Job Description
The Director, Functional Area Geography Lead provides strategic and operational oversight for all functional area activities within a defined geography and team. The role defines and executes regional plans, manages staff performance and succession, and ensures compliance with local and global requirements while fostering collaboration, innovation, and the adoption of standardized and digital data-management practices.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership Geographic Strategy:
- Provide strategic direction within assigned country or region; ensure consistent execution, quality, and compliance; develop region-specific objectives aligned with organizational priorities.
- Lead or participate in cross-functional collaborations with non-GDMS (Global Data Management Standards) partners and enterprise support functions to achieve geographic strategic and operational objectives.
- Communicate clear narratives to executives on risks, trade-offs, and decisions; champion innovation, automation, and risk-based data-management practices; share lessons and maintain quality oversight across geographies.
- Define and lead the functional areas operating model and multi-year optimization strategy for the assigned geography, integrating functional area and GDMS global strategic objectives.
- Actively identify and support functional area-specific capability expansion aligned with industry best practices and business needs; drive adoption of technology-deployment principles across relevant GCTO (Global Clinical Trial Operations) organizations.
Operational Governance, Execution, Cross-Functional Alignment:
- Drive high-quality, compliant, decision-ready data products and processes that enable teams to meet critical regulatory, clinical, and operational milestones within assigned functional area.
- Ensure inspection readiness, adherence to regional processes, and compliant controls for operational data, processes, and system changes in partnership with global and functional quality/process leaders.
- Analyze trends and performance data to identify opportunities for efficiency, quality, and engagement improvements; communicate insights in governance or leadership forums.
- Lead or oversee regional risk, escalation, and capacity management processes.
- Collaborate with Portfolio Resource Operations Specialists to forecast needs, optimize capacity, and implement data-driven performance dashboards; resolve resourcing/performance bottlenecks; ensure transparent portfolio health and operational efficiency.
- Provide concise, decision-ready updates and status reporting to leadership and cross-functional partners, ensuring effective flow of communication within geography.
- Serve as escalation point for country/regional issues and oversee regional risk, escalation, and capacity-management processes; ensure local regulatory, business, and labor compliance.
- Lead or participate in cross functional global projects to support continuous improvement, capability development, and alignment.
People Management Talent Development:
- Align teams around a clear direction; set clear objectives aligned to organizational goals; assign work and set priorities accounting for work-life balance sustainability.
- Conduct regular check-ins and annual reviews; coach for performance; provide recognition.
- Develop career plans; create growth opportunities and promotion cases; ensure appropriate training and mentoring.
- Lead recruiting and hiring and oversee performance management activities, including management of sensitive employee-relations matters in partnership with HR.
- Coordinate on-shore/off-shore and contingent resources; ensure role clarity and effective handoffs.
- Manage an operating budget and optimize spending against priorities.
Coaches, inspires and empowers team members, creating the support structures and clarity needed for high performance.
Required Skills:
Adaptability, Adaptability, Budget Management, Capacity Management, Clinical Data Management, Clinical Trials, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Data Validation, Decision Making, eCRF, Ethical Standards, Good Clinical Data Management Practice (GCDMP), Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Inspection Readiness, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Labor Compliance, Mentoring Staff, Metadata Management, Operating Models, Organizational Performance Management, People Leadership, Performance Dashboards, Strategic Collaborations, Strategic Thinking, Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM) {+ 2 more}
Preferred Skills:
Current Employees applyHERE
Current Contingent Workers applyHERE
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:
Not Applicable
Shift:
Valid Driving License:
Hazardous Material(s):
Job Posting End Date:
10/31/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the dayBEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the dayBEFORE the job posting end date.
Requisition ID: R410372
