners, with fiscal responsibility for budgets.

• Deep understanding of compliance and regulatory requirements governing scientific engagement and HCP-facing activities in the U.S.

• Flexibility and readiness to travel for congresses, advisory meetings, and field engagements (including occasional weekends/evenings).

• A growth mindset, strong collaboration and business agility.

Preferred

• HIV Treatment or Prevention, or related public health experience

• Product launches and pre-launch commercialization activities

• Proven self-starter with a hands-on, results-driven approach: proactively identifies opportunities, removes barriers, and delivers outcomes with minimal supervision.

• Ability to influence without authority and drive team towards common goal

• Familiarity with omnichannel marketing and digital channel integration, as well as agile marketing process

• Strong track record of designing and executing speaker programs, advisory boards, and congress strategies that align with business and scientific objectives.

• Proven ability to synthesize KOL insights into strategic recommendations that impact brand positioning, evidence generation, and commercialization.

Location & Work Model

• Upper Gwynedd, PA - Hybrid (3 days on-site per week per U.S. Hybrid Work Model)

• Travel: 25% Required 

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Adaptability, Brand Management, Brand Strategy, Content Creation, Creativity, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Cross-Functional Leadership, Customer Insights, Customer Strategy, Digital Consumer Engagement, Digital Marketing, HIV Prevention, International Marketing, Marketing, Market Research, Market Segmentation, Medical Affairs, Omnichannel Marketing, Outcomes Research, Product Launches, Product Management, Public Health, Regulatory Compliance, Regulatory Requirements {+ 2 more}

Preferred Skills:

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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

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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 relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

07/10/2026

*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.