Sign up free to see how well your resume matches this role.
Job Description
Reporting to the Executive Director, Field Effectiveness & Enablement, the Director of Strategy & Field Enablement is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategic direction, governance, and execution of core commercial enablement levers that drive field effectiveness across the US Market. This role provides enterprise leadership over field incentive compensation strategy, planning, and execution, field structure, deployment, and alignments, and related operational capabilities, ensuring these interconnected disciplines operate cohesively, compliantly, and in direct support of commercial strategy.
The Director leads and develops a team of Associate Directors and Senior Specialists and oversees strategic vendor partners. This role serves as a trusted advisor to Sales Leadership and key corporate stakeholders, translating business strategy into scalable operating models that enable sales performance, organizational agility, and field readiness.
The primary objective of this role is to integrate incentives, structure, and alignment strategies into a unified field operations enablement framework, balancing strategic rigor with operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Enterprise Ownership
Own the end‑to‑end strategy and operating model for field operations enablement, including sales and field incentive execution, field structure, territory alignments, and governance.
Ensure alignment between commercial strategy, sales force design, incentive mechanics, and field deployment decisions.
Serve as the senior point of accountability for how incentives and alignments are designed, executed, and governed across the US Market.
Portfolio & Program Oversight
Lead a portfolio of highly interdependent programs, including incentive plan execution cycles, field force restructures, territory realignments, and major launch readiness initiatives.
Oversee execution timelines, budgets, risk management, and issue resolution across multiple workstreams.
Anticipate and manage enterprise‑level dependencies across incentives, alignments, systems, data, and compliance requirements.
Incentive Compensation (SIP/FIP) Leadership
Provide executive oversight of Sales and Field Incentive Plan execution, including objective setting, plan implementation, administration, payout, corrective actions, and financial accruals.
Ensure incentive execution aligns with company compensation principles, financial controls, and compliance standards.
Partner with Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Sales Leadership to ensure incentive programs drive desired behaviors and outcomes.
Structure & Alignments Leadership
Set strategic direction for field sales structure and territory alignment design, maintenance, and governance.
Ensure field structure and alignment decisions support evolving engagement models, launch strategies, and customer needs.
Maintain business ownership of enabling systems (e.g., Javelin, Zaidyn) and ensure optimization of related processes and data flows.
Cross‑Functional Leadership & Influence
Act as a senior strategic partner to Sales Leadership, Sales Force Effectiveness Planning, Marketing, HR, Compliance, Finance, Sales Ops, Digital Human Health, IT, and Data Science teams.
Lead complex decision‑making forums, driving alignment and trade‑off discussions across functions with competing priorities.
Influence outcomes through data‑driven insights, structured problem solving, and executive‑level communication.
Vendor & Financial Management
Own strategic vendor relationships supporting incentive execution and alignment operations, ensuring performance, accountability, and value realization.
Oversee financial management across incentive budgets, accruals, and operational spend.
Ensure vendor activities adhere to company standards, timelines, and quality expectations.
People Leadership & Capability Building
Lead, coach, and develop a high‑performing team of Associate Directors, Senior Specialists, and supporting roles.
Establish clear performance expectations, development plans, and succession pipelines.
Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
Required Experience & Skills
Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) preferred.
10+ years of progressive experience in sales operations, incentive compensation, field enablement, territory design, or commercial operations.
Demonstrated success leading enterprise‑scale, cross‑functional programs with direct impact on sales performance.
Deep understanding of sales incentive mechanics, field structure design, and customer‑facing deployment models.
Proven ability to influence senior leaders and executives in a highly matrixed environment.
Strong strategic thinking, financial acumen, and systems‑level problem‑solving skills.
Advanced program and portfolio management expertise.
Experience leading teams and managing strategic vendor partnerships.
Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management capabilities.
Required Skills:
Adaptability, Brand Management, Business Acumen, Business Alignment, Business Decisions, Customer Relationship Building, Financial Analysis, Leadership Management, Leadership Theories, Sales Strategy DevelopmentPreferred 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:
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
The salary range for this role is
$190,800.00 - $300,300.00This 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:
RegularRelocation:
No relocationVISA Sponsorship:
NoTravel Requirements:
10%Flexible Work Arrangements:
RemoteShift:
Not IndicatedValid Driving License:
YesHazardous Material(s):
N/AJob Posting End Date:
08/29/2026*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.
