Sr. Specialist, Technical Project Management

Support product-focused decision making and financial stewardship by taking accountability for how the Value Team leverages the IT Investment Management Framework. This role utilizes portfolio demand and fiscal management tools to monitor and analyze performance, including Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and value realization. Curate insights on operational savings and efficiencies to inform investment decisions.

Responsibilities

• Portfolio governance, operational reviews, and reporting (overall health, resource consumption, financials, etc.) for Value Team members and Senior Leaders.
• Management in all phases of the investment process to drive, execute, and optimize the division’s IT portfolio.
• Proactive stewardship of all investment funding mechanisms, ensuring collective initiatives and product lines do not exceed the portfolio’s budget allocation.
• Consistent reporting in applicable systems and forums at various levels of Value Team operations.
• Adoption of portfolio and financial tools and processes, including becoming a subject matter expert to host training and increase financial acumen among peers.
• Validation and prioritization of new portfolio demand in partnership with the Value Team Leader & Portfolio Lead while fostering a culture of sharing and reuse.
• Propose and secure funding through business case and guardrail management in collaboration with Business Technology Partners (BTPs) and Product Line Leaders (PLLs).
• Tracking and reporting Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and value realization to support decision-making for the Portfolio Lead and Value Team.
• Independent content creation for Senior Leaders, articulating value drivers, progress on value, key decisions, and impact/outcomes.
• Active participation in process improvement forums and retrospectives, implementing changes with an Agile mindset.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, or a related field (preferred but not required; relevant certifications and experience will be considered).
• 5+ years of demonstrated IT portfolio or fiscal management experience; pharmaceutical industry experience preferred.
• Curiosity to discover drivers behind trends and strong quantitative skills to visualize data and metrics for cross-functional investment decisions.
• Strong financial and process improvement acumen with an interest in educating the organization on these concepts.
• Ability to thrive in a detail-oriented role with a sense of urgency to meet deadlines, often without oversight.
• Solid communication skills, including facilitation of live or virtual meetings, workshop management, written communication, and presentation skills.
• Competency in financial and communications tools, including Microsoft Excel, Teams, Office 365 suite, Confluence, Spotfire, Power BI, and JIRA.

Skills

• Biopharmaceutical Industry
• Business Technology
• Financial Decision Making
• IT Financial Management
• Management Due Diligence
• Management Process
• Measurement Analysis
• Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (BI)
• Portfolio, Programme, and Project Support
• Program Management
• Project Management
• Risk Management
• Stakeholder Relationship Management
• Team Operations
• Technical Management
• Technical Projects
• Total Cost of Ownership Analysis
• Waterfall Model

Pay

The salary range for this role is $117,000.00 - $184,200.00. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on 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.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and other insurance benefits (for employee and family).
• Retirement benefits, including 401(k).
• Paid holidays, vacation, compassionate, and sick days.

More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.