Associate Director, Patient Navigator Strategy, US Oncology, Marketing

Job Description

The U.S. Oncology business within our company is a growing and dynamic organization committed to advancing innovative therapies for patients with cancer. We have an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic commercial team as we prepare for the potential U.S. launch of an mRNA-based individualized neoantigen therapy for early-stage melanoma, being developed through an alliance partnership. This novel product has the potential to redefine personalized cancer treatment and requires a highly coordinated operating model to support seamless therapy delivery across a complex treatment ecosystem.

Reporting to the Director, Patient Support Strategy Lead, the Associate Director, Patient Navigator Strategy will serve as the business leader responsible for designing, building, and enabling the INT Patient Navigator capability within the INT Patient Support program. Given the complex nature of individualized neoantigen therapy and the coordination required across multiple stakeholders and treatment milestones, this role will establish the strategic framework for how Patient Navigators engage patients throughout the treatment journey, ensuring a consistent experience from enrollment through treatment completion. The individual will translate patient, provider, and operational insights into scalable capabilities, engagement models, and governance structures that enable effective patient interactions and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Patient Navigator Strategy & Operating Model: Define the Patient Navigator strategy, operating model, service offerings, and engagement framework, establishing navigators as the primary point of contact for patients across the individualized therapy journey.
• Patient Journey Support Strategy: Define how Patient Navigators support patients across key treatment milestones, providing education, guidance, and non-clinical support to help patients navigate a complex treatment journey.
• Patient Education Strategy: Establish the strategy for patient education resources, including disease education, treatment journey expectations, manufacturing process information, anticipated timelines, and other non-clinical support materials
• Patient Engagement Governance: Define consent-capture requirements, approved messaging, support guardrails, escalation pathways, and clinical versus non-clinical support boundaries across all patient-facing navigator interactions.
• Technology, Data & Digital Enablement: Partner with Data & Technology teams to define technology requirements, CRM capabilities, workflow tools, reporting solutions, and patient visibility capabilities needed to support effective navigator engagement and service delivery.
• Navigator Performance Management: Establish navigator performance measures, quality standards, service metrics, and reporting requirements. Leverage patient and operational insights to identify trends, barriers, and improvement opportunities that enhance patient experience and program effectiveness.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Program Optimization: Partner with Marketing, Patient Support Center of Excellence, End-to-End Therapy Operations, Legal, Privacy, Compliance, and other stakeholders to ensure compliant implementation, operational readiness, and continuous optimization of navigator capabilities.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent (BA/BS)
• MBA or equivalent preferred

Required Experience and Skills

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or healthcare organizations, with experience spanning patient services, patient navigation, patient support programs, care coordination, or related patient-facing functions.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing patient support programs, patient navigation capabilities, or patient engagement models, with a track record of translating patient support strategies into operational programs
• Experience establishing patient support guardrails, engagement standards, consent requirements, approved messaging, and operational processes that enable compliant patient-facing interactions.
• Knowledge of patient privacy, informed consent, patient-facing communications, and compliance considerations related to patient support program design and execution
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities, with a demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, resolve complex operational challenges, and translate strategy into execution.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence decisions and build alignment across a complex matrix organization.

Preferred Skills

• Experience leading patient navigator, patient support, care coordination, customer experience, nurse educator, or other patient-facing support organizations.
• Experience supporting the commercialization or launch of advanced therapies, including cell therapy, gene therapy, radioligand therapy, individualized therapies, or other complex treatment modalities.
• Deep understanding of oncology patient journeys, reimbursement pathways, specialty distribution models, and advanced therapy treatment ecosystems.

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

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The salary range for this role is

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

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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. 

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Requisition ID:R415141