Job Description

The Executive Director, Legal & Compliance, for Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America, The Caribbean and Venezuela , leads a team of legal and compliance professionals providing legal and compliance oversight over all aspects of the Company’s businesses in the Markets, including legal and compliance support to the Human Health business and across divisions, including commercial, medical, Research & Development and manufacturing. The primary responsibilities of the Executive Director will be to provide legal and compliance advice, protect the legal interests and uphold the ethical business standards of our company businesses and divisions for Markets.

In addition, the Executive Director serves as a member of the Mexico Human Health Leadership Team and works in conjunction with other business and functional stakeholders, team members across the Offices of General Counsel (e.g. International Legal & Compliance, Ethics & Compliance Office, Global Investigations), external local counsel and relevant headquarters and subsidiary staff and functional groups, as needed. The position will be based in Mexico City, Mexico and reports to the Regional Managing Counsel, Latin America   Candidate should ideally be currently located in Mexico City or be willing to move to this location on their own costs. This position is not eligible for relocation or expatriate benefits.

Qualified applicants are excellent business lawyers, with outstanding people skills, including the ability to negotiate with third parties, and to work with internal stakeholders to shape and implement critical projects, and take a strong interest in understanding and implementing the Company’s compliance standards by collaborating with the Business Practices organization in managing compliance issues across all divisions. The successful candidate will guide management on critical legal and compliance matters, and find pragmatic, legally-sound solutions on a wide array of commercial projects.

As a member of the LATAM and broader International Legal & Compliance Team, the successful candidate will also provide legal and compliance support on certain regional projects and liaise and collaborate with the Company’s attorneys and compliance professionals throughout the world.

Main Responsibilities

Primary activities include, but are not limited to:

Management Supervision:

Responsible for guiding, monitoring, and assisting with all activities across our company business in the Markets that require legal and compliance input and ensuring all corporate, regional, and local legal and compliance objectives and requirements are met and that our company in the Markets complies with all legislative and regulatory requirements including privacy, anti-corruption/anti-bribery, fair competition and trade practice regulations, etc. , as well as policies, compliance standards and local industry guidelines, with sound, quality, appropriate and timely advice and oversight given to business stakeholders by the Legal and Compliance team and external legal resources.Supporting the legal and compliance needs of all key stakeholders through appropriate allocation and management of internal and external legal resourcesManaging, leading and developing the Legal and Compliance team responsible for the Markets.Assessing, supervising, and managing the engagement of external legal resources and ensuring that the service and advice received from external legal resources is timely, cost-effective and of consistently high quality.Supervising and managing the legal budget for the Markets in accordance with approved guidance from regional/global Legal and Compliance management.

Legal Matters:

Providing legal guidance on all commercial activities, including market access initiatives and commercial and business development transactions.Drafting and negotiating commercial agreements.Advising on competition law and helping to shape pro-competitive programs and offerings.Providing and/or overseeing internal legal review as part of medical/legal process for promotional materials according to local laws and our policies and standards.Collaborating with Medical and business colleagues in initiating and/or responding to regulatory/competitor challenges on promotional practices.Initiating, defending, negotiating, settling, and managing all litigation, disputes and actions arising from business operations in the Markets, including adverse reaction claims, , promotional disputes.Liaising with internal and external attorneys on disputes and protection matters.Providing advice and legal support, as needed, on application and maintenance of all authorizations, permits and licenses needed for local operations, including importation, listing/pricing/reimbursement, and marketing of products (such as new product/indication launches), conducting clinical trials, handling adverse experience incidents and implementing product recalls where needed.

Compliance

Assisting with the interpretation and implementation of Company Standards and Corporate Policies and help ensure compliance of local subsidiary policies and practices.Reviewing and advising on commercial and corporate initiatives, innovative collaborations, patient programs, engagements with external stakeholders, etc. in the Markets, from a compliance perspective.Collaborating with and providing counsel/support to the Business Practices organization and other divisional compliance personnel in the performance of their tasks to enable effective monitoring of compliance and related matters on behalf of the Company in the Markets.Collaborating with the Business Practices organization to develop, monitor, and implement compliance and risk management strategies and processes, completion of annual certification and country compliance scorecards, and working with divisional compliance officers and management to facilitate sound and prudent business decisions.Supporting the development and conduct of legal/compliance training, monitoring, and resolving legal/compliance issues, working with local management and the Business Practices organization to formulate and implement appropriate local business standards and procedures consistent with local laws, US laws (including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) and Anti-kickback laws), industry codes and corporate policies, among others.Preparing and reviewing communications with external parties, including the government, industry associations and the public, consumer-facing materials (e.g. in disease awareness campaigns) and corporate communications, and on issues such as healthcare legislations/policies and compliance standards.Providing support to investigations and internal assessments and related remediations and operations in the Markets, in collaboration with Global Security, Global Investigations, and coordinate with Corporate Audit, local management and Finance/Human Resources groups.

Qualifications and Skills

Qualifications, Experience and Language Proficiency

Required:

Attorney admitted to practice law in Mexico.Minimum 10 years of post-admission experience.Language ability: fluency in Spanish and English.In-house legal and compliance experience in a large multinational organization; and/or Commercial practice experience in a top tier law firm.

Preferred:

In-house legal and compliance experience with a pharmaceutical company or US-based multinational organizationPrivate practice experience in advising the pharmaceutical industryInternational experience; Experience working in multiple jurisdictions.Knowledge of anti-corruption laws (including US FCPA, UK Bribery Act) and the pharmaceutical industry codes in the MarketsProfessional or academic legal qualification or experiences in one or more of the MarketsStrong understanding of compliance frameworks, risk management and governance, and experience in implementation

Skills

Proven ability to lead and manage legal and compliance teams effectively.Ability to identify key issues and consistently apply a high standard of integrity, professionalism, legal knowledge and expertise and business ethics.Ability to provide practical, commercially focused, and value-added legal advice.Strong drafting and negotiation skills.Ability to develop and implement strategic plans to align legal and compliance functions with overall business goals  Highly developed technical and research skills, good attention for details and ability to perform investigations and interviews effectively.Ability to think broadly with an enterprise mindset.Very strong communication skills, both verbal and written, including skills to clearly articulate legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders.Ability and interest to learn about compliance, to critically review and advise on business programs and procedures in accordance with both legal requirements and corporate policies and standards.Ability to work independently and prioritize work under pressure; being proactive, pragmatic and responsiveStrong relationship-building skills to work effectively with various stakeholders, including executives, regulators, and external legal counsel.

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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:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Required Skills:

Cite Checking, Cite Checking, Client Representation, Client Service, Clinical Testing, Commercial Agreements, Communication, Competition Law, Compliance Oversight, Compliance Support, Contract Administration, Corporate Communications Strategy, Cross-Cultural Awareness, Detail-Oriented, Ethical Compliance, Exercises Judgment, Leadership, Legal Documents Preparation, Legal Research, Litigation Management, Management Process, Product Marketing, Regulatory Compliance, Regulatory Compliance Consulting, Regulatory Project Management {+ 5 more}

 Preferred Skills:

Job Posting End Date:

09/5/2025

*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.

Requisition ID:R362734