Associate Director, Commercial Forecasting (m/f/d)

Job content

Job Description

In alignment with our company strategy to leverage digital and data, Human Health has launched the HH Insights, Analytics, and Data (HHIAD) organization, in support of its aspiration to become the premier data-first commercial biopharma organization by 2023. This central organization is focused on the application of data, analytics, and insights across the end-to-end commercialization process, to drive data-driven decision making, on behalf of our patients and customers.

As HHIAD continues its transformation, to bring premier capabilities to Human Health, we are seeking a dynamic talent for the role of Associate Director, Commercial Forecastingwithin our Global Commercial Assessment & Forecasting (GCAF) organization in HHIAD. GCAF is a global function delivering reliable data-driven insights into future business performance, answering key business questions that drive greater business value.

GCAF provides strategic partnership and support encompassing long-range pharmaceutical asset forecasting pan lifecycle. Assets include early and late-stage molecules in clinical development and marketed. Forecasting deliverables feed pan divisional planning and decision making for functional areas including finance, manufacturing, product development and commercial. In addition to ensuring high quality deliverables, the role requires driving synergies across divisions and geographies, fostering innovation and best practices, implementing solutions to bring speed, scalability and shareability to our planning processes, and instilling trust and confidence across all Company divisions (Human Health, Manufacturing, our Research & Development Division, and Corporate). To ensure and improve quality and efficiency, key initiatives include adopting greater automation, standardization and process improvements elevating our forecasting deliverables to highlight source, overall quality and forecast certainty.

The Key Responsibilities Of This Role Include

• Partners with key countries, marketing, access, finance, and market research to deliver robust forecast across the oncology, hospital specialty, primary care and vaccine portfolios
• Aligns stakeholders and delivers robust forecasts to support the development of financial plans, marketing plans, and market share performance targets
• Oversees deliverables from allocated personnel based in India-based analytics hub
• Acts as a forecasting liaison between global and regional/local commercial functions
• Ensures forecast support teams understand local forecast assumptions and accurately report results
• Leverages primary and secondary research to answer regionally based questions about the forecast
• Understands regional needs and advocates for solutions to meet forecast needs at a local level
• Understands healthcare environments in Europe and Canada. Serves as consultant to global, regional, and country leadership with marketing, finance, or forecasting responsibilities
  

Primary Activities

Primary activities include, but are not limited to

• Actively engages as a strategic partner with the regional teams and supports the delivery of forecasts and situational analyses
• Delivers forecasts that improves confidence among key stakeholders
• Prioritizes and manages ad-hoc forecasting projects with little/no guidance
• Deployment of global forecasting tools to ensure user adoption and regional leadership team acceptance
• Identify the needs to further refine our forecasting method through simplification and automation
• Understands full range of appropriate resources/approaches to address forecasting needs, effectively and efficiently communicates with stakeholders
• Partners and collaborates with Marketing, Market Research, Finance, Region, and Country personnel
  

Skills

• Education Bachelor’s degree required; MS/MA/MBA degree, in marketing or analytic field (e.g., Statistics, OR, Finance, etc), preferred
• Strong project management and collaboration skills
• Strong analytical skills; an aptitude for problem-solving and strategic thinking
• Strong knowledge of forecasting techniques / software and quantitative problem solving
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, Word and forecasting tools/techniques
  

Required Experience

• Minimum of (6) years Pharmaceutical Industry experience
• Minimum of (3) years Pharmaceutical forecasting experience
• Ability to manage ambiguity and to adapt to the changing needs of customers and the business
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and listening skills
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate in diverse teams
• Demonstrated Project Management experience/skills
  

Preferred Experience

• Working knowledge of oncology, hospital and/or vaccine markets in Europe and Canada
• Strong commercial experience and well-applied business and marketing acumen
• Demonstrated leadership skills ability to drive decision making and results
• Demonstrated ability to innovate
• Cross-functional leadership ability to work across divisions and functions to ensure that work progresses effectively and efficiently
• Market Research experience
  

10%-20% Travel

The Company…

Our company has had a presence in Switzerland since 1963. With a regional office and manufacturing/packaging facility, Lucerne is considered the center of operations. Approximately 1,000 people work collaboratively at the four Lucerne locations (Tribschenstrasse, Citybay, Schachen and Kriens). A fifth location has been recently established in Zurich, aimed at accelerating the development and commercialization of many of our company’s medicines and vaccines, which supports our mission to save and improve lives around the world.

We are proud to be certified as a “Top Employer Switzerland” and “Top Employer Europe” showing the company’s commitment to our employees and the community around us.

The Ring Center building located in Kriens is our Regional Headquarters for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Employees from 50 nations across the region bring their diverse backgrounds and experiences together to develop solutions that benefit all our patients. From this site we provide leadership and support to more than 70 local subsidiaries around the world.

Who We Are …

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.

What We Look For …

In a world of rapid innovation, we seek brave Inventors who want to make an Impact in all aspects of our business, enabling breakthroughs that will affect generations to come. We encourage you to bring your disruptive thinking, collaborative spirit and diverse perspective to our organization.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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/International

VISA Sponsorship

Yes

Travel Requirements

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements

Hybrid

Shift

1st - Day

Valid Driving License

No

Hazardous Material(s)

Number of Openings

3

Requisition IDR206113