Associate Director D&A Strategy

Job Description

Associate Director, Specialty Pharmacy Data Strategy, Contracting & Enablement

The Associate Director, Specialty Pharmacy (SP) Data Strategy Contracting & Enablement will report to the Director, Commercial Data Solutions within the Data Strategy, Products and Innovation organization.

This role will lead the strategy, acquisition, contracting, and enablement of Specialty Pharmacy and patient-level data assets that support commercial operations, reporting, analytics, and decision-making. The role will connect business processes, patient journeys, reporting needs, and KPIs to the data required to enable them , while ensuring those requirements are appropriately incorporated into vendor agreements and successfully operationalized.

In this role, a typical day might include:

• Define the SP data strategy and roadmap , identifying data required to support patient journeys, operational processes, reporting, KPIs, and advanced analytics.

• Lead SP data contracting , translating business and analytical needs into clearly defined data requirements, including critical data elements, business rules, file specifications, delivery frequency, data quality expectations, and SLAs.

• Partner with Sourcing/Contracting, Legal, Privacy, and Compliance to embed data requirements, usage rights, and delivery expectations into new agreements, renewals, and amendments.

• Establish traceability from business need and KPI → data requirement → vendor commitment → data delivery → reporting and analytics , ensuring acquired data is fit for its intended purpose.

• Manage strategic relationships with Specialty Pharmacies, data aggregators, PSS providers, and other data partners , driving alignment on capabilities, deliverables, performance, and evolving business needs.

• Oversee data aggregator engagements , including data scope, licensing and usage rights, service levels, renewals, commercial considerations, and ongoing vendor governance.

• Lead or support Fair Market Value (FMV) evaluations for data and data-related services, ensuring investments are aligned to defined business needs, data utility, and value.

• Drive end-to-end implementation and enablement of new or enhanced data feeds, partnering with vendors and internal technology teams through design, testing, validation, production deployment, and stabilization.

• Establish and monitor data quality and delivery standards , driving resolution of gaps across contracted requirements, vendor delivery, downstream ingestion, and reporting.

• Embed data strategy and requirements early into product launches, SP onboarding, network changes, PSS transformations, and vendor transitions .

• Develop scalable data standards, dictionaries, specifications, data maps, and governance frameworks across SP and patient-level data assets.

• Identify opportunities to enhance, consolidate, or rationalize external data assets , improving business value while reducing duplication and unnecessary complexity.

• Ensure patient-level data acquisition and enablement align with applicable HIPAA, PHI, privacy, tokenization, data usage, and enterprise governance requirements .

To be considered for this opportunity, you must have:

• BA/BS with 10+ years , or MBA/MS with 7+ years , of relevant experience in pharmaceutical/biotechnology data, Specialty Pharmacy, Patient Support Services, Market Access, analytics, or related disciplines.

• Deep understanding of the Specialty Pharmacy and patient data ecosystem , including dispense/inventory, patient status/referral, BI/BV, PA/ePA, copay, PAP/free goods, and adherence data.

• Demonstrated ability to translate business processes, patient journeys, reporting requirements, and KPIs into data requirements and contractual deliverables .

• Experience developing and managing data agreements and external data partnerships , including SPs, data aggregators, Hub/PSS vendors, or other commercial data providers.

• Experience partnering across Sourcing, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, Analytics, Technology, and business teams to acquire and operationalize external data.

• Understanding of FMV assessments, data licensing, usage rights, SLAs, data quality, and vendor governance .

• Strong understanding of patient-level data governance, PHI/HIPAA considerations, and data quality management .

• Strong strategic thinking, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and communication skills, with demonstrated ability to influence across internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting specialty/rare disease or other patient-support-intensive therapeutic areas.

• Working knowledge of data and analytics environments such as SQL, Databricks, Redshift, or equivalent platforms.

• Familiarity with commercial and patient-level data sources such as IQVIA, Symphony Health, MMIT, Precision, or similar data providers.

• Experience supporting product launches, SP network changes, Hub/SP implementations, or major data/vendor transformations.

Required Skills

Advanced Analytics, Business Analysis, Data Aggregation, Databricks Unified Data Analytics Platform, Data Quality Control, Data Science, Demand Management, HIPAA Compliance, Influencing Skills, Patient Access, Patient Support Programs, Product Rollouts, Requirements Management, Sourcing and Procurement, Speciality Pharmaceuticals, Stakeholder Relationship Management

Preferred Skills

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US and Puerto Rico Residents Only

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The primary location for this posting is

USA - New Jersey - Rahway

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is: $156,900.00 - $247,000.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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 jobs.merck.com ↗