Job Description

Join us at a pivotal time of innovation, growth, and breakthrough launches.
Create lasting impact by connecting global vision with local execution and lead the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases franchise across Asia Pacific to shape the future of healthcare.
Drive strategy, launches, and growth across one of the world's most dynamic regions. Bring life-changing innovation to millions of patients.

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.

Role Overview

The Regional Franchise Director is the regional commercial owner and ambassador for the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Franchise across Asia Pacific. The role is responsible for shaping franchise strategy, brand planning, portfolio prioritization, forecasting, and lifecycle strategy across while driving strong cross‑functional execution to deliver business results.

Operating as a regional commercial leader, the Regional Franchise Director is a trusted commercial partner to markets, global teams, and regional leadership—bringing clarity, discipline, and momentum to strategy, launch readiness, and ongoing performance.

The role requires strong strategic thinking, business judgment, analytical discipline, and cross-functional leadership. Together with the regional marketing team, the Regional Franchise Director will translate market insights, competitive intelligence, access realities, customer needs, and financial assumptions into clear strategic recommendations, actionable brand plans, and high-quality business decisions across Asia Pacific.

What Will You Do In This Role

Franchise / Brand Strategy & Ownership

Own and articulate the regional strategy for the assigned franchise/brand/asset, aligned to global direction and adapted for AP market realities.
Serve as the regional ambassador and subject‑matter expert, providing clear strategic direction to markets.
Define what is standard vs. localized across messaging, campaigns, and execution.
Own the brand narrative and storytelling, translating strategy into clear, executable plans.

Regional–Global–Local Orchestration

Act as the primary connector between global, regional, and local teams for the franchise/asset.
Adapt global strategies and campaigns to ensure local relevance without strategic dilution.
Ensure markets understand not just what to do, but why—making strategy practical and actionable.

Cross‑Functional Leadership & Execution

Mobilise and align cross‑functional teams (marketing, sales, access, medical, finance, policy, etc.).
Drive executional excellence across launch preparation, brand activation, and lifecycle management.
Navigate competing priorities while maintaining focus, alignment, and momentum.

Market & Stakeholder Partnership

Be a high‑value partner to markets, enabling MDs, BU Heads, and local teams through clarity and support.
Partner closely with marketing, sales, and access colleagues to drive brand and business performance.
Build trust as a commercial thought partner, not a service provider.

Commercial Leadership

Demonstrate commercial and P&L awareness for the Franchise/asset.
Partner with Business Unit Directors and escalate to MDs when appropriate and value‑adding.
Solve problems pragmatically, balancing strategic intent with execution realities.

People Leadership and Capability Building

Guide, coach, and support marketers or project teams responsible for assigned brand and indication priorities.
Create clarity on priorities, deliverables, timelines, decision points, and ways of working to ensure strong strategic discipline and accountability.
Build marketing capability across strategic planning, brand planning, forecasting, opportunity assessment, competitive strategy, and cross-functional leadership.
Contribute to a collaborative, accountable, and inclusive team culture that enables high performance across regional and country teams.

Required

What should you have

Hands on experience in Vaccines and Infectious Diseases franchise leadership within a regional or matrixed environment.
Proven ability to develop strategy and translate it into execution.
Strong grounding in marketing excellence and structured marketing capabilities.
Demonstrated cross‑functional leadership and stakeholder management skills.
Excellent storytelling and executive communication capability.
Curiosity and ability to apply AI in analysis, communication and execution

Preferred

Asia Pacific market experience.
Exposure to launch planning and lifecycle management.
Comfort operating with senior stakeholders at regional and global levels.

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 bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, we continue to advance innovative health solutions that improve and save lives around the world.

What We Look For

Imagine starting each day knowing your work helps save and improve lives. Here, you can bring your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, and scientific curiosity to collaborate with diverse colleagues united by a common purpose. Our Oncology team is constantly evolving—if you are intellectually curious, resilient, and driven to make a meaningful impact, we invite you to join us and help shape the future of cancer care in Asia Pacific.

Required Skills

Adaptability, Adaptability, Animal Health Care, Cross-Cultural Awareness, Customer Engagement, Data Analysis, Digital Marketing, Field Marketing, Interpersonal Relationships, Market Access, Market Development, Marketing, Marketing Management, Marketing Operations, Marketing Planning, Marketing Strategies, Marketing Strategy Implementation, Market Research, Multicultural Environments, Outside Sales, Product Management, Relationship Building, Results-Oriented, Sales Leadership, Sales Management + 3 more

Preferred Skills

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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

VISA Sponsorship

Travel Requirements

Flexible Work Arrangements

Hybrid

Shift

Valid Driving License

Hazardous Material(s)

Job Posting End Date

09/24/2026

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.

Requisition ID R414342

Regional Director Vaccines & Infectious Disease