Job Description

Required Skills:

Budget Management, Business Acumen, Clinical Development, Clinical Trials, Collaboration, Infectious Disease Research, Leadership, Medical Planning, Medical Review, People Management, Pharmaceutical Industry, Professional Integrity, Strategy Development, Team Leadership, Vaccinology

Preferred Skills:

Strategic Direction

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Secondary Language(s) Job Description:

Reporting to the Executive Director, Medical Affairs Canada, the Director, Medical Affairs – Vaccines & Infectious Diseases (“the Director”) is primarily accountable for setting the overall strategic direction to the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Team (Vax/ID). Leading a group of Medical Advisors and Medical and Scientific Liaisons and working in concert with their commercial counterparts, the Director will provide expert strategic input in support of the objectives of the multiple therapeutic areas, such as Vaccines & Public Health, and also Infectious Diseases (HIV).

The Director holds the overall accountability for the strategic development, execution and delivery of tactical objectives of Medical Affairs Plans for the Vax/ID Therapeutic Areas in Canada, in alignment with the overall strategic objectives. This will include tactical deliverables such as post-licensure studies, publication plans, and other knowledge transfer activities.

The Director should have a customer/patient focused approach, developing professional relationships with scientific leaders in various specialties and supporting efforts in key strategic areas. These interactions may also extend to regulatory bodies, medical societies, payer groups and patient association.

Internally, the Director will have an active participation in key strategic teams to provide expert medical/scientific advice and technical perspective to the Business Development and Portfolio Management functions in the identification of potential partnering and internal opportunities. The incumbent will share medical/scientific expertise with their counterparts in other functional areas such as Market Access/Policy, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Research & Development, Legal and Marketing in Canada, and as well throughout the global organization.

Core Responsibilities include:

• Scientific leadership: Overall responsibility for the development, prioritization and delivery of the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Country Medical Affairs Plan that addresses identified gaps.

• Interactions with Regional and Global Medical Affairs to advocate & influence for support of Canadian initiatives at the regional/global level.

• Interactions with Global Clinical Trials Organization and our Company’s Research Laboratories Organization in support of country portfolio of studies and to continue to attract clinical development studies to Canada and Phase II-IV trials, Local Data Generation or Clinical Evaluations and Investigator-Initiated Studies.

• Partner with the Vax/ID Business Unit, Patient Access/Policy Group to ensure the successful management of existing products and launches of new medicines/products.

You are the ideal candidate if you have:

• M.D, Ph.D. or PharmD education (preferred MD degree)

• Varied experience in either, Infectious Diseases, Immunology, or Vaccinology

• Strong knowledge of Clinical Development and/or Medical Affairs (in specialty areas) is required.

• Minimum of five years of Medical Affairs experience, with strong knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and the drug development process including two years’ experience in people management.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Advanced negotiation, presentation, and facilitation skills.

• Strong people management and team leadership skills, as well as listening and coaching skills.

• Strong ethics and integrity. Solid knowledge of Good Clinical Practices principles and of the Innovative Medicine Canada Code.

• Ability to work in high performance teams, and in a matrix organization. Excellent team player; excel at teamwork in cross-functional groups.

• Can rapidly build credible relationships and influence a broad range of stakeholders (Internally & externally).

• Language: French language spoken and written. English language proficiency is required to interact with global stakeholders.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing , talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when 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

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:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

Na

Job Posting End Date:

06/16/2026

*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.