Data Operations Director Jobs in Philadelphia, PA

Job Description

The Director, Portfolio & Resource Operations, Global Data Management and Standards (GDMS) Clinical Data Management (CDM) provides leadership and governance for capacity planning, resource forecasting, and portfolio performance management across CDM. This role drives standardization of metrics, tools, and forecasting processes, ensuring data integrity and actionable insights to enable senior management decision-making. The Director partners cross-functionally and globally to implement enterprise-wide performance tracking and operational review frameworks.

Responsibilities

Forecasting, Capacity, and Portfolio Management:

• Consolidate functional area inputs to produce reliable demand outlooks; refine allocation algorithms to ensure the Book of Business is delivered on time and to standard.
• Design, validate, and operate capacity and portfolio models; integrate performance, financial, and resource data to inform transparent decisions and long-range planning.
• Drive productivity & optimization including business case development & cost benefit analysis, and value realization, leveraging process engineering tools where applicable.
• Drive the strategy and implementation of standardized forecasting tools, metrics, processes, and other operational tools, dashboards, and visualizations
• Lead operating-model optimization within the functional area under direction of leadership, translate outcomes into action plans and track through implementation.

Operational Governance, Execution, & Metrics:

• Lead operational metric definition and governance (sources, cadence)
• Align functional areas to set yearly objectives and monitor progress to ensure successful, on-time achievement.
• Improve accuracy, timeliness, and automation of operations data pipelines.
• Implement and monitor functional area Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and long-term quality plans; build repeatable pipelines and automation; trigger Root Cause Analysis (RCA) / Corrective And Prevention Action (CAPA) and verify sustained improvement.
• Provide subject-matter expertise for automation and analytics solutions supporting Portfolio and Resource Operations Specialist (PROS) operation; identify automation, AI, and digital opportunities to improve forecasting accuracy and process efficiency
• Coordinate resource and financial forecasting, contracting, and invoicing; track variances and data integrity and publish reconciled views as required.
• Establish continuity frameworks for peak volumes, holiday coverage, and geographic shifts in demand.
• Ensure efficiencies from tool or system releases are captured and incorporated into capacity and resource models.
• Champion Human-First Organization principles in process and tooling decisions and ensure changes improve clarity, workload balance, and decision quality.
• Provide oversight of project tracking and related resource impacts, ensuring leadership awareness of key developments and fostering interconnectivity across initiatives to drive informed business decisions.
• Drive centralized governance, prioritization, and alignment of the CDM technology portfolio in partnership with Capability Leads and key stakeholders.
• Support impact assessment, adoption and integration of new/updated technologies across the clinical and enterprise ecosystem to maximize business impact and operational efficiency.

Training, Communication, & Change Management:

• Own role-specific curriculum within the functional area and co-lead GDMS (Global Data Management & Standards)-wide training within scope; track adoption and benefit.
• Lead functional area-specific communications and change management aligned with GDMS/GCTO (Global Clinical Trial Operations).
• Partner with functional leaders to align resource deployment with milestones and priorities
• Collaborate with functional leaders to maintain and evolve talent strategy, including career pathways, training & onboarding, job descriptions, and succession planning.

Enterprise & Cross-Functional Representation:

• Represent the functional area in cross-functional and cross-geography metrics, governance, and operations review forums; set deliverable standards and coach contributors to meet quality and timelines.
• Engage cross-geo stakeholders to assess compliance, performance, and quality metrics for operational consistency.
• Support long-term quality management plans; participate in and lead strategic and tactical special projects as needed.
• Participate in and lead strategic and tactical special projects, initiatives, and emerging business priorities as needed.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

Technical Skills:

• Ability to integrate data (including operational, capacity, and financial) from multiple sources and implement repeatable pipelines and automation for timely, accurate refresh.
• Ability to translate analytics into business recommendations with scenarios, trade-offs, and impact sizing.
• Ability to apply cross-functional planning, cost management, and resource prioritization to clinical data operations scenarios.
• Strong understanding of forecasting, budgeting, and accruals; able to read plan/forecast/actuals and tie them to operational drivers.
• Ability to link portfolio management, financial planning, and performance into unified decision models.
• Familiarity or proficiency with functional operational systems, performance dashboards, and workforce analytics data.
• Demonstrated ability to lead metric governance (definitions, sources, standardization, Quality Control (QC) / reconciliation, and cadence) and ensure one source of truth across the functional area.
• Deep experience with Power BI/Tableau and Excel (advanced modeling) for dashboards and what-if analysis.
• Familiarity with change management frameworks for organizational/process changes.
• Understanding RCA/CAPA methodologies for sustained improvement.
• Ability to design and validate capacity and portfolio models for large organizations >500 Headcount (HC); establish KPI definitions and targets; experience operational forecasting across regions/functional areas.

CDM Specific Technical Skills:

• Knowledge of International Council of Harmonization (ICH) /Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and how they apply to clinical data management activities.
• Working knowledge of Clinical Development, Trial Execution, and Data Management is required.
• Strong skills in data analysis & analytics is required, with technical abilities to create tools and dashboards preferred.

Non-technical knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Fluent in English; exceptional communication and influencing skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex issues and engage stakeholders across functions, geographies, and levels.
• Ability to distill complex issues into decision-ready narratives; frame options, risks, and recommendations to influence senior decisions.
• Ability to drive adoption of standardized methods/ways of working; mobilize cross-functional champions and measure uptake.
• Leads through influence across functions and geographies; mentors teams/global cohorts and provides structured feedback.
• Aligns senior stakeholders on objectives, interfaces, and responsibilities; enforces clean handoffs and resolves conflicts.
• Effective facilitator of decision-making, coordinating the work of others and driving timely resolution of complex issues.
• Ability to organize and coordinate cross-team work, manage milestones, escalate risks, and maintain momentum toward deliverables.
• Strong organization and prioritization skills, managing multiple deliverables, including risk/change control and stakeholder/vendor alignment.
• Demonstrated resilience and composure under pressure, maintaining sound judgment and alignment with organizational priorities; ability to manage escalations and drive consensus on process and technology improvements.
• Continuous improvement orientation, identifying opportunities to enhance ways of working, tools, and governance.
• Ability to collaborate and problem-solve across business and technical functions, bridging perspectives to reach practical solutions.

Enterprise Leadership Skills:

• Networking & Partnerships | Builds strategic partnerships across GDMS, Information Technology (IT), Finance, GCTO stakeholders, and process owners to align portfolio priorities, resolve cross-functional constraints, and drive transparency in performance, capacity, and funding decisions across geographies.
• Execution Excellence | Drives disciplined portfolio and resource execution by maintaining accurate forecasting models, workload allocation mechanisms, and standardized dashboards that ensure balanced operations, timely delivery, and data integrity across the functional area.
• Influence | Influences senior stakeholders by presenting clear, data-backed insights and trade-off scenarios, securing alignment on resourcing, funding, and operational priorities that advance shared enterprise objectives.

Qualifications & Experiences:

• Bachelor's Degree or higher with a minimum of 10 or more years of experience working in relevant field for associated job description
• Demonstrates a deep subject matter expertise in relevant discipline and people influence/management skills.
• Demonstrates experience in supporting operations for large, complex, geographic department including budget, contracts, resource utilization, sponsorship and leading cross functional projects.

OR

• Advanced Degree (Masters or Doctorate) with minimum of 8 or more years of experience working in relevant field for associated job description
  • Demonstrates a deep subject matter expertise in relevant discipline and people influence/management skills
  • Demonstrates experience in supporting operations for large, complex, geographic department including budget, contracts, resource utilization, sponsorship and leading cross functional projects.

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The salary range for this role is

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.

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