Community Engagement Specialist (CES) (IL, IN, WI)
Merck
September 01, 2026
Remote friendly (Chicago, IL)
United States
Patient Advocacy
Role Summary
- Field-based, community-embedded role building trusted, long-term relationships with national/regional/local organizations serving communities disproportionately impacted by disease.
- Executes and advances community engagement across priority advocacy ecosystems; captures and communicates insights on access, barriers to care, and community needs.
- Serves as a connector between field engagement and headquarters teams using established tools/processes to ensure consistent, compliant execution.
Responsibilities
- Evaluate engagement effectiveness using data, field observations, and qualitative feedback; identify continuous improvement opportunities.
- Execute community engagement and relationship-building aligned to organizational/ecosystem priorities.
- Partner with PI&E leadership for disease awareness and community engagement planning/integration.
- Identify training/capability needs from field insights.
- Support field segmentation/targeting and run tactical engagement plans against objectives.
- Use community insights to identify trends, unmet needs, access barriers, and engagement opportunities.
- Follow playbooks/tools/SOPs to ensure quality and consistency; maintain bi-directional communication with HQ.
- Participate in meetings/planning sessions/training calls.
- Ensure all activities meet legal/regulatory/non-promotional requirements.
- Document engagements using approved tools/dashboards; evolve/optimize engagement approaches.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree + 3+ years pharmaceutical/biotech OR community engagement/patient advocacy/public health experience.
- Strong project management, organization, and written/verbal communication.
- Experience executing in field-based roles; engaging community stakeholders/advocacy groups.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration; ability to work independently.
Preferred
- Experience with patient advocacy/CBOs/healthcare community ecosystems; familiarity with health/access/community engagement dynamics.
Skills (required)
- Community Outreach, Engagement Strategies, Feedback Management, Liaison Work, Project Management, Relationship Building.
Application
- Apply via https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (current employees: Workday Jobs Hub).
- Field-based, community-embedded role building trusted, long-term relationships with national/regional/local organizations serving communities disproportionately impacted by disease.
- Executes and advances community engagement across priority advocacy ecosystems; captures and communicates insights on access, barriers to care, and community needs.
- Serves as a connector between field engagement and headquarters teams using established tools/processes to ensure consistent, compliant execution.
Responsibilities
- Evaluate engagement effectiveness using data, field observations, and qualitative feedback; identify continuous improvement opportunities.
- Execute community engagement and relationship-building aligned to organizational/ecosystem priorities.
- Partner with PI&E leadership for disease awareness and community engagement planning/integration.
- Identify training/capability needs from field insights.
- Support field segmentation/targeting and run tactical engagement plans against objectives.
- Use community insights to identify trends, unmet needs, access barriers, and engagement opportunities.
- Follow playbooks/tools/SOPs to ensure quality and consistency; maintain bi-directional communication with HQ.
- Participate in meetings/planning sessions/training calls.
- Ensure all activities meet legal/regulatory/non-promotional requirements.
- Document engagements using approved tools/dashboards; evolve/optimize engagement approaches.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree + 3+ years pharmaceutical/biotech OR community engagement/patient advocacy/public health experience.
- Strong project management, organization, and written/verbal communication.
- Experience executing in field-based roles; engaging community stakeholders/advocacy groups.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration; ability to work independently.
Preferred
- Experience with patient advocacy/CBOs/healthcare community ecosystems; familiarity with health/access/community engagement dynamics.
Skills (required)
- Community Outreach, Engagement Strategies, Feedback Management, Liaison Work, Project Management, Relationship Building.
Application
- Apply via https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (current employees: Workday Jobs Hub).