Associate Director, Sustainability Strategy & Engagement

Merck is seeking an Associate Director for Sustainability Strategy & Engagement in North Wales, PA. This role involves leading sustainability initiatives, collaborating with internal stakeholders, and advising on best practices in sustainability. The candidate will engage with various stakeholders to advance sustainability commitments and manage reporting. Strong leadership and business acumen are essential, and the position is full-time with a salary range of $126K–$199K.
The Associate Director, Sustainability Strategy & Engagement will join the Company as a member of the Social Impact and Sustainability (SIS) function, serving as a strategic consulting lead for the sustainability areas of focus. This leader will be familiar with the sustainability landscape and help drive outcomes that create value in alignment with our sustainability portfolio and establish best practices. This person should have a successful track record of achievement, strong leadership, and business acumen to serve as a trusted advisor with cross-functional leaders to provide insights on highly complex and/or sensitive economic, environmental and social issues that have the potential to impact the Company’s reputation and license to operate. The candidate selected for this role will work under the guidance of the Director, Sustainability Strategy & Engagement, in a fast-paced and changing environment with a rapidly evolving set of expectations from all stakeholder groups.

The SIS team is dynamic and entrepreneurial, focused on achieving results through collaboration and staying ahead of external developments. We are dedicated to incorporating responsible practices into our operations. We strive to advance our sustainability commitments, manage sustainability reporting, and utilize data and tools effectively, all while engaging stakeholders to drive support and involvement.

Primary Responsibilities:
• As a strategic sustainability lead, proactively collaborate and facilitate dialogue with internal stakeholders, including corporate executives, to build ongoing support for and develop strategies and tactics to address key issues, including the identification and tracking of key metrics and goals as appropriate.
• Leads and/or participates in internal working groups with cross-functional peers to ensure progress on overall sustainability focus areas. This will include executing on related topics on the three-year sustainability roadmap in partnership with key business units/leaders.
• Help advise leadership on global best practices, risks and opportunities with respect to the sustainability areas of focus, through monitoring and analyzing strategies, trends, policies, and programs.
• Collaborate with our Company’s global communications function, ensuring our sustainability strategy is appropriately reflected in our communications.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, international development organizations, customers.
• Contribute to the Sustainability Strategy & Engagement team’s participation in major sustainability surveys and indices as well as develop and implement strategies to meet stakeholder (customer, government, investor, employee) expectations.