Chief of Staff – Mid-Europe Region (MER) (m/f/d)

Our Human Health Division maintains a “patient first, profits later” ideology. The organization is comprised of sales, marketing, patient access and policy, digital analytics and commercial professionals who are passionate about their role in bringing our medicines to our customers worldwide.

Mid-Europe Region (MER) is a strategically important region comprised of the 32 markets in Europe with a population of 220 million people. The region is an important contributor to our overall Human Health (HH) business. The region includes a large diversity of markets, come more mature markets with established pricing and reimbursement infrastructure, some faster growing with healthcare infrastructures that require more development. Close to 10,000 colleagues work in MER across all divisions and the region includes some important centers and hubs for the Manufacturing Division, Research laboratories, HH and others functions in Switzerland, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, or Poland. We all strive to reach more than 10 million patients every year and be the leading bio-pharmaceutical company in the region. We also work in partnership with Core European Region (CER) to ensure an aligned approach across the totality of our business in Europe.

We are currently seeking a director-level Chief of Staffto help drive our strategy and ensure execution against this strategy to achieve our mission to ensure access for patients to our medicines and vaccines. In this role, you will be a close partner to the Regional President and the leadership team, with ownership and accountability for both strategic projects as well as ensuring we have the right governance, operational plans and tempo to drive results. Your role will include responsibility for steering key initiatives and engagements to ensure our team performs effectively and with the highest standards.

In this role you will gain a broad understanding of our business in the region and help drive our work and interactions with global and international teams – thus also gaining an understanding of the ways of running a region at our company. The Chief of Staff is often a connector, catalyst, and communicator of various cross divisional and cross functional initiatives. You will also play an important role in ensuring a ‘one Europe’ approach with the CER region, working closely with CER Chief of Staff to coordinate multiple joint initiatives. You will need to be self-motivated, self-sufficient and collaborate across cultures with multiple functions & roles on a broad range of topics, both strategic and operational.

Activities you would be involved in include:

• Define annual priorities (objectives and key results) for MER region and monitor progress towards achieving these goals.
• Manage preparation & content for MER presentations to management in different settings (reviews, financial planning etc…), including International Leadership Team and Executive Team.
• For all engagements: work closely with the Executive Assistant for MER to support organization and planning.
• Country Engagements: In collaboration with the local Managing Directors and country teams’, partner to prepare and plan country engagements ensuring appropriate follow up of actions.
• MER Leadership Meetings: Ensure optimization of meetings and alignment of topics to key priorities. Prepare agendas, coordinate preparation and speakers, record action items and follow through.
• MER Operations: alongside the regional team, support driving execution of key projects and ensure coordination of resources and appropriate communication as well as coordination. Key projects range from events to business initiatives.
• Chief of Staff for MER President: Ensure the President is adequately prepared for all internal and external engagements, working with the relevant subject matter experts within the organization. Represent President of MER at necessary forums as their delegate on an as needed basis.
• Support monthly inventory enterprise operations process and help resolve supply issues across the region.
• Support compliance & risk reviews, ensuring the relevant stakeholder information flow related to the SOP execution on regional level.
• Financial planning and tracking: Partner with the MER finance lead to align countries and finance in the financial planning process and ensuring and MER Scorecards / dashboard are updated.
• Ensure successful implementation of the EU External affairs council as well as other joint initiatives with CER, working closely with CER chief of staff and regional colleagues.

We search for a talent who will use this role as a career accelerator. You should have a strong understanding of commercial concepts and how these impact business performances.

• Degree qualified. MBA would be an asset but not mandatory.
• Meaningful experiences in commercially focused roles.
• Strategic thinking & project Execution: Proven track record in those areas.
• Networking & Communication: Knowing who to go to, how to approach them and get things done via non-hierarchical influence and networking.
• Analytical Thinking: Ability to problem solve, think holistically about organizational solutions to complex problems, create order and simplicity out of complex problems.
• Strategic thinking: ability to anticipate the adjusting business priorities based on multiple sources of information and its long-term impacts.
• Strong connections within our Research Laboratories and Manufacturing Division are considered an advantage.
• Travel: variable, about 40% travel time.
• Location: The incumbent needs to be based in Lucerne, Switzerland.

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 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.

RING CENTER, KRIENS, LUCERNE

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.

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:

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Requisition ID:R274146