Job Description

The Vaccines Sales and Customer Engagement Team supports our customers by providing clinical, financial and educational information about our products. We support healthcare providers, healthcare systems and other customers in meeting the goals and needs of patients in their communities and represent the entire our company vaccines portfolio to all our customers. Our team includes numerous customer-facing roles, including the account managers with our Vaccines Key Customer Leaders (VKCLs).

Position Description:

The Regional Account Director, Vaccines Key Customer Leader- Southwest Region, Commercial Operations for Vaccines has overall responsibility for the management and the results of a team of Key Customer Leader teams (VKCLs). The Director role (3 in total with approx. 1/3 of national responsibility) will lead a team of approximately 12-15 VKCLs who have the lead responsibility for our company vaccines for the following accounts: public and private sector customers, national and regional IDNs, FQHCs, POMGs, State Projects, VISN/VA/Military accounts, and other local key accounts. The VKCL is lead interface between our company and our customers, with responsibility for presenting and communicating the commercial offers for our company Vaccines and working with local teams to ensure appropriate pull through and contract performance. The primary goal is to gain account access for our company vaccines with our customers and ensuring appropriate patient access. 

Southwest Region - List of respective States:

• Alaska

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• California

• Colorado

• Hawaii

• Idaho

• Kansas

• Louisiana

• Mississippi

• Missouri

• Nevada

• New Mexico

• Oklahoma

• Oregon

• Texas

• Utah

• Washington

• Wyoming

The VKCL Director is responsible for staffing and selection of VKCL regional teams (Southwest Region), resource allocation decisions, development of strategic key account plans, and nurturing business relationships with key regional payer accounts, ownership/management of key accounts and customer experiences, compliance with laws and policies.  The Director is also responsible for the successful pull-through and implementation of brand strategies, partnering closely with med affairs, C&DS, and engaging with DCOs in the region’s ecosystem strategies. 

 

Additional Key Responsibilities for this position include but may not be limited to:

People Management:

• Recruits, hires, and supervises hiring of top talent to build a high-performing, diverse & customer centric integrated region team

• Sets appropriate expectations and assesses VKCL’s (Vaccines Key Customer Leads) performance

• Rewards and retains team members based on results and by creating an environment supportive of growth and development

• Supports and fosters a diverse and inclusive environment

• Ensure understanding and continually reinforce principles of commercial models, and provide formal and informal feedback to Headquarters regarding status of implementations

• Responsible for leading ongoing organizational and cultural transformations

• Lead annual people management processes for employees (performance management, employee development, compensation & rewards); ensure ongoing feedback & coaching throughout the year to all employees to support achievement of assigned performance objectives

• Prioritizes and allocates human resources across customers/accounts

Customer Management:

• Has the ultimate responsibility of building Vaccines Key Account strategies focused on increasing appropriate use of our company's Vaccines; coordinates with other account teams and leaders with a defined business strategy, ensuring key accounts and customer needs are met

• Responsible for Key Customer Leader teams’ delivery of customer experiences that demonstrate value and create trust

• Develop business relationships with key account customers

• Appropriately and within guidance, Partner with Med Affairs to proactively address the accounts clinical needs

• Build and maintain relationships with high-level individuals within key customer organizations, including building relationships with key Thought Leaders to support Advocate Development

• Interactions with key customers in both public and private sector in order to ensure that customer teams and solutions/services are addressing needs of those accounts/customers

• Implement strategies that lead to an effective customer-centric approach, demonstrating the importance of key accounts and customers to our Company

• Lead, facilitates and advocate for ongoing key account/customer interactions with our Company’s Senior management

• Works closely with DCOs to understand critical issues and opportunities, and ensures understanding has been incorporated into customer plans; Collaborates closely with other stakeholders to ensure consistency with customer base

Business Operations:

• Has decision rights for resource allocation decisions to maximize business outcomes

• Makes local and customized resource allocation decisions to support optimal business results

• Owns the key accounts and business results for geography and is responsible for defined P&L goals.

• Develops strategic plans by integrating information from multiple partnerships and organizations through collaboration with those groups, and sets objectives within context of divisional objectives; monitors and adjusts key account strategic plans as necessary

• Integrates brand and key account strategies into overall strategic plan

• Works closely with Headquarters brand teams to ensure appropriate field and customer input is provided to ongoing brand strategies

• Shares and ensures alignment around key accounts and customer centric visions with large teams, motivating and inspiring every level of employee toward shared goals

• Inform and influence the development of national strategies and tactics as a participating member on cross-functional teams for key accounts in geographical sphere of responsibility

• Proactively identifies and creates opportunities to drive key account and business results

• Identifies opportunities to maximize business potential by taking into consideration and leveraging payor, patient, HBP, and Health Care Providers interactions and dependencies

• Provides input into establishment of annual financial goals for aggregate assigned key accounts and customer base

• Ensures the team follows policies, business practices, and compliance guidelines

Position Qualifications:

Education Minimum Requirement:

• Required: BA/BS

• Preferred: MBA

Required Experience and Skills:

• Minimum of (10) years’ experience in Sales, Marketing or Managed Care - Pharmaceutical industry

• Minimum of (3) years People Management experience

• Minimum of (3) years’ experience developing and managing customer relationships

• Valid Driver’s License

Technical/Functional Capabilities:

• Create a strategic plan by integrating short-, mid-, and long-term objectives

• Formulate a strategic business plan based on customer business, needs, and available resources

• Clearly communicate and articulate a vision and strategy that motivates and energizes the region

• Understands the market environment - identification of customer segments and business drivers

• Listen, understand, and proactively address customer needs

• Assess business results against objectives and realign resources based on the assessment

• Enhance the selling skills and capabilities of the Representatives and Managers to optimize the customer experience

Critical Experience:

• Ability to translate division vision and strategy to directives and procedures

• Experience leading a team-organization

• Marketing/brand experience, or experience working closely with Headquarter brand teams

• Making resource decisions and trade-offs to maximize business potential

• Identifying and pursuing opportunities for new products, services, and/or markets

• Experience in building/directing new teams

• Delivering customer value

• Achieving results

• Analyzing the human resource needs of a region to maximize the customer experience

Leadership Capabilities:

• Deliver Customer Value - ability and appreciation to clearly understand the customer and their unique needs; ability to translate understanding into effective development and delivery of relevant solutions:

• Collaborate, Build Talent, Shape Strategy, Makes Sound Business Decisions, Relationship Development, Achieve Results

Required Skills:

Account Management, Account Management, Brand Strategy, Business Management, Business Planning, Business Relationship Building, Client-Centric, Coaching, Communication, Contract Management, Customer Engagement, Customer-Focused, Customer Needs Assessments, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Employee Performance Management, Executive Presence, Healthcare Trends, Human Resource Management, Interpersonal Relationships, Market Analysis, Negotiation, Operational Delivery, People Leadership, Resource Allocation, Sales Management {+ 5 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

$231,900.00 - $365,000.00

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:

25%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

1st - Day

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

03/9/2026

*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.