Data Supplier Strategy Engagement Director

The incumbent is responsible for supporting Human Health (HH) in partnering with 68 countries to ensure we are developing an industry-leading strategy and approach to data sourcing & utilizing commercial data assets to inform business critical decisions and actions within the markets. Under direction of the Data Strategy & Innovation (DSI) Leader, the incumbent will be assigned to create & implement the HH data supplier strategy & innovation plan, starting with IQVIA, the largest vendor in the HH commercial data space in the first ever centralized global data program.

The Data Supplier Strategy Engagement (DSSE) Director will identify opportunities and data gaps across IQVIAs portfolio, within each market, to make sure we are strategically managing & resourcing their data needs. They will identify innovative opportunities where IQVIA can partner with other vendors/sources where there is an identified data gap. In addition, the director will conduct benefit realization activities, including exploratory data analyses, fit for purpose analyses, and proof-of-concept use case tests which will identify value, quality, cost, and efficiencies.

The DSSE Leader will work closely with the other key areas of the Business, Market D&A teams, Procurement, DSI, Contracting, Governance & Compliance, and Vendor Management. This person will have responsibility for guiding a team (mix of our company and outsource FTEs) which will increase as we continue to grow in this area. The DSSE leader will field escalations, drive the team based on the agreed upon SLA, maintain a set of data analytics tools, and works with the other areas of the broader DSI&G team to drive continuous improvement.

Job Tasks:

• Accountable for defining, maintaining, and educating the team on process standards, objectives, and protocols.
• Supports team performance and activities in alignment with DSI&G goals and priorities
• Continuously work with data science teams to help provide access to the core data needed to drive the business. 
• Function as the IQVIA data subject matter expert, understanding all the data, as well as the BI systems, be able to understand what use cases each data source is able to answer. 
• Conducts data needs assessments using input from key country business stakeholders, identifies gaps in current data strategy versus ideal state & prioritizes identified gaps. 
• Proactively identify sources necessary to solve a data gap, including partnering with IQVIA to innovate in areas where data does not exist.
• Conducts assigned data innovation analytics including data quality assessments, fit-for-purpose analyses, and proof-of-concept use case tests.
• Leverage the data to develop clear understanding of efficiencies, and partnership values to convey key insights to help inform strategic decisions.
• Establish, monitor and, report enterprise-level operation and performance metrics and SLAs tracking and improvement
• Collaborate on preparation of the annual Budget Plan
• Drive root cause analysis for data supplier process performance issues and establish remediation plans
• Ensure processes are conducted in compliance with all internal and external policies, standards, regulations and, predefined SLA
• Monitors development of data playbooks to drive standardized and maintain metrics, identifying the processes which could be scaled to other data suppliers
• Represent DSSE capability with our
• markets to:
• Confirm strategy is aligned with broader enterprise priorities
• Ensure alignment with other country data teams and share best practices
• DSSE Leader during the transition phase activities and in determining ideal FTE distributions across the function as it stabilizes and scales
• Responsible for managing the overall relationship with IQVIA

Education

• Bachelor of Science (or equivalent) in Data Science, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, IT, MBA, or an equivalent scientific/commercial discipline
• Minimum of 10 years of knowledge in analyzing healthcare administrative data, electronic health records, and/or disease/patient registries for relevant quantitative and qualitative research.  
• BA / BS in Quantitative Business Analytics, Quantitative Sciences, Engineering or Operations Research
• Working knowledge in leading analytic teams
• Knowledge of working with life sciences data 

Preferred:

• MS (or equivalent) in Data Science, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, IT, MBA, or an equivalent scientific/commercial discipline

Knowledge:

• Strong business acumen with a keen ability to understand how data (HCP, consumer, payer, patient, account, engagement, etc.) can be leveraged to inform critical commercial decisions and actions.
• Proven ability to analyze and assess the commercial value of data assets. 
• Proven potential to effectively collaborate with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders. Global experience a plus.
• Intellectual curiosity and ability to identify innovative approaches to addressing data needs.
• Excellent presentation, analytics and communication skills, both written and oral, are required to synthesize key issues and communicate/persuade constituencies towards specific actions and initiatives.
• Ability to attain “trusted advisor” status with key stakeholders and business clients. 
• Ability to operate in dynamic, transforming environment.
• Project management and root cause analysis

Our Human Health Division maintains a “patient first, profits later” ideology. The organization is comprised of sales, marketing, market access, digital analytics and commercial professionals who are passionate about their role in bringing our medicines to our customers worldwide. 

Who we are …

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.

What we look for …

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join us—and start making your impact today.