Launch Excellence Lead (m/f/d)

Job Description

We are thrilled to present an exciting opportunity for a passionate Marketeer to join our local New Products team as a Launch Excellence Lead (Associate Director) (m/f/d) and drive the pre-launch preparation of our pipeline assets. In this role, you will lead a team of 2 Content Accelerator Specialists and launch excellence. This position is based in our state-of-the-art office, Die Macherei, located in Munich, Germany.

The role of the Launch Excellence Lead is to standardize pre-launch activities for our pipeline assets. In this role you actively collaborate with local and global cross-functional teams including Content Accelerator Committees, BU, Market Access to optimize collaboration. You work closely with the New Products Managers and Business Analyst within the NP Team. Reporting to the New Products Team Lead in Germany, this position offers the unique chance to help shape new assets in alignment with our global mission to discover, develop, and provide innovative medicines, vaccines, and healthcare solutions that save and improve lives.

Responsibilities:

As a Launch Excellence Lead, you are a seasoned marketeer with a strong commercial mindset and profound launch experience who leads the Content Accelerator and Launch Excellence Specialists to optimally prepare our pipeline assets for local market needs and implements standards of launch excellence for Pipeline Assets.

Primary Activities:

Launch Excellence:

• Standardize launch planning for pipeline assets and optimize key processes (e.g., local forecasting, FTE planning, secondary data reporting, competitive intelligence).

• Develop, align, and implement a launch excellence framework for early and pre-launch assets, including dashboards and KPI trackers to drive transparency and performance.

• Implement the Content Accelerator process in pre-launch asset preparation and collaborate with Content Committees and Global Commercial Teams to embed Ways of Working (WoW) from the start.

Governance:

• Guide governance for New Product preparation (early asset and pre-launch), working closely with PMO to ensure there is clarity in roles, decision rights, and responsibilities across the organization.

• Develop and align an early asset prioritization framework to enable the New Products team to set the right priorities, aligned with relevant cross-functional partners in the local organization.

• Support preparation of launch excellence meetings (e.g., launch readiness reviews, content steering) with a clear cadence, agendas, and documented outcomes.

• Support change management and stakeholder communication for new standards and processes, ensuring adoption, consistency, and measurable impact.

Leadership:

• Lead cross-functional teams and co-develop the Launch Excellence Framework, Ways of Working (WoW), and Governance model. Implement the Launch Excellence Framework and Content Accelerator structure with New Products team members, ensuring clarity on ownership and measurable outcomes.

• Provide direct people leadership to the Content Accelerator & Launch Excellence Specialists (e.g., goal setting, coaching, development planning, and performance support) to build a high-performing team.

• Drive a continuous improvement mindset by capturing lessons learned, sharing best practices across assets, and elevating launch capabilities over time.

Support Cultural Evolution (ways of working & collaboration):

• Act as a dedicated ambassador of our ways of working by role-modelling collaboration, constructive challenge, and learning agility; actively embrace diversity, equality, and inclusion and contribute to an environment in which all voices are heard, and decisions are made with integrity.

Educational Background:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Life Sciences, or a comparable field.

• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA or comparable qualification) is a plus.

Competencies/Skills required:

• To excel in this role, you need to possess the following qualifications:

• Proven experience (≥5 years) in marketing, pipeline preparation, and launch planning within healthcare, pharmaceuticals, or other regulated industries.

• Ideally global launch experience, local launch experience is a must-have

• Strong business acumen and the ability to think strategically

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with global and local cross-functional teams

• Experience in leading cross-functional teams and work with global and local stakeholders

• Mindset of a positive feedback culture and commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the workplace

• Strong presentation skills

• Strong project management skills (planning, prioritization, stakeholder alignment) with the ability to manage multiple workstreams in parallel.

• Experience in leading teams preferred

• Fluency in German and English

Required Skills:

Adaptability, Brand Management, Content Creation, Creativity, Cross-Functional Leadership, Customer Insights, Digital Consumer Engagement, Digital Marketing, Market Research, Market Segmentation, Omnichannel Marketing, Product Launches, Product Management, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking

Preferred Skills:

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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:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

N/A

Job Posting End Date:

08/17/2026*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.