Associate Director, Sustainability Strategy & Engagement

At Merck sustainability is core to how we do business. Operating responsibly is at the heart of who we are as a company, helping to ensure we can continue to deliver on our purpose of saving and improving lives around the world. We operate responsibly every day to improve human and animal health, now and in the future.

Position Summary:

The Associate Director, Sustainability Strategy & Engagement will join the Company as a member of the Social Impact and Sustainability (SIS) function, serving as a strategic consulting lead for the sustainability areas of focus. This leader will be familiar with the sustainability landscape and help drive outcomes that create value in alignment with our sustainability portfolio and establish best practices.  This person should have a successful track record of achievement, strong leadership, and business acumen to serve as a trusted advisor with cross-functional leaders to provide insights on highly complex and/or sensitive economic, environmental and social issues that have the potential to impact the Company’s reputation and license to operate. The candidate selected for this role will work under the guidance of the Director, Sustainability Strategy & Engagement, in a fast-paced and changing environment with a rapidly evolving set of expectations from all stakeholder groups. 

The SIS team is dynamic and entrepreneurial, focused on achieving results through collaboration and staying ahead of external developments. We are dedicated to incorporating responsible practices into our operations. We strive to advance our sustainability commitments, manage sustainability reporting, and utilize data and tools effectively, all while engaging stakeholders to drive support and involvement.

Primary Responsibilities:

• As a strategic sustainability lead, proactively collaborate and facilitate dialogue with internal stakeholders, including corporate executives, to build ongoing support for and develop strategies and tactics to address key issues, including the identification and tracking of key metrics and goals as appropriate. 
• Leads and/or participates in internal working groups with cross-functional peers to ensure progress on overall sustainability focus areas. This will include executing on related topics on the three-year sustainability roadmap in partnership with key business units/leaders.
• Help advise leadership on global best practices, risks and opportunities with respect to the sustainability areas of focus, through monitoring and analyzing strategies, trends, policies, and programs.
• Collaborate with our Company’s global communications function, ensuring our sustainability strategy is appropriately reflected in our communications.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, international development organizations, customers.
• Contribute to the Sustainability Strategy & Engagement team’s participation in major sustainability surveys and indices as well as develop and implement strategies to meet stakeholder (customer, government, investor, employee) expectations.

Qualifications:

Education Minimum Requirements

• BA/BS degree required.

Required Experience and Skills

• 5 plus years of experience in any of the following:  corporate responsibility, enterprise risk, or sustainability, environmental sustainability, compliance, finance.
• Experience in managing sustainability issues and tracking industry-wide trends, preferably with an emphasis on the pharmaceutical industry
• Self-starter with a track record of leading collaborative efforts with cross functional teams and working effectively at all levels of an organization
• Ability to build coalitions, influence, and build credibility and trust while driving outcomes and holding others accountable
• Strong consulting skills with the ability to quickly assess situations, identify gaps and possible solutions
• A high-level strategic thinker who can stay on top of tactical execution, exercises exceptional judgment, and operates independently
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proven project management skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks and competing priorities
• Superior research and analytical skills
• Budget and KPI management

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience working in the pharmaceutical industry or a related industry (hospital, public health, etc.)
• Agency management or consulting experience