Associate Director, Policy & Communication

Job Description

An exciting full-time opportunity as Associate Director, Policy & Communications has arisen to work on campaigns and advocacy efforts to improve public health. The role will report to the Director of Policy & Communications for Vaccines, Public Health & Pharmaceuticals.

This role sits within the Global Corporate Affairs organisation. In the UK, Corporate Affairs leads and delivers our company's policy and communications activities, including corporate policy and communications, franchise policy and communications, internal communications and social and digital communications.

The role would suit an outcomes-oriented individual who thrives on working in a fast-paced environment and who combines a passion for strategic and creative communications programmes with a focused and disciplined delivery style. The ideal candidate with have a proven track record of success in multiple forms of policy engagement and communication and in cross-functional teamwork, with experience and knowledge of the health landscape in the UK – preferably including some knowledge of infectious disease and the vaccines / public health ecosystem. Leadership qualities and the ability to engage convincingly with senior stakeholders (internally and externally), along with experience of the life sciences industry and health, will be an advantage.

This role is responsible for working closely with the business leaders and cross-functional teams working in vaccines and public health, to represent and lead the Corporate Affairs contribution to their success and to the success of the organisation overall – including:

• Maintaining a deep understanding of the goals of the business, the critical success factors underpinning them and the challenges and opportunities that may impact them in the external and internal policy and communications environment

• Identifying and understanding the relevant internal and external stakeholders and audiences, and prioritising and managing the engagement with them

• Creating and delivering Corporate Affairs programmes that advance the company goals and those of the individual franchises in a measurable way, through policy and communications services, across the full range of communications and engagement specialisms including therapy and corporate policy, brand and therapy-area communications, media relations, stakeholder engagement, patient group relations, publications, social and digital media and issues management

• Supporting staff engagement where required

• Managing tactical communications delivery and management of suppliers employed by our company, as well as the business practices procedures governing all activities

• Providing on-going strategic counsel on communications and relevant business issues to colleagues across the organisation – particularly business and functional leaders and the Corporate Affairs team

• Contributing to the broader Corporate Affairs team and function including involvement in key strategic and department initiatives

This role is predominantly head office based, full time, with some travel as required for meetings/stakeholder meetings, including occasional international travel.  We have adopted hybrid working which applies to this role.

Specialist skills & competencies required:
Knowledge of Health Policy and Therapeutic Areas:

• You must have sound knowledge of health policy and the pharmaceutical industry environment, and the levers for influencing policy change

• You understand our portfolio, the lifecycle of products and can understand and interpret external health policy in relation to them

Enterprise Brand Management:

• You understand our mission, strategy, values and franchise plans and use internal and external engagement to champion them, mitigate risks and shape our future business and organisation

Stakeholder Analysis, Engagement & Influencing:

• You deliver on business objectives by identifying key audiences for communications and engagement, evaluating the situation and connecting with them based on a deep strategic understanding, anticipating and articulating their needs

• You have strong, assured issues and crisis management abilities linked to the protection of company and franchise goals

Policy and Communications Strategy & Development:

• Expertise in developing communication and policy strategies and providing counsel to colleagues who require assistance with challenging communication scenarios – creating programmes and messages for a variety of audiences to support our UK mission, growth strategy and business goals

• Shaping the tone, style and direction of key communications or policy campaigns based on in-depth knowledge of our company and its franchises alongside life sciences industry issues and stakeholder / audience perspectives

• Overseeing the execution of policy and communications programmes

Programme Development & Execution:

• Ability to design strategic programmes, develop project plans and garner support for the allocation of resources and teams using sound resource estimates and business cases with supporting expertise in navigating complex internal processes for approval or support of initiatives

• Managing project budgets, identifying and mitigating risks, demonstrating strong prioritisation and time management skills and measuring results

Compliance, Ethics & Risk Management:

• Understand, apply and comply with internal and external standards (eg. our UK policies, ABPI Code of Practice, standard operating procedures) - proactively identifying risks, raising issues and using risk mitigation strategies where needed using sound judgement.

• Always acting with integrity and honesty to achieve best outcomes in the right way.

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.

Job Posting End Date:

25th April 2024

*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.   

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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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:

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Requisition ID:R288292