Job Description
Role Summary:
The Senior Director, Clinical Science, Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology is responsible for providing strategic Clinical Science leadership, with accountability spanning multiple studies, programs, and assets. Reporting to the Executive Director, this role contributes to disease area strategy by applying deep therapeutic expertise to guide Clinical Science approaches, support development planning, and promote consistency in scientific standards, medical data review practices, and decision-making across the portfolio.
The individual in this role is expected to bring deep knowledge of Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers, including disease biology, current and emerging treatment landscape, relevant clinical endpoints, and key scientific considerations that influence development strategy and study design. The Senior Director partners closely with Section Heads, Asset Leads, Program Development Team Leads, and cross-functional development team members to support study planning, data interpretation, issue resolution, and broader program decisions across assigned studies and programs.
This role has a strong strategic orientation and is expected to shape how Clinical Science work is performed across the Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers portfolio, including standardization of practices, alignment of scientific approaches, and integration of insights across assets. The Senior Director may have responsibility for direct management and development of multiple Clinical Scientists and is expected to provide leadership, coaching, and clear direction within a matrix environment.
The role requires close collaboration with Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics and Data Management, Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance, Translational Medicine, Medical Affairs, and other key partner functions, as well as contribution to governance discussions and senior leadership reviews.
Key Responsibilities:
Disease Area and Clinical Science Strategy:
- Provide strategic Clinical Science leadership across the disease area, including multiple studies, programs, and assets.
- Contribute to disease area strategy by providing Clinical Science input on development opportunities, scientific considerations, portfolio risks, and implications of emerging internal and external data.
- Partner with Section Heads, Asset Leads, Program Development Team Leads, and cross-functional leaders to support alignment of Clinical Science activities with broader program and disease area objectives.
- Apply expert knowledge of therapeutic focus, disease biology, treatment landscape, and clinically meaningful endpoints to inform study planning, data interpretation, and issue resolution.
- Support cross-study and cross-asset integration of scientific insights to inform development decisions.
Standardization and Scientific Consistency:
- Lead efforts to standardize Clinical Science approaches across the disease area, including medical data review practices, data interpretation principles, and key deliverables, as appropriate.
- Promote consistency in how Clinical Science activities are conducted across studies and programs while allowing for program-specific needs.
- Help establish and maintain standards, expectations, and leading practices for Clinical Science work within the portfolio.
- Support alignment across assets on important disease area considerations, including endpoint interpretation, patient population considerations, safety topics, and emerging scientific issues.
- Advocate for implementation of innovative approaches, including visual analytics, centralized data review, AI-enabled workflows, and other technologies that improve quality and efficiency.
Strategic Scientific Leadership:
- Provide senior scientific guidance across assigned studies and programs to support high-quality and consistent Clinical Science input.
- Guide interpretation of clinical data across studies, cohorts, and assets to support broader understanding of trends, opportunities, risks, and program implications.
- Support identification and evaluation of important clinical, scientific, and data-related issues and help ensure they are appropriately framed for cross-functional and governance discussions.
- Contribute scientific perspective to protocol development, protocol amendments, study design considerations, endpoint selection, eligibility criteria, biomarker strategy discussions, and other development planning activities.
- Serve as a Clinical Science subject matter resource for their disease area or therapeutic focus across study teams and partner functions.
Portfolio and Governance Contribution:
- Contribute Clinical Science perspective to portfolio discussions, governance reviews, and senior leadership meetings within their disease area.
- Support preparation of clinical and scientific content for governance discussions, program reviews, and senior management communications.
- Present cross-study insights, scientific assessments, and key issues to cross-functional leaders and governance bodies, as appropriate.
- Help ensure that portfolio and governance discussions are informed by sound scientific judgment and clinically meaningful interpretation of available data.
- Translate portfolio priorities into Clinical Science strategies, capabilities, and resource plans.
People Leadership and Capability Building:
- Provide direct management for Directors, Principal Scientists, and Clinical Scientists, as appropriate.
- Set clear expectations for scientific quality, strategic thinking, collaboration, and effective communication.
- Support development of Clinical Science talent through coaching, mentoring, feedback, and creation of development opportunities.
- Promote consistency in role expectations and ways of working across Clinical Scientists.
- Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, continuous learning, and strong team performance.
Cross-Functional Leadership:
- Partner closely with Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Biostatistics, Data Management, Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance, Translational Medicine, Medical Affairs, and other key partner functions.
- Represent Clinical Science in cross-functional planning, program discussions, and strategic decision-making forums.
- Facilitate alignment across studies, programs, and functions to support consistent scientific approaches and effective portfolio execution.
- Support clear communication of clinical and scientific issues to relevant stakeholders and leadership teams.
Compliance and Continuous Improvement:
- Ensure Clinical Science activities are conducted in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, company policies, and established procedures.
- Support inspection readiness and appropriate documentation of Clinical Science contributions, as applicable.
- Identify opportunities to improve the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of Clinical Science work across their disease area.
- Maintain awareness of relevant scientific, clinical, and regulatory developments in their disease area or therapeutic focus to inform disease area strategy and Clinical Science practices.
Core Leadership Skills:
- Sets clear direction aligned with business and organizational priorities.
- Demonstrates strong scientific and strategic judgment in complex and ambiguous situations.
- Builds strong, collaborative relationships across functions and levels.
- Develops people through coaching, feedback, and support for growth.
- Creates an inclusive environment where perspectives are valued.
- Drives accountability and high standards for quality and performance.
- Communicates clearly and effectively with team members, cross-functional partners, and senior leaders.
- Leads through influence in a matrix environment and helps teams align around shared goals.
- Encourages continuous improvement, learning, and thoughtful challenge.
- Balances enterprise thinking with practical decision-making and timely action.
Education:
- Advanced scientific or healthcare degree required (e.g., PhD, PharmD), or equivalent, with 8+ years of pharmaceutical, clinical drug development, and/or medical field experience preferred
OR
- Master’s degree, preferably in life sciences, with 12+ years of pharmaceutical, clinical drug development, and/or medical field experience
OR
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in life sciences, with 15+ years of pharmaceutical, clinical drug development, and/or medical field experience
Experience:
- Significant experience in Clinical Development, Clinical Science, clinical drug development, or a related function within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
- Demonstrated experience providing Clinical Science leadership across multiple studies, programs, or assets.
- Deep therapeutic area expertise, including strong understanding of disease biology, current and emerging treatment landscape, clinically relevant endpoints, and key scientific considerations affecting development.
- Strong understanding of clinical trial design, clinical development strategy, clinical data review, and interpretation of oncology data.
- Experience contributing to disease area strategy, portfolio discussions, or cross-program planning.
- Experience contributing to regulatory submissions, safety reviews, or health authority interactions.
- Experience working effectively in cross-functional teams within a matrix environment.
- Demonstrated ability to integrate information across studies and programs to support scientific and business decisions.
- Excellent communication, influence, and executive presentation skills.
- Demonstrated people leadership experience, including management, coaching, and development of scientific staff.
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Required Skills:
Clinical Research Management, Clinical Sciences, Clinical Trial Planning, Life Science, Matrix Management, Oncology, People Leadership, Study Design, Therapeutic Knowledge, Trial Design
Preferred Skills:
Cross-Functional Teamwork, Development Strategy, Functional Leadership
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The primary location for this posting is:
USA - New Jersey - Rahway
Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.
The salary range for the primary location of this role is:
$210,400.00 - $331,100.00
This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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.
Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.
Additional location(s) Compensation Information:
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
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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:
10%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving License:
No
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
11/24/2026
*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.
