Job Description
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Associate Director, Portfolio Management is a key leadership role within our company's Finance Digital Office, responsible for governing and advancing the FDO's portfolio of digital transformation initiatives across a global finance organization of over 1,000 employees. This individual will serve as the connective tissue between strategic intent and execution; ensuring that projects are prioritized, resourced, tracked, and communicated with rigor and transparency. This role requires a rare combination of financial acumen, project management discipline, and digital fluency. The successful candidate will build and maintain the frameworks, tools, and governance processes that enable the FDO to deliver value at scale.
PORTFOLIO GOVERNANCE & OVERSIGHT
• Own and continuously evolve the FDO project portfolio, including the end-to-end intake, prioritization, and approval process
• Maintain and enhance the value/effort scoring framework used to prioritize digital investments across the finance organization
• Develop and manage a portfolio-level Gantt-based roadmap, ensuring visibility into milestones, dependencies, and sequencing
• Establish and enforce portfolio governance standards, including project charter requirements, stage-gate reviews, and post-implementation assessments
• Proactively identify capacity constraints, cross-project dependencies, and delivery risks; escalate and resolve issues as appropriate
• Partner with FDO leadership to conduct regular portfolio reviews and ensure alignment with enterprise finance and technology strategy
EXECUTIVE REPORTING & COMMUNIC****ATIONS
• Develop and deliver high-quality portfolio dashboards, status updates, and executive briefing materials for senior finance leadership
• Create compelling data visualizations and narrative summaries that translate portfolio complexity into clear, actionable insights
• Maintain portfolio reporting cadence and ensure stakeholders receive timely, accurate updates on project health and strategic progress
• Serve as a primary point of contact for finance leaders seeking visibility into FDO project status and timelines
PROCESS DESIGN & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
• Design and implement scalable PMO processes, templates, and tools that improve portfolio visibility and execution discipline
• Lead efforts to standardize project intake and classification processes, including governance guardrails to prevent shadow projects from bypassing review
• Leverage Power BI and other analytics platforms to build self-service reporting capabilities for FDO stakeholders
• Identify and close gaps in current portfolio management practices; benchmark against industry standards and propose improvements
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT & CHANGE MANAGEMENT
• Build strong working relationships with finance business partners, IT, and shared services teams to ensure project alignment and adoption
• Facilitate cross-functional planning sessions, dependency mapping workshops, and portfolio prioritization discussions
• Support change management activities associated with digital initiative rollouts, including communication planning and readiness tracking
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field; MBA preferred
• 7+ years of progressive experience in project/portfolio management, finance transformation, or a related discipline
• Demonstrated experience managing a portfolio of concurrent technology or transformation initiatives
• Strong proficiency in project management tools and methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, hybrid); PMP or equivalent certification preferred
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfort engaging with VP and above-level stakeholders
• Proficiency in Power BI, Excel, and PowerPoint; experience with portfolio management platforms a plus
Preferred
• Experience in a pharmaceutical, biotech, or Fortune 500 finance environment
• Familiarity with ERP systems (SAP), financial planning tools (BPC, SAC-P, Lumel), or data platforms (Databricks, Redshift, FSA)
• Six Sigma, Lean, or other process improvement certification
• Demonstrated ability to drive governance and accountability in a matrixed global organization
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN
• A high-visibility leadership role at the center of our company's Finance's digital transformation agenda
• Opportunity to shape and mature portfolio management practices across a global finance function
• Exposure to cutting-edge financial technology platforms and enterprise AI/analytics initiatives
• A collaborative, intellectually curious team committed to delivering meaningful impact
**Required Skills: **
Business Intelligence Development, Business Intelligence Development, Business Support, CAPA Management, Clinical Supply Chain Management, Communications Support, Customer Experience Optimization, Customer-Focused, Driving Continuous Improvement, Executive Level Reporting, Finance Transformation, Financial Accounting Controls, Financial Operations, Financial Planning, Financial Programming, Financial Tools, Human Resources (HR) Shared Services Advisory, Meeting Leadership, Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (BI), Portfolio Management, Project Charters, Project Management, Project Prioritization, Quantitative Analytics, SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) {+ 2 more}
**Preferred Skills: **
Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:
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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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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
$129,000.00 - $203,100.00
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:
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:
05/13/2026
***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. **