Associate Director - Site MPS Support

Job Description

Job Description:

The West Point, PA site is our Company’s largest vaccine manufacturing facility that manufactures bulk and final dosage forms for our vaccine products and is growing to meet future demand. Our company’s production system, MPS, is an integrated production system for how we design, manage, and continuously improve our operations and supporting business processes, enabled through the development of our people. The West Point Site MPS Team is responsible for driving MPS throughout the organization to enable change in the operating systems, management systems, and mindsets, behaviors, and capabilities of our people to manufacture product of the highest quality, for the lowest cost, and in the shortest lead time.

Under the direction of the West Point Site MPS Lead, the successful candidate will work with all levels of site leadership through teaching, 1:1 and team coaching and direct on-the-floor support/on the job development.

West Point MPS Associate Director, Business Consulting Description of Responsibilities:

Effectively coach and partner with functional leaders, plant manager and the leadership team to develop strategic plans and execute performance improvement activities:

• Influence and link improvement objectives to the highest division priorities that align with our Company’s long-term strategy.
• Provide guidance to frame appropriate business challenges, identifying key business opportunities using data and industry knowledge and trends.

Able to engage sponsors and clients and manage E2E-level initiatives to drive results and realize intended business benefit:

• Mentor leaders on effective communication and active listening techniques to fully understand client/customer needs and expectations.
• Manage teams to mitigate risk, allocate resources, and drive on-time completion of initiatives.
• Provide teaching and coaching to effectively transfer Lean skills into the organization for the development of Lean Leaders and fellow MPS team members who promote a culture of continuous improvement and challenge the status quo. 

Utilize various Lean standards in conjunction with our standardized deployment roadmap to diagnose, analyze and improve business processes:

• Strong competency in understanding and implementation of a Closed Loop System (Visual Management, Leader Standardized Work, Problem Solving and MPS/TPS Standards).
• Grasp the current situation through skillful application of value stream mapping, capacity analysis, and people capability analysis.
• Define a future state and create a master plan to achieve it.
• Develop Lean management systems, including visual management, to make problems visible.
• Respond with urgency to effectively break down complex problems, lead root cause analysis, and develop effective countermeasures.
• Lead and coach kaizens with a team to achieve multiple target conditions that enable progress towards an overall challenge.
• Design balanced work, with smooth flow leading to improved lead time, inventory, quality, and more value-added work for the operator/technician.
• Lead, develop and coach the implementation of level loaded standardized work across the site.  Successful candidate should understand the use of supporting tools, such as Task Breakdown Sheets, Production Capacity sheets and Standardized Work Charts and Combination Tables.

Qualifications:

Required Experience and Skills:

Bachelor’s Degree in related field with 5+ years of Lean application experience or 10+ years of Lean application experience with evidence of progression in understanding and successful application of TPS:

• Experience analyzing complex end-to-end supply chains and driving process improvement for a complete system in an integrated approach.
• Hands-on application of Lean tools: Hoshin Kanri, A3 development, management system development, scientific problem solving, leader standardized work, standardized work, process mapping, value stream mapping, capacity analysis, mistake proofing, SMED, and 5S/visual management.
• Proven experience in applying consultative skills (coaching, teaching) to drive a High Performance Organization to think, behave and apply lean methods and tools.
• Ability to interact with and coach all levels of the business (senior leaders to shop floor working teams).
• Experience with facilitating and leading teams.
• Experience in teaching lean tools, methods, and concepts.

• Ability to leverage diverse perspectives and talents to achieve business outcomes.
• Ability to influence decision making.
• Project management skills (demonstrated experience in managing large teams).
• Solid business acumen.
• Proven team building skills.
• Excellent listening skills.
• Results oriented.
• Proficiency in using IT applications to organize, analyze, & present information (e.g. MS-Excel, PowerPoint, Minitab, MS-Teams, Power BI).

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Experience in operations management, manufacturing, or related disciplines.
• Experience in a Vaccines or Sterile pharmaceutical environment.

As a company, we keep the patient at the very heart of all that we do and strive to find solutions and treatments for some of the world’s most challenging healthcare needs.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Required Skills:

Hoshin Kanri, Kaizen (Continuous Improvement), Lean Coaching, Lean Management Systems, Lean Manufacturing, Operational Excellence, Standardized Procedures, Structured Problem Solving, Toyota Production System (TPS), Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

Preferred Skills:

Learning Management Systems (LMS), Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)

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

The primary location for this posting is:

USA - Pennsylvania - West Point

Where required by law, the compensation range for this role is provided below.

The salary range for the primary location of this role is:

$129,000.00 - $203,100.00

This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of 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.

Additional location(s): Please note the salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the salary ranges for additional locations below. If the salary range is not listed for the location you are applying to, our Talent Acquisition team will provide further information to you relevant to your location.

Additional location(s) Compensation Information:

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:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

n/a

Job Posting End Date:

11/25/2026

*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.