Job Description

Our Territory Representatives interact face to face with our customers, understand their needs and consult to offer the right solutions. We work collaboratively in Field Sales Teams and play a critical role in supporting our customer centric business model.

Summary of the Job and Role Purpose:

The Field Activation Lead (FAL) serves as a professional sales leader in building and maintaining a profitable and initiative-taking relationship with animal health distribution companies that support our company's Animal Health products and services in their offerings to veterinarians and customers. The FAL focuses on building strong relationships with distributor stakeholders at the field sales organization to understand their business model, unique value offerings and partnership opportunities.

Reporting to the National Account Director for the respective specie business unit, the Field Activation Lead is responsible for driving initiatives, communicating, and articulating the medical importance of our Company's Animal Health products and activating the distribution salesforce to drive growth of strategic products. The individual will work collaboratively with distributor field sales teams and play a critical role in supporting our customer centric business model. This position is responsible for their assigned distributors by selling our company's Animal Health division products, supporting pull-through activities relative to the customer strategy, and ensuring that our company's Animal Health division is viewed as bringing value and technical innovations aligned to our strategic focus - The Science of Healthier Animals. This position works collaboratively with channel management, marketing, and sales organizations to drive outcomes and actions, and has accountability for assigned accounts.

The FAL discovers field level opportunities and trains field selling distributor Territory Managers. The FAL is also held accountable for delivering strong financial results for our company's Animal Health. This position leverages analytics to drive accountability and uncover opportunities to maximize growth.

Additionally, this position is responsible for understanding and utilizing market insights to drive opportunities and position our company's Animal Health as an industry leader. The Field Activation Lead position contributes to a best-in-class Salesforce Effectiveness and Enablement team by actively contributing to a culture that promotes innovation, continuous improvement, a customer-focused mindset, and values feedback and inclusion.

Essential Accountabilities: Strategic, Operational, and Leadership Responsibilities Strategic responsibilities may include, but are not limited to: (10%)

● Execute sales strategies within assigned accounts and communicates delivered strategies to our Company's Animal Health Sales leaders

● Identify marketing opportunities across teams for partnership and shepherd the opportunities to completion

● Responsible for developing and clearly articulating the value of our full partnership as a margin contributor and our comprehensive partnership

● Candidate possesses professional and advanced presentation skills, focused on providing solutions for the customer

● The Strategic Account Activation Lead will utilize “other centered selling” in their approach to the customer, with an advanced skillset in developing business planning capabilities with the outcome of maximizing sales performance within the assigned geography

Operational Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to: (70%)

● Actively participate in distributor events, develop trainings, and activate the salesforce to grow our Company's Animal Health products

● Candidate possesses professional and advanced presentation skills, focused on providing solutions for the customer

● The Strategic Account Activation Lead will utilize “other centered selling” in their approach to the customer, with an advanced skillset in developing business planning capabilities with the outcome of maximizing sales performance within the assigned geography

● Deliver on Key Performance Measures of distribution through collaborative efforts with internal departments and across business units

● Regularly communicate and document all key account activities, including but not limited to sales trends, performance metrics, risks, and opportunities, to appropriate individuals and teams

● Communicates about product in a way that is meaningful and relevant to the distributor; customizes discussions and interactions based on understanding of distributors’ needs.

● Input and utilize call notes in MAXX

● Develop agendas for meetings and communicate meeting objectives to appropriate team(s)

● Develop a timeline of field leadership meetings, tradeshows, and promotional activities with distributor and share with key stakeholders

● Attend National, Area, and Regional business meetings

● Conduct quarterly business reviews ensuring that accounts understand the value of our Company's Animal Health relationship and their performance relative to quarterly, semiannual, and annual growth expectations

● Uses analytics and insights to enhance decision-making and tactical execution

● Troubleshoot and take the lead on resolving any account issues, shepherd, and champion resolution

● Resolve first line issues and misunderstandings

● Deliver consistent messaging in communications to support our Company's Animal Health strategic priorities

● Candidate possesses professional and advanced presentation skills, focused on providing solutions for the customer

Leadership Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to: (20%)

● Take leadership role to identify and adhere to key account management timelines for key leadership discussions, quarterly reviews, and presentations

● Take the lead on issues to understand how all scenarios and groups work together across organizations; Be an advocate for the distributor and our Company's Animal Health on shared goals

● Partner, communicate, and facilitate collaborative interactions with peer organizations to ensure objectives, tactics, and long-term strategies are aligned and executed appropriately to achieve business goals

● Ensure plans/actions/decisions do not negatively impact other of our company's species / business units

● Share best practices and organizational learnings with the Marketing organization and company-wide, where appropriate

● Applicable candidate must be able to lead without authority, driving key strategic imperatives in conjunctions with the Area Business Leaders, RM teams and TMs

Organizational Network and Collaboration Internal Key Contacts:

● Species Leads, Channel Management Team, Area Business Leaders, Regional Managers Territory Managers, Strategic Account Team, Finance, Marketing, CABU Leadership, Sales Leader,

External Key Contacts:

● External C-suite and Distributor’s sales leadership, middle management, outside sales reps, inside sales reps, marketing leadership,

● External company networks, industry associations

Required Education:

● Bachelor’s degree required (animal science focus preferred)

● MBA preferred

Required Skills/Abilities:

● Minimum of five (5) years account management or equivalent experience.

● Demonstrated ability to work within US animal health industry landscape.

Must be results oriented and able to work independently with little direct supervision.

● Take action and don’t wait for someone to bring it to your attention.

● Superior organizational, analytical, and time management skills.

● Ability to work collaboratively across all species, coordinating activities, leveraging resources, and knowledge of accounts to identify opportunities/solutions to resolve customer issues and drive results.

● Demonstrated understanding of positions’ contribution to the business goals and willingness to adopt changes to current processes, identifying emerging needs, and participating in defining innovative solutions to meet customer needs.

● Exhibits expert skills in identifying unmet and evolving needs of customers and is sought out to provide customer-centric solutions that drive long-term sustainable results.

● Demonstrates expertise in building partnerships and sustainable relationships with customers leveraging business insights to drive solutions and strategies throughout the customers’ organizations.

● Demonstrated ability to develop and implement an accurate business plan.

● Excellent oral, written, and presentation communication skills.

● Strong understanding of financial and business metrics.

● Strong selling and negotiation skills.

● History of sound decision making and innovative thinking.

● Up to 70% Travel; this role is national in scope – the selected candidate should reside near a major US airport to fulfill travel requirements as needed for the role

Required Skills:

Account Management, Account Management, Agile Methodology, Animal Health Sales, Animal Science, Bid Management, Business Management, Business Planning, Client-Centric, Contract Management, Customer Centric Solutions, Customer Relationship Building, Customer Satisfaction, Data Analysis, Global Supply Chain, Industry Knowledge, Market Analysis, Marketing Leadership, Operational Excellence, Sales Forecasting, Sales Reporting, Sales Strategy Development, Seafood Processing, Strategic Selling, Veterinary Medicine {+ 1 more}

Preferred Skills:

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

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

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:

75%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

01/20/2026

*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.