Dir, Regional Commercial ONC / Dir, Future Portfolio & Strategic Partnerships, Oncology LATAM

Job Description

Dir, Future Portfolio & Strategic Partnerships, Oncology LATAM

Our company is a global healthcare leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Today, we are building a new kind of healthcare company – one that is ready to help create a healthier future for all of us. Our ability to excel depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill and diversity of people like you. As part of the Oncology team, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

Main Objectives

The Director, Future Portfolio & Strategic Partnerships, Oncology LATAM is responsible for shaping the regional commercial strategy for future oncology assets and selected strategic partnership opportunities across Latin America, with primary accountability for LATAM markets excluding Brazil and Mexico, while enabling cross-market learning and alignment where relevant.

The role orchestrates opportunity assessment, portfolio prioritization, early commercial planning, launch readiness and Global / Intercontinental engagement for emerging oncology assets, ensuring LATAM market realities are reflected in strategic choices and that Market teams are prepared for future launches.

This role will help LATAM Oncology evolve from a product-centered operating model toward a more complex, multi-product and partnership-enabled portfolio, bringing external perspective, competitive insights, strategic thinking, structured problem solving and repeatable frameworks that elevate the team's future-ready capabilities.

This is a senior individual contributor role with significant enterprise influence. The position does not have direct people management accountability, but will lead through influence across Global, Intercontinental, Regional, Markets and cross-functional teams.

This position reports directly to the Regional Commercial Head, Oncology LATAM.

This position can be based in Rahway or in a Latin America market, subject to business and HR guidance.

Main Responsibilities

Strategy and Execution

·        Develops and advances the LATAM future portfolio strategy across new assets, selected alliance assets and longer-horizon opportunities.

·        Adapts Global and Intercontinental asset strategy to address LATAM-specific opportunities and challenges, considering regulatory, access, medical, commercial, financial and policy drivers.

·        Builds regional launch readiness frameworks for selected future assets, including filing / approval milestones, market access planning, forecast assumptions, diagnostic dependencies where relevant and market preparation needs.

·        Establishes and monitors readiness indicators and reviews progress with Markets and the regional cross-functional team.

·        Brings external benchmarks, competitive intelligence and cross-market insights to challenge assumptions and inform portfolio choices.

·        Keeps a constant follow-up of market, competitive and partnership dynamics and uses this information to inform strategic decisions and portfolio recommendations.

 

Drives Results

·        Partners with Market teams to strengthen readiness, strategic clarity and disciplined decision-making across the future oncology portfolio.

·        Leads structured opportunity assessments and business cases for selected emerging oncology assets, translating complex clinical, market, access and financial information into actionable recommendations.

·        Supports disciplined prioritization of assets, indications, markets and investment needs to enable long-term value creation and resource allocation.

 

Supports Operations

• Provides regional commercial input to strategic partnership workstreams, business development collaborations and selected alliance-related planning where appropriate.
• Supports assessment of partnership opportunities, including LATAM footprint, commercialization model, market prioritization, unmet need, forecasting assumptions and launch readiness.
• Supports top-down forecasting, scenario planning and market sequencing in line with Global guidance and LATAM market realities.
• Partners with Finance, Access, Regulatory, Medical, Policy, Legal, Compliance and Market teams to ensure integrated planning and clear decision points.

 

Strong Connection with Global and Intercontinental

• Represents LATAM Oncology in relevant Global, Intercontinental and regional new product / future portfolio forums.
• Leads ongoing updates to Global and Intercontinental teams on LATAM market realities, opportunities, risks and prioritization needs.
• Shares best practices and lessons learned with Global functions and across the region.
• Supports deployment of tools, customer solutions, commercial innovation and capability building in support of future launches.

Skills

Entrepreneurship

·        Seeks to understand evolving customer, market, payer and country needs; actively gathers insights to define opportunity, readiness gaps and growth potential.

·        Brings an external view and future-oriented mindset to challenge assumptions and identify new portfolio and partnership opportunities.

 

Business Savviness

·        Analyzes market, competitive, financial and access information to assess opportunities and anticipate business impact.

·        Understands the interdependencies among commercial, medical, market access, regulatory, finance, operations, legal and compliance functions.

 

Strategic Planning

·        Develops clear direction, priorities and decision frameworks for future portfolio planning.

·        Clarifies roles, responsibilities, milestones and governance mechanisms required to prepare markets for future launches.

 

Networking and Partnerships

·        Builds strong partnerships with country teams, Global / Intercontinental teams and regional functions to align priorities and drive action.

·        Facilitates agreement by clarifying decisions, next steps, support needed and progress tracking.

 

Influence

·        Uses effective involvement and persuasion strategies to gain commitment to portfolio recommendations and launch readiness actions without direct reporting authority.

·        Communicates complex strategic choices with clarity to senior stakeholders across geographies and functions.

 

Capability Building and Knowledge Transfer

·        Elevates team capability by bringing new perspectives, external benchmarks, competitive insights and structured approaches to portfolio strategy.

·        Creates an environment of continuous learning and capability development across the regional Oncology team.

·        Helps strengthen future-ready capabilities in opportunity assessment, portfolio prioritization, launch readiness, alliance orchestration and decision-making under uncertainty.

 

Execution Excellence

·        Sets high standards for accountability, follow-through and disciplined execution in line with compliance expectations.

·        Focuses teams on the most critical priorities, tracks progress and redirects resources or attention when assumptions change.

Qualifications and Experience

·        BA/BS in Marketing, Business Administration, Economics, Engineering, Life Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine or other related areas.

·        Postgraduate extension / MBA / advanced degree preferred.

·        Significant progressive pharmaceutical, biotechnology or healthcare experience, preferably in oncology, specialty care, new products, commercial strategy, market access, business development, strategic planning or related functions.

·        Proven experience in portfolio strategy, new product planning, launch readiness, lifecycle strategy, opportunity assessment or business case development.

·        Demonstrated experience operating in Latin America or in comparable complex, multi-country / emerging market environments.

·        Experience working with strategic partnerships, alliances, co-development / co-commercialization models, business development collaborations or complex cross-enterprise partnership structures.

·        Strong ability to synthesize complex clinical, competitive, financial, market access and market insights into clear recommendations.

·        Strong communication skills and executive presence, with the ability to represent a regional perspective in senior forums.

·        Experience bringing external perspectives, competitive intelligence, benchmark insights or innovative commercial approaches into portfolio strategy, launch planning or business decision-making is preferred.

·        Experience with oncology new modalities, hematology, precision medicine, companion diagnostics, Global Asset Teams, lifecycle management and/or formal alliance management is preferred, but not required.

·        Spanish fluency preferred; Portuguese is a plus.

Our employees are the key to our company’s success. We demonstrate our commitment to our employees by offering a competitive and valuable rewards program. Our Company’s benefits are designed to support the wide range of goals, needs and lifestyles of our employees, and many of the people that matter the most in their lives.

Required Skills

Oncology Commercial Strategy, New Product Planning, Portfolio Strategy, Opportunity Assessment, Business Case Development, Launch Readiness, Strategic Partnerships & Alliance collaboration, Forecasting, Scenario Planning, Market Access Strategy, Cross-Functional Leadership, Executive Communication, Stakeholder Influence, Strategic Thinking, Business Acumen, Competitive Intelligence, Decision Making Under Ambiguity, Latin America / Emerging Markets, Compliance Mindset.

Preferred Skills

ADCs, Hematology, Global Asset Team Experience, Co-Commercialization/ Alliance Management Experience, Lifecycle Management, Business Development Collaboration, Spanish, Public and Private Market Access, Multi-Asset Portfolio & Launch Excellence, Strategic Partnerships Experience

Required Skills:

Data-Driven Decision Making, Digital Marketing, Innovation, Market Access, Marketing Analytics, Market Research, Oncology Marketing, Pricing Strategies, Professional Networking, Regional Marketing, Relationship Building, Scenario Planning, Strategic Product 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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

09/8/2026

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