Associate Director - Brand Strategy Analytics Oncology

Job description

Job Description Associate Director — Brand Strategy Analytics, Oncology, Digital Human Health Job Description: This role sits within the Brand Strategy vertical of Digital Human Health (DHH) - the patient-centric capability that owns the analytics arc from patient journey through brand performance for the Oncology portfolio across both inline and pipeline assets. The team operates as an embedded partner to the commercial organization, providing strategic thought partnership to marketing and cross-functional stakeholders. It shapes demand by translating business priorities into actionable analytics needs, quarterbacks delivery across DHH capabilities, and drives activation of products and insights to enable decision-making and business impact. The Associate Director will be responsible for developing and delivering strategic data insights and analytics that address Oncology BU teams' key business questions and inform launch-related and inline commercial decisions across the Oncology portfolio (covering Women's Cancer, Hematology, Lung, GU, GI, and the Oncology precision medicine and Early Assets are few). The team member will partner closely with Global and Regional market teams, , Sales, Enterprise Strategy, Clinical Development, and BD to inform executive decision-making and increase commercial rigor through every phase of asset development, launch and inline. The Associate Director will work alongside other DHH capability functions - Market Research, Forecasting, Data Science, Data Strategy & Solutions, Payer Insights & Analytics, Data Visualisation, Commercial AI, IT - to proactively orchestrate the planning and delivery of complex insights and analytics assessments. The role partners closely with BU engagement leads to proactively shape and inform portfolio-level brand strategy, while advancing capabilities through systematization, automation, and AI. The AD is accountable for positioning the India Hub as a strategic analytics partner, embedding productivity, scalability, and value-driven outcomes across engagements. Role Overview: The Associate Director will lead a team of Senior Managers, Managers, Associate Managers covering Oncology TA / asset and capability domains (Brand Performance Synthesis, Secondary Analytics, Patient Insights, Analytics Tool Activation). The candidate must be able to lead direct teams and orchestrate cross-functional insights pods spanning DHH and the broader Human Health organisation. The individual will demonstrate consistently strong leadership, the ability to work objectively in ambiguity, strong partnership skills, a culture of continuous learning. The preferred candidate will have an entrepreneurial spirit, a consultative and strategic mindset, strong Oncology TAs, fluency in technology (AI, GenAI, Agentic), and a demonstrated record of producing actionable insights from analytics. The individual should have a strong understanding of the US and exUS Oncology data landscape - claims, EMR, real-world data, biomarker data, Rx, market research data, and the ability to translate ambiguous business questions into advanced, scalable analytical solutions. Key Responsibilities: Oncology portfolio analytics - inline & pipeline: Lead the development and synthesis of commercial data and insight solutions, portfolio analytics, business cases, performance measurements and market evaluations to support decision-making for the Global and US Oncology teams. Brand strategy translation to analytics plan: Translate business needs and priorities into analytical plans that answer brand-team and BD questions with actionable insights. Effectively communicate advanced analytics to commercial stakeholders to inform decisions across the value chain - pipeline prioritization, product performance, launch readiness. Team leadership and cross-functional orchestration: Lead and mentor 15+ team members, providing guidance on best practices in data analytics, modeling and data visualization. Manage team workload proactively and ensure optimal resource utilization. Lead cross-functional insights pods in addition to direct teams. Stakeholder collaboration: Drive proactive, transparent engagement with BU leads, cross-functional partners to co-create solutions, align on organizational priorities, and set clear expectations. Provide internal and business stakeholders with forward-looking visibility into key programs to inform milestones, prioritization, risk mitigation, and aligned decision-making. Prioritization and value tracking: Understand the full book of work underway and planned for each disease area or business unit. Work with BU leads to prioritise against team’s capacity. For prioritised work, engage cross-functional teams to articulate the value and impact of each piece. Patient journey and RWD analytics: Build and oversee patient journey analytics, patient-flow modeling, simulation-based modeling, and other patient-modeling techniques on commercial and real-world datasets. Precision medicine and biomarker analytics: Embed analytics support for precision medicine and companion-diagnostic priorities across the Oncology pipeline and inline portfolio, partnering with Precision Medicine Marketing, Outcomes Research and Medical Affairs. Communication and transparency: Drive proactive, transparent engagement with cross-functional partners to co-create solutions, align on organizational priorities, and set clear expectations. Provide internal and business stakeholders with forward-looking visibility into key programs to inform milestones, prioritization, risk mitigation, and aligned decision-making. Leverage advanced statistical methods and ML/AI modeling with strong validation practices; deliver regression and time-series models, Predictive modelling (propensity, patient finding, churn) to generate actionable insights. Innovation and GenAI experimentation: Contribute to and lead innovation experiments - idea generation, activation of reusable use cases -including responsible application of GenAI and agentic AI to enhance Oncology analytic capability. Identify tangible, measurable criteria to make meaningful improvements to business processes and strategies. Articulate the "so what": Derive actionable business insights from disparate data sources, develop a clear data story, and communicate it effectively to stakeholders. Education Requirements : Masters (or equivalent) in Data Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, Decision Science, Marketing, Engineering, Management or an equivalent commercial discipline. Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PharmD, PhD) is preferred. Required Experience and Skills: 8+ years in pharma/biotech across commercial analytics, strategy with deep Oncology therapies commercialization experience, and delivery of complex analytical initiatives. 4+ years leading high-performing teams; proven ability to coach talent, build inclusive culture, and lead cross-functional pods in a matrixed setup. Strong consultative mindset with demonstrated ability to translate brand and commercial strategies into actionable analytics and insight plans. Executive presence with ability to influence senior leaders, align US & Global stakeholders, and communicate clear, data-driven narratives. Extensive experience working with real-world datasets (claims, Rx, CRM, promotional and sales data), leveraging SQL, Python, and AI-driven tools; familiarity with modern data platforms including Snowflake, Databricks, and AWS/GCP Experience driving AI/GenAI and automation adoption, with strong understanding of experimentation, scalability, and responsible use in a regulated environment. Self-motivated, proactive mindset, and ability to work independently. Required Skills: Brand Strategy, Business Analysis, Business Processes, Clinical Development, Commercial Analytics, Data Analytics, Data Science, Decision-Making Strategies, Demand Management, Digital Healthcare, Hematology, Innovation, Market Research, Outcomes Research, Predictive Modeling, Requirements Management, Sourcing and Procurement, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Planning, Team Leadership Preferred Skills: Current Employees apply HERE Current Contingent Workers apply HERE Secondary Language(s) Job Description: #MSDHYDIT 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: Domestic VISA Sponsorship: No Travel Requirements: 25% Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid Shift: Not Indicated Valid Driving License: No Hazardous Material(s): NA Job Posting End Date: 09/30/2026 *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.