Associate Director, Enterprise Team Human Resources Site Lead (Wilmington, DE)

Job Description

Our Wilmington Biotech manufacturing facility is a new state-of-the-art facility for hi-potent drug substances (DS) and drug product (DP) products, including Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), partnered closely with the Company Research & Development (R&D) Division to commercialize, launch and supply new products with speed, agility and innovation.

The Enterprise Team HR (ETHR) site lead – Wilmington will be the human resources point for Wilmington Biotech (WBT).  The ETHR partner will partner closely with the Global Biologics Operations (GBO) Organization & Talent Partner to shape and execute on the people strategies to support the overall business objectives.    This includes consultative engagement and coaching to the leaders and his/her leadership teams, providing expertise in the development of the organizational talent and diversity strategy, talent management, workforce planning, organizational design, restructuring, business development, change management, leader effectiveness, performance management, compensation and rewards.  The ETHR partner serves as a member of the Wilmington Biotech Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and will be part of the ETHR organization.

The site is currently under construction and targeted for opening in the next few years. The ETHR Partner will need to be primarily on site in early 2027 and will play a significant role in ensuring that the talent strategy supports the site vision and is implemented in partnership with site/project leads and GTA partners.  The ETHR Partner will work with the Site lead, Project Lead, and SLT to build the culture of the site and establish the organizational talent and diversity strategies, workforce planning and organizational design as the site is stood up.

Primary accountabilities

Execute the strategic agenda

• Provide strategic HR and executive coaching support to site lead.
• Drive the talent and diversity strategy for the assigned organization in partnership with respective COE leaders.
• Support all talent management, organizational design and organizational alignment activities within client group(s). Lead client restructuring activities when necessary. Contribute to organizational change management activities when necessary.

Coach through complexity

• Coach senior leadership teams to successfully manage all cyclical people management processes (talent management, succession planning, performance management, compensation planning, etc.)
• Partner with the learning & development organization on learning strategies and solutions to support and enable talent strategy.
• Partner with talent acquisition organization on activities in support of the organization’s workforce plan and talent strategy

Deliver local expertise and insights

• Provide leadership and project management to critical HR initiatives across the client organization as needed.
• Proactively collaborate across the HR network and with other stakeholders across the organization to resolve escalated issues and generate solutions to enable client’s business strategy.
• Drive a culture of inclusion, performance, results and positive employee relations.
• Drive consistency in employee and manager experience and talent movement across the organization.

ETHR skills and capabilities

• Execution Excellence: apply local understanding to execute talent strategies and enterprise initiatives with leaders.
• Change Catalyst: lead change, drive adoption, address resistance and ensure consistent, simplified ways of working.
• Coaching and Development: coach people managers and leaders
• Influence: establish credibility with and work effectively across leadership
• Business Savviness: quickly and efficiently read an unfamiliar business, site or market — its priorities, dynamics and risks — to assess the situation credibly, recommend action and support leaders and employees.
• Agility: show curiosity and ability to learn new areas and shift between disconnected work
• Consulting: diagnose the underlying problem or need, bring judgment to employee relations and sensitive matters, advise with confidence or redirect to the right place in the model

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree, or currently in pursuit of degree completion in human resources, business or a related discipline
• Minimum of eight (8) years of progressive HR or closely related business experience
• Demonstrated HR functional competence in one or more HR disciplines.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively influence, consult with and coach leaders and managers.
• Demonstrated capability leveraging data analytics and HR systems to provide relevant insights and consultation to the business leadership team.
• Ability to strategically prioritize time and problem solve against most impactful activities and initiatives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proven ability to demonstrate and foster collaboration among peers and extended HR organization.
• Change Management or Organization Transformation experience.
• Demonstrated experience in organization development such as organization design, change management, workforce planning preferred.
• Experience in supporting pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply preferred.
• Knowledge of employment legal practices and policies, experience strengthening positive employee relations and building manager and HR capability preferred.

MSJR

Required Skills:

Benefits Administration, Benefits Administration, Change Management, Compensation Strategies, Computer Literacy, Confidential Data Handling, Customer Communications, Customer Management, Customer Service, Customer Support, Digital Learning, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), Employee Development, Enquiries, Facility Maintenance, Greet Visitors, Guest Service, Headcount Forecasting, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), Human Resources (HR) Technology, Human Resources Analytics, Maintenance Documentation, Prioritization, Reception Duties, Recruiting Processes {+ 7 more}

Preferred 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:

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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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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:

Domestic

VISA Sponsorship:

No

Travel Requirements:

10%

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

NA

Job Posting End Date:

10/9/2026

*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.