Job Description

The HR Organizational Readiness, Associate Director is an experienced employee engagement, change management and internal communications professional with a passion for driving innovative, employee-centric strategies that engage our company's workforce in high priority initiatives that are directly tied to our strategic priorities. This role will create and lead strategic, high-impact, high exposure programs that drive employee awareness, adoption, and recommendation of HR products and services, while simultaneously realizing our employee value proposition, and catalyzing a positive employee experience with HR products and services.

Primary responsibilities:

• Partner with HR Centers of Excellence to define and execute effective employee engagement plans that promote awareness and adoption of key programs/offerings, improve accessibility and inclusivity, and shape employee interaction/outreach plans that enable our workforce to navigate and have a good experience with high-impact transitions or change events.

• Develop highly integrated engagement strategies, inclusive of change plans, internal marketing and communications, self-serve resources, and leadership level stakeholder alignment presentations.

• Effectively lead with influence and build the right stakeholder management plan to ensure alignment to case for change, operational plan and engagement plan and secure resourcing needed to activate plans.

• Serve as an employee engagement SME to ensure HR information is delivered effectively to all intended audiences via creating of content and operational / delivery plan focused on creating a seamless and consumer-like content experience.

• Develop effective go to market ‘kits’ of communication materials and support resources for HR initiatives, including high priority portfolio programs and cyclical processes, to enable our workforce to navigate transitions and cyclical processes successfully.

• Partner with global, regional, and local HR and communications colleagues to leverage a variety of channels and digital media to effectively reach target audiences (business leaders, managers, employees, HR teams).

• Lead voice of ‘customer’ sessions with employees to better inform change and comms plans for HR initiatives.

• Leverage a data-driven approach/employee listening insights to inform strategies and measure the effectiveness of change and communications plans against desired outcomes.

• Collaborate across a global HR community to drive effective strategies that consider regional and local market requirements and needs.

• Partner with internal and external suppliers on strategy, design, communications, and interactive multimedia development as needed to best engage employees with HR programs/initiatives.

Required Education/Experience

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree, or currently in pursuit of degree completion , or equivalent relevant work experience in human resources or related discipline.

• Minimum 10 years’ of professional experience in HR, Change Management, Organizational Readiness, Project Management or related discipline (with Master's degree, minimum experience is 8 years)

• 5 years of progressive work experience in the development and implementation of innovative change management and communications strategies.

• A strategist, able to see the big picture, and a content creator with proven ability to integrate messaging and delivery across multiple channels and audiences.

• Superior consultative and influencing skills with an ability to work with people at multiple levels across the function.

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, global organization

• Excellent written and oral communication skills to effectively and creatively communicate across various stakeholders using compelling story-telling capability.

• Strong content and channel management abilities across multiple internal and external digital platforms.

• Ability to synthesize complex information into employee-centric communications.

• Demonstrated ability to manage supplier engagements and communications budget with 3rd party agency partners.

• Metrics-driven focused on using metrics to define strategy and assess the effectiveness of workforce communications.

Preferred Experience:

• 5 years Change Management, internal communications, and/or employee engagement preferred

• PROSCI Certification

MSJR

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

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

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

The salary range for this role is

$126,500.00 - $199,100.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this 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 https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

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:

No relocation

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Required Skills:

Business Workflow Analysis, Change Management, Change Management Strategies, Confidentiality, Data Analysis Reporting, Engagement Strategies, HR Strategy, Human Resource Metrics, Influence, Organizational Effectiveness, Organizational Readiness, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Management, Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Software, Workforce Planning

Preferred Skills:

Job Posting End Date:

09/5/2025

*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.