Job Description

Job Description: Be in charge of General and Specialty Medicine. Take responsibility for multiple therapeutic areas, namely, Pulmonary Hypertension, Cardio-metabolism, immunology (IBD, RA, Derm) and ophthalmology. Prioritize Franchise strategies. Budget responsibility, human resource management (hiring, placement, training). Enable the planning, execution, and management of the medical strategies (Country Medical Affairs Plan: CMAP) in the therapeutic areas in Franchise as an accountable Franchise Lead, Report and cohesively communicate to the head of Medical Affairs (as well as acting as a PoC for V&I Global Medical and Scientific Affairs) Empower, develop, inspire and lead a team of medical professionals (business management, coaching, development) Be a proactive and contributing leader of the relevant BU Leadership Team and nurture cross-functional partners’ trust representing the Medical Affairs team. As a key TA leader as well as a Medical Affairs professional, pay exquisite attention to compliance and quality. Attract and develop Franchise Medical Affairs team distinguished internally and externally for its strategic foresight, medical expertise, business acumen, and collaborative spirit.

Main job: Medical strategy of each therapeutic area:
- Corresponding to a request, participate in development of Global Medical Affaires Plan multiple disease areas/products exist or 2) insight from cross-therapeutic area point of views are essential
- Supervise/Enable the preparation of the CMAP (Execution/Decision is led by Medical Advisor)
- Prioritize CMAP execution and resource / budget allocation in Franchise Data generation:
- Support/supervise the evidence generation and publication of data (if needed)
- IIS: 1) provide scientific inputs and make a final decision for ISR（Investigator Sponsored Research）MISPs as a regional (Japan) representative (member) of therapeutic areas' operation and implementation of IIS in the Franchise. (Execution/Decision is led by Medical Advisor), 2) Ensure the scientifical and ethical accurate implementation of IIS in the Franchise.
- Be part of the Scientific Committee Meeting (MA-SC) and monitor as well contribute/decide on relevant scientific projects. Communication / Collaboration:
- Successfully collaborate with the Business Unit Team, Regulatory, Clinical Research, Clinical Operation, Pharmacovigilance, Reputational (i.e., Communication), Legal, Compliance and other risk issues in the affiliate

• Communicates both scientific/medical/clinical and business needs credibly and effectively across a variety of internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Act as a PoC to relevant global functions where 1) multiple (>2) disease areas/products exist or 2) insight from cross-therapeutic area point of views are essential and support Medical Advisor's global communication if needed.
• Communicates both scientific (medical insights etc.) and business needs credibly and effectively across a variety of internal (locally/globally) and external stakeholders at all levels based on high scientific expertise (medicine, research, clinical etc.)
• Understand regional (Japan) medical environment / policy and make comprehensive proposal to senior management.

Management:
- Be part of the Medical Affairs Leadership team and contribute/decide on management/organizational decisions
- Attract/Retain/Develop the right set of diverse talent to develop and execute the medical strategy
- Budget management (responsible area)
- Lead scientific discussion and activities in the therapeutic areas in charge, share necessary insights with local and global stakeholders based on the high scientific expertise

• Be an effective partner in the Promotional Review process and understand fundamentals of promotional regulations.
• Comply and manage staff to comply with internal policies and external medical affairs related industry regulations

Required skills, competencies

1. High expertise in the therapeutic area in charge
- Based on advanced scientific expertise (medicine · pharmacology, research, clinical etc.), the ED leads scientific discussions / activities inside and outside the division in charge of disease area
- Conduct scientific review of various scientific materials, judge their scientific validity, and be responsible for final approval
- Education and guidance on scientific discussion / argument can be given to department personnel
- Ability to analyze data gaps and conduct scientific research
- Ability to identify education gaps from physician / patient point of view
2. Communication skills
- Ability to solve problems and understands medical as well as business needs
- Possibility to timely and smoothly communicate with local and global stakeholders
- Strategic mindset: grasps the problems to be solved appropriately, propose and formulate solutions, and lead to win-win solution quickly through communication, for various tasks
- Communication in Japanese and English to serve as an ambassador for the Japan team
3. Leadership (Result-Oriented)
- Understanding how to build strategy and lead/advise the team developing therapeutic area strategies
- Have accountability to department staff and relevant stakeholders
- Can manage business, budget (financial stewardship) and human resources as the ultimate responsible person of execution
- Can motivate team, develop talents and understand the right hiring need
- Open and approachable leadership style
- Sense of urgency and ownership
4. Compliance
- Understand various compliance rules and codes in the industry and region (Japan) and try to thoroughly comply with compliance
- Lead and final approval responsibility concerning formulation and execution of compliance rules in inter-company business alliance etc.
5. Knowledge and understanding on pharmaceutical industry environment
- In addition to scientific expertise, can understand the medical environment / policy etc. in the region (Japan), and make comprehensive proposals to senior management
- Motivated to improve the pharmaceutical industry environment beyond company collaborating and learning from industry colleagues
6. Patient focused mindset
Strong intrinsic motivation to do better for patients and population health

Job Experience

Required

Managerial experience at R&D, Medical Affairs or equivalent functions in a pharmaceutical company (over 5 years)
Significant Research experience (basic, drug discovery, clinical, public health etc.) or Clinical experience
Scientific publications in international journals (as the first author or the corresponding author)
Academic presentation at domestic and international conferences

Preferred

Clinical experience of the responsible area (for MD)
Postdoctoral experience or clinical experience of responsible disease area
Clinical research or drug discovery research manager (Primary Investigator)
Reviewer experience for peer-review Journal
Conference chairperson (domestic or overseas conference) or symposist in scientific meeting
Work/study experience outside Japan

Major Graduate school (Pharmaceutical / Science) Doctoral degree equivalent
or medical doctor's license

Academic background: MD and/or PhD is required

Language: fluent in English and Japanese

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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

12/31/2025

*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.