Associate Director, HIV Regional Trainer

Job Description

The Associate Director, HIV Regional Trainer (HRT) supports and facilitates field-based learning and capability development for commercial customer-facing roles within an assigned sales region. Serving as a trusted training partner, this role is embedded in the regional customer team to ensure that representatives build and maintain exemplary clinical and commercial acumen to drive meaningful patient impact.

The Associate Director, HRT reports directly to the Director, HIV Regional Training and works in close alignment with National Sales Directors, Directors of Commercial Operations (DCOs), Customer Team Leaders (CTLs), HIV Marketing, and the US HIV Learning & Development (L&D) team. The HRT is a key operational enabler of the regional commercial structure, translating national strategies into customized, high-impact regional learning solutions.

This position focuses on execution, providing structured feedback, demonstrating best-practice examples, and regional customization of learning solutions.

Position Location: Field-Based (Within Assigned Region / Remote)

Travel Requirements: Approximately 40-50% travel (primarily within the assigned region for field visits, regional meetings, and corporate training events)

Primary Responsibilities

1. Training Execution & Field-Based Feedback

• Clinical & Product Facilitation: Deliver, facilitate, and reinforce clinical, product, and disease state training using HQ-approved materials, ensuring representatives are experts in the HIV portfolio.

• On-the-Job Feedback & Modeling: Conduct regular regional field rides with representatives to observe customer interactions and provide real-time, actionable feedback and best-practice examples on customer engagement, execution of the national message, account management, managed care pull-through, and selling effectiveness (e.g., Challenger Sales Model).

• Onboarding Excellence: Direct and support the regional onboarding of new hires in partnership with sales leadership, validating product knowledge, compliance standards, territory management tools (Gator Pro, Field Co-pilot, etc.), and customer-engagement skills through structured evaluation.

• Modern Learning Methodologies: Utilize and evaluate virtual and in-person technologies to deliver highly engaging, interactive learning, modeling, and training.

2. Business Partnership & Needs Assessment

• Regional Consulting: Act as an embedded learning consultant to Regional Directors, DCOs, and CTLs to analyze performance indicators and identify local training/knowledge gaps.

• Local Adaptation: Align national L&D frameworks with regional and territory business plans, adapting training solutions to address distinct local market dynamics, payer landscapes, and customer segment needs.

• Strategic Input: Translate field insights, regional business opportunities, and competitive pressures into targeted learning interventions, sharing critical feedback and execution examples with HQ to drive continuous improvement.

3. Stakeholder Collaboration & Alignment

• Marketing / L&D Bridge: Serve as the vital link between field sales teams, marketing, and L&D, ensuring absolute alignment of messaging, brand strategies, and commercial capabilities.

• Cross-Functional Synergy: Collaborate actively with marketing and market access partners to ensure seamless, unified, and compliant delivery of commercial training programs.

4. Leadership & Compliance

• Culture of Inclusion: Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance training culture across the region, encouraging perspectives and supportive professional development.

• Compliance Stewardship: Maintain strict adherence to all company policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements governing staff learning, training facilitation, and commercial communications.

Minimum Education Requirement

• Required: Bachelor’s degree (Business, Science, Healthcare, or Education preferred)

Required Experience and Skills

• Industry Experience: Minimum of 5 years of related pharmaceutical/biotechnology commercial experience (sales, marketing, training, or reimbursement), with a minimum of 2 years of dedicated HIV specialty experience.

• Training & Facilitation: Demonstrated proficiency in delivering and facilitating complex scientific, clinical, and commercial training programs in both virtual and in-person environments.

• Feedback Delivery & Influence: Strong capability to observe representative interactions, deliver structured developmental feedback, provide practical execution examples, and build field-based capability, with advanced interpersonal and influencing skills to impact regional stakeholder teams.

• Adaptability & Resilience: Proven ability to manage through change, prioritize initiatives, and operate successfully in a fast-paced, dynamic, and minimally structured field environment.

• Communication: Outstanding oral, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to ask thoughtful questions, listen actively, and translate technical clinical data into clear, executable sales dialogue.

• Driving License: Must possess a valid, active driver's license.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Field Training Leadership: Prior experience as a Field Sales Trainer, HQ Training Facilitator, or similar instructional/developmental role.

• Launch Excellence: Direct experience supporting complex product launches, expanding indications, or navigating highly competitive therapeutic markets.

• Adult Learning Theory: Foundational knowledge of adult learning theories and instructional design principles, with experience assessing professional competency gaps.

• Account-Based Selling: Deep understanding of healthcare ecosystem navigation, institutional account management, and local market access dynamics.

Key Competencies & Required Skills

• Core Competencies: Clinical Acumen (HIV portfolio), Skills Assessment & Feedback, Performance Modeling, Challenger Sales Methodology, Account Management, Virtual and In-Person Facilitation, Cross-Functional Collaboration.

• Operational Skills: Customer Needs Assessment, Strategic Planning, Prioritization, Project Management, Detail-Orientation, Verbal & Written Communication, Compliance Management, Conflict Resolution.

Required Skills:

Adult Learning Principles, Adult Learning Principles, Attendance Tracking, Business Agility, Business Alignment, Competency Development, Competency Management, Constructive Feedback, Content Creation, Cross-Functional Project Management, Customer Engagement, Customer Feedback, Customized Training, Data Analysis, Direct Selling, Facilitate Training Sessions, Feedback Management, Instructional Design, Leadership Development Programs, Leadership Theories, Liaison Work, Oncology Marketing, Outside Sales, Partner Relationship Management (PRM), Receptive to Feedback {+ 9 more}

Preferred Skills:

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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:

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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.

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The salary range for this role is

$142,400.00 - $224,100.00

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:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

50%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Remote

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

Yes

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

09/11/2026

*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.