Community Engagement Specialist (CES) (IL, IN, WI)
Merck
September 01, 2026
Remote
United States
Patient Advocacy
Role Summary
- Field-based, community-embedded Community Engagement Specialist (CES) building trusted, long-term relationships with organizations serving communities disproportionately impacted by disease (e.g., PAOs, CBOs, health departments, community health centers, civic/social, faith-based) across the care continuum.
- Execute and advance community engagement across priority advocacy ecosystems; connect field engagement with headquarters teams to ensure consistent, compliant, scalable execution.
Responsibilities
- Use data, field observations, and qualitative feedback to evaluate engagement effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
- Execute community engagement/relationship-building aligned to organizational priorities.
- Partner with PI&E leadership on disease awareness and community engagement planning/integration.
- Identify training/capability needs; support field segmentation and tactical engagement plan execution and tracking.
- Leverage insights to identify trends, unmet needs, access barriers, and opportunities.
- Use playbooks/tools/SOPs to ensure consistent quality.
- Maintain bi-directional communication between field and HQ; participate in meetings, planning sessions, and training calls.
- Ensure activities meet legal/regulatory/non-promotional requirements; document engagements using approved tools/dashboards.
- Identify and communicate opportunities to optimize engagement approaches.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree + 3+ years pharmaceutical/biotech OR community engagement/patient advocacy/public health experience.
- Strong project management, written/verbal communication, independent field execution, stakeholder engagement, cross-functional collaboration, and initiative.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with PAOs/CBOs/community healthcare ecosystems; health/access engagement dynamics; educational/community engagements; training/onboarding; familiarity with evolving/agile field models.
Skills
- Community outreach, engagement strategies, feedback management, liaison work, medical affairs, project management, relationship building.
Location/Travel
- IL, IN, WI; must reside in territory; travel up to 50%.
Benefits/Bonus
- Eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive (if applicable); comprehensive benefits include medical/dental/vision, 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and sick/compassionate days.
Application
- Apply at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or Workday Jobs Hub). Application deadline is listed on the posting. Requisition ID: R415312.
- Field-based, community-embedded Community Engagement Specialist (CES) building trusted, long-term relationships with organizations serving communities disproportionately impacted by disease (e.g., PAOs, CBOs, health departments, community health centers, civic/social, faith-based) across the care continuum.
- Execute and advance community engagement across priority advocacy ecosystems; connect field engagement with headquarters teams to ensure consistent, compliant, scalable execution.
Responsibilities
- Use data, field observations, and qualitative feedback to evaluate engagement effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
- Execute community engagement/relationship-building aligned to organizational priorities.
- Partner with PI&E leadership on disease awareness and community engagement planning/integration.
- Identify training/capability needs; support field segmentation and tactical engagement plan execution and tracking.
- Leverage insights to identify trends, unmet needs, access barriers, and opportunities.
- Use playbooks/tools/SOPs to ensure consistent quality.
- Maintain bi-directional communication between field and HQ; participate in meetings, planning sessions, and training calls.
- Ensure activities meet legal/regulatory/non-promotional requirements; document engagements using approved tools/dashboards.
- Identify and communicate opportunities to optimize engagement approaches.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree + 3+ years pharmaceutical/biotech OR community engagement/patient advocacy/public health experience.
- Strong project management, written/verbal communication, independent field execution, stakeholder engagement, cross-functional collaboration, and initiative.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with PAOs/CBOs/community healthcare ecosystems; health/access engagement dynamics; educational/community engagements; training/onboarding; familiarity with evolving/agile field models.
Skills
- Community outreach, engagement strategies, feedback management, liaison work, medical affairs, project management, relationship building.
Location/Travel
- IL, IN, WI; must reside in territory; travel up to 50%.
Benefits/Bonus
- Eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive (if applicable); comprehensive benefits include medical/dental/vision, 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and sick/compassionate days.
Application
- Apply at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or Workday Jobs Hub). Application deadline is listed on the posting. Requisition ID: R415312.