Associate Director, FP&A MRL Finance (Hybrid - NJ or PA)

Job Description

Role Overview

Our Company's Research Laboratories drives breakthrough science through drug discovery, development, and clinical evaluation to address important medical needs. This Associate Director, Financial Planning & Analysis role will provide financial leadership within the Discovery, Preclinical and Translational Medicine (DPTM) organization.

Reporting and Scope

The position will operate under the guidance of Our Company's Research Laboratories Finance Director who supports the Composition of Matter functions within DPTM. This role will support the Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism & Bioanalytics (PDMB) and Non-clinical Drug Safety (NDS) functions, including large capital projects, and assist the Finance Director with ad hoc analyses and business priorities as needed. The position will partner with clients to develop financial, strategic, and operational plans and deploy resources against critical business drivers, including annual functional objectives and long-term strategic goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Build strong relationships with internal and external business partners, including IT, Project Management, Procurement, Alliance and Project Management, and broader Finance, to serve as an active business partner and advisor.

• Support coordinated planning and execution of client priorities, including strategy, business plans, and operational objectives.

• Develop expense and capital budgets, quarterly forecasts, and long-range operating plans that enable clients to meet goals and support broader organizational targets.

• Prepare ad hoc analyses, processes, and tools to support change initiatives and evolving business needs.

• Perform monthly close activities, including journal entries, actuals review, variance commentary, spending trend analysis, and corrective action recommendations as needed.

• Promote effective resource utilization, with a focus on internal headcount and external sourcing.

Core Activities

• Provide end-to-end financial support across budgeting and forecast cycles, quarter close, risks and opportunities, and strategic planning.

• Present key analytics to business partners and Finance leaders during quarterly results and forecast cycles.

• Act as a strong business advisor by challenging the value of spend, measuring business health, asking the right questions, and providing appropriate pushback when needed.

 

Development Opportunities

• Gain exposure to the drug development process and the Research & Development pipeline while supporting DPTM.

• Strengthen creative thinking, analytical problem-solving, and business advisory skills.

• Gain experience in change management and project management.

• Expand professional networks through engagement with key business partners, including IT, Project Management, Human Resources, Procurement, and other functions.

Travel: Limited to no travel unless deemed important by the business or clients.

Position Qualifications

Education

• Minimum: B.A./B.S., preferably in Business, Finance, Science, or Engineering.

• Preferred: MBA, CPA, or other M.A., M.S., or doctorate in Business, Finance, Science, or Engineering.

Required Experience and Skills

• Minimum of five years of experience in Finance.

• Strong FP & A experience required.

• Strong financial acumen and analytical capability.

• Proactive approach to problem-solving.

• Sound, balanced judgment with the ability to assess and manage risk.

• Results- and process-driven orientation.

• Passion and intellectual curiosity for research and development.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a challenging, complex environment.

• Demonstrated ability to influence, build, and maintain client and peer relationships.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Strong computer skills, particularly with SAP, BPC, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Required Skills:

Capital Projects, Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), Data Visualization, Financial Analysis, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning, Microsoft Excel, Planning Budgeting And Forecasting (PBF), Preparation of Financial Reports, Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Planning, Variance Analysis

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.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

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:

07/19/2026

*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.