Job Description

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Associate Director, Legal & Compliance – Australia and New Zealand shall have the primary responsibility to advise on and protect the legal interests and compliance standards of all business divisions and functions across Australia and New Zealand , supporting the Director, Legal & Compliance. The position will be based in Macquarie Park, Sydney, Australia.
The successful candidate will handle legal and compliance matters arising from businesses in the Markets or as designated by and under the supervision of the Director, Legal & Compliance. In addition, as a member of the Asia Pacific Legal and Compliance team, the successful candidate needs to work closely with the Human Health Business Practice Officers (“BPOs”) in the Markets, as well as other members of the Asia Pacific Legal and Compliance team, colleagues from the Offices of General Counsel, external counsel and relevant headquarters and subsidiary staff and functional groups, as needed.

REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

• Monitor changes and developments in the legal and regulatory environment within which the businesses operate, advise local management and develop appropriate strategies
• Provide advice and legal support, as needed and in collaboration with regulatory affairs, on application and maintenance of all authorizations, permits and licenses needed for local operations, including importation, listing/reimbursement and marketing of products, conducting clinical trials, handling adverse experience incidents and implementing product recalls where needed
• Support the company in interactions with regulatory and other relevant government agencies on legal and compliance issues and development of appropriate strategies for resolution of issues

QUALIFICATIONS

• A degree in law or the equivalent
• Admitted to practice law in Australia; Additional bar admission in New Zealand would be advantageous
• 7-9 years of post-admission experience

SKILLSETS

• Strong language proficiency in English
• Ability to manage the Markets largely independently of management supervision
• Ability to quickly distil and effectively communicate corporate (HQ) cascaded compliance positions and policies to the local markets.
• Ability to identify legal/compliance risks with business opportunities and provide counsel to local market leadership on such risks
• Ability to appropriately challenge the status quo whilst understanding the fundamental legal & compliance principles and our company’s standards at the enterprise level
• Ability to provide practical and commercially focused solutions whilst consistently applying a high standard of integrity, professionalism, legal knowledge, and business ethics in line with the company’s policies, values and standards
• Ability to understand and balance local market needs with enterprise level principles and direction
• A positive personality and ability to thrive and make sound judgement and decisions in a fast-changing, pressurizing and highly regulated environment
• Proactive and responsive
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

The following experience is required:

• In-house legal and compliance experience in a multinational organization in Australia and/or New Zealand; and/or
• In-house legal and compliance experience in a pharmaceutical company or other highly regulated industries (e.g. biochemicals, medical devices industry) in Australia and/or New Zealand; and/or
• Commercial practice experience in a law firm in Australia and/or New Zealand

WHO WE ARE:

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

Administrative Law, Administrative Law, Business, Business Compliance, Business Opportunities, Cite Checking, Clinical Testing, Confidentiality, Contract Administration, Corporate Ethics, Cross-Functional Teamwork, Detail-Oriented, Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Law, Intellectual Property Management, Internal Investigations, Language Assessments, Legal Documents Preparation, Legal Research, Litigation, Litigation Law, Litigation Management, Management Process, Negotiation, Pharmaceutical Regulatory Compliance {+ 5 more}

Primary scope of work includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Supporting the legal and compliance needs of all key stakeholders in the relevant areas of law which may include but is not limited to privacy, anti-corruption/anti-bribery, fair competition, and trade practice legislations, etc. as well as policies, compliance standards and local industry guidelines. In particular: