Merck & Co. - Boston, MA
posted 4 months ago
This individual contributor role, with moderate oversight, will process the transactional activities associated with executing in vivo and in vitro studies at external contract research organizations (CROs) or collaborators, in support of Discovery, Pre-Clinical and Translational Medicine (DPTM). This cross-functional support position will be directly accountable to the broader DPTM Operations team, and interface with benchtop Scientists and External Scientific Leads, Finance, and Procurement to ensure that Purchase Orders (POs) are generated to initiate external work, and that invoices are reconciled for payment in a policy-compliant manner. The assignments of this position will extend to utilizing a suite of IT applications and financial systems to track open requisitions and monitor payments. In addition, it is expected that the successful candidate will develop sufficient expertise in these tools and processes to be able to effectively troubleshoot issues, propose solutions for workflow improvements, and document best practices, including the authorship of Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs). Taking direction from the DPTM Operations team, based on input from the broader network of scientific and business stakeholders, the Operations Specialist will perform the following activities and exhibit the following collaborative behaviors: Transactional support to enable execution of research studies at external CROs and collaborators. Ensure that project details for work done externally are appropriately captured in relevant IT systems and tracking tools (e.g. Ariba, SAP, Power BI). Verify that contracts and agreements with outside parties are in place prior to initiating any work at external suppliers. Initiate Purchase Orders (POs) based on pre-defined scope of work and communicate to relevant stakeholders that work may proceed (e.g., Operations team, Finance, initiating scientists, and external suppliers). Follow PO best practices through the lifecycle of each external project; maintain accurate records for all open POs, incremental invoices, monthly accruals, and close-out activities. Upon invoicing, verify project deliverables with initiating scientist and document status in audit-compliant manner, prior to triggering payment approvals. Promote and adhere to corporate policies, ensuring compliance and protection of company assets, completing due diligence activities (in vivo compliance) prior to initiating purchase orders, recognizing that this position is responsible for the handling of confidential and sensitive corporate information. IT Systems/Tools: Develop subject matter expertise (SME) in all tools and workflows that support the sourcing process. Assist with DPTM forecasting/financial tracking and data analytics tools to monitor and ensure data integrity. Be able to troubleshoot tool or workflow issues associated with PO generation, invoice reconciliation and partner payments, engaging a network of stakeholders and partner to monitor and resolve these issues in a timely manner. Author and update SOGs, communicate best practices as they pertain to the sourcing PO and invoicing workflows. Seek to identify opportunities to improve the future state of sourcing workflows and tools in partnership with IT. Collaboration /Communication: Develop and foster effective working relationships with DPTM Operations team members and the broader Externalization Management Group (EMG), partnering on day-to-day activities, and seeking to understand the roles and responsibilities of each team member. Get to know key contacts across the extended network of global cross-functional stakeholders involved in external project execution, knowing when to leverage their input and assistance. Take a customer service-minded approach to enabling the PO and invoicing activities, balancing the need to address emergent issues with other time-sensitive project priorities. Seek to find win-win solutions to problems, taking time to understand the underlying variables, and negotiate to a mutually agreeable action plan. Keep stakeholders informed of the status and progress of transactions, especially where processing timelines may be extended. Manage existing working relationships with external stakeholders (e.g. CROs, academic institutions, regulatory agencies) as defined to support scientific/research activities. Be able to collaborate with external suppliers and internal stakeholders in flexible business hours given time zone differences.