Associate Director, Planning & Scheduling

Job Description

Company Overview

Our company in the United States and Canada, is a global healthcare leader with a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. For over a century, our success has been propelled by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare. Our Manufacturing Division is a team of dedicated, energetic individuals committed to being the most trusted supplier of pharmaceuticals and health products worldwide. Our facilities, along with our external contractors, suppliers, and partners, form an interdependent global manufacturing network that ensures a compliant, reliable supply to customers and patients on time, every time, across the globe.

Position Overview

As part of our Company's Supply Chain organization at the Vaccine Manufacturing facility in Durham NC, the Planning and Scheduling Lead will be responsible for the overall planning and purchasing processes in support of all Integrated Process Teams (IPTs) at the Hilleman and Teknika manufacturing facilities. This includes the Vaccine Manufacturing Facility (VMF), Tice (BCG Teknika), Tice (BCG Hilleman) and Vaccine Bulk Facility (GBF). The Planning Lead is part of the Sitewide Leadership Team (SWLT) and interacts frequently with the Site Leadership Team to provide information and metrics in support of key business initiatives and decisions. This is a fast-paced and multi-faceted role that provides leadership and input to every department on site across a wide range of business activities. This position is also responsible for monitoring inventory levels at all nodes in the supply chain ensuring sufficient raw material and component inventory to support manufacturing while managing financial inventory targets.

Reporting directly to the Director, Supply Chain Management, the successful candidate's primary responsibilities will include varying aspects of the following:

Leadership and Team Management

• Coach and manage the Supply Chain Planning Team (~10 direct reports) responsible for site end to end purchasing and planning supply chain operations.
• Provide mentorship and coaching to ensure team success. This includes providing in the moment feedback as well as feedback through routine one on one meetings and semi-annual and annual performance evaluations.
• Develop and foster employee growth through Employee Development Planning (EDP).
• Plan, assign, and direct work for team members, answering questions, resolving issues, and overseeing workloads.
• Establish annual Hoshin Kanri (HK) Planning departmental objectives aligned to Durham Supply Chain, Durham Site and Global Vaccine Operations objectives.

Project Management

• Lead and sponsor site initiatives surrounding Digital Planning, designed to drive automated planning processes resulting in discard reductions, accurate planning signals and forward-looking areas of concern.
• Organize and manage multiple projects across different timelines, ensuring successful execution and delivery.
• Actively participate in the development of Rapid Response capabilities

Primary Responsibilities, Continuous Improvement and Stakeholder Collaboration

• Lead/manage the site's Inventory of Questionable Value (IQV) process and support all financial targets and audits as Planning Lead.
• Lead cross-functional teams to execute planning / supply chain activities within the IPT's.
• Lead and collaborate with all site IPTs and Global Network Planning in the S&OP process and annual profit planning activities.
• Ensure proper escalation timing to mitigate production or supply interruption.
• Facilitate annual BOM and yield assessment process to align production standards and financial targets planned for following year.
• Reports, reviews and analyzes supply chain data to measure site / IPT performance related to Make, Buy, Test, Release (MBTR) and identify areas for improvement.
• Site World Class Supplier (WCS) lead/coordinator supporting all OTIF and FPQ initiatives
• Proactively develop and manage all site inventory targets and initiatives
• Attend Tier meetings and ad-hoc meetings as required.
• Coordinate all site metrics including schedule adherence, release on time, on-time in full, and first pass quality
• Manage departmental budget spending for the Planning and Scheduling team.

Secondary Duties

• Manage/Monitor enterprise resource planning (SAP) data accuracy and transactional discipline
• Serve as the grantee of authority for senior positions in their absence.
• Support Director in continual evaluation of the SCM organization (assess needs of the business, existing infrastructure and expertise, identify gaps and develop plans for building the organization to meet business needs).
• Act as the site liaison for end-to-end communication of network / Durham supply plan to ensure the plan is in line with our Manufacturing Division and our Company Vaccines strategy
• Ensure all departmental safety and training requirements are met.
• Ensure departmental participation in Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRG's), and volunteering/team building events.

Educational requirements:

• Required: B.S./B.A. Degree in Science / Engineering / Business or Supply Chain Management

Required experience and skills:

• Minimum 8 years of experience in pharmaceutical industry. Emphasis in manufacturing site planning and leadership activities.
• Strong knowledge of Planning and Purchasing processes as well as MRP/MPS principles and methodologies
• Strong experience using SAP
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Experience in managing and developing employees
• Excellent planning, organizational, documentation and communication skills
• Ability to work in cross-functional teams and to manage complex projects and tasks
• Produces/completes various assignments and projects requiring analytical ability, independent judgment, creativity and problem-solving skills.
• Strong ability to develop, articulate, and build support around a long-term vision aligned with our Company's strategic business vision, and implement incremental milestones in support of that vision.
• High communication, organization, and multi-tasking abilities.
• Self-motivated individual with ability to work with a high degree of accuracy
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Strong risk-based decision-making skills.
• A positive, collaborative, consensus building approach to management and interpersonal relationships that focuses on guiding, training and developing personnel to their fullest potential.

Preferred experience and skills:

• Master's degree in science / engineering / business or supply chain management
• Experience in developing and updating Standard Operating Procedures
• Budget planning, capital planning, and project management
• Experience using Rapid Response (RR) as a network planning tool
• APICS / CPIM and Green Belt Certification

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:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement

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

U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as remote".

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:
Not Applicable

Shift:
1st - Day

Valid Driving License:
No

Hazardous Material(s):
n/a

Job Posting End Date:
05/7/2025
*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.

Requisition ID:R345946